Life and Society on the Edge of Tibet

Abstract

Tawang, known as the land of Mon or the Monyul, is special in many ways for India in terms of socio-cultural, political, and security of the nation. Located about 9000 ft above sea level sandwiched between China’s Tibet in the north, Bhutan in the west and West Kameng District in the south, this Buddhists’ sacred centre is one of India’s most strategic districts on the edge of Tibet in the eastern sector of India–China border today. Being one of the theatres of the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict, over the last two decades, this borderland has assumed great significance, especially the way in which the Chinese behave and their claim over Tawang. The physical location and borderland geopolitical milieu, in fact, have influence on the lives of the Tawang border community. Notably, over the years, this strategic frontier that served as the intersection of cultural, religious, and economic engagement between Tibet and Bhutan, eventually grew as a military bulwark populated with stationed security troops and civilians Monpas. Equally, the socioeconomic and religious lifestyle of Monpas too has undergone transformation with the influence of modern infrastructure including modern education and information technology.