Infrastructuring Arunachal Pradesh Borderlands: A Case of Tawang Borderland

Abstract

It was the conflict with China in 1962 that forced India to take greater notice of the significance of the northeast as a critical frontier in its national security calculations. Chinese troops had advanced as far as Tezpur, and India was clearly on the defensive regarding critical infrastructure required for faster troop deployment. After the war was over, India pushed towards building a basic-level artery system of roads and military bases along critical areas in which it was vulnerable vis-à-vis China. At the same time, however, New Delhi was wary of developing a strong infrastructural presence in Arunachal Pradesh and, till the end of the past decade, followed a deliberate policy of continuing neglect towards development of Arunachal Pradesh. It was later followed by a scorched-earth policy, now discarded by New Delhi. Several infrastructure projects undertaken by New Delhi in Arunachal Pradesh have picked up pace in the past decade, seen as a concerted effort to strengthen the war preparedness of the armed forces given that China contests India’s claim over the territory of Arunachal Pradesh. These projects are often politically portrayed within Arunachal Pradesh as priorities, addressing on a fast-track basis the huge developmental gap that the various tribes in Arunachal Pradesh live with. This chapter examines the dynamics of these infrastructural developments by India in Arunachal Pradesh, particularly in Tawang, and its utility in hardening of the borders, disrupts traditional people-to-people exchange routes and sacred sites/spaces in borders, and employs hydropower dams as an instrument to claim its legitimacy over Arunachal Pradesh. A similar dynamic holds for Chinese infrastructure building in Tibet, making for an interesting comparison of the role of hydropower and military infrastructure development in such border spaces.