Northeast India
The northeastern part of India , which includes the seven states of Assam , Arunachal Pradesh , Nagaland , Manipur , Mizoram , Tripura and Meghalaya , is called Northeast India or Seven Sister States . Often Sikkim and the north of West Bengal are also counted as part of Northeast India.
During the British colonial era, the area of today's seven states belonged to the province of Assam. After independence in 1947, Northeast India found itself in an isolated position when the territory of British India was divided into the states of India and Pakistan . East Bengal , located between Assam and the rest of India, became part of Pakistan and became independent as Bangladesh in 1971 . As a result, Northeast India is now only connected to the rest of India by a narrow corridor. In addition to Bangladesh in the southwest, the area borders Myanmar in the east and China and Bhutan in the north.
geography
The area of northeast India consists of the Brahmaputra basin , less than 200 meters above sea level, with the adjacent mountains, plus the mountainous region between East Bengal and Myanmar. The south side of the Himalayas in the north rises to the 7090 meter high Kangto . The eastern boundary of the Brahmaputra Basin is formed by the Patkai Mountains , which are up to 3826 meters high . The state of Manipur covers the south of these mountains. It is drained in three directions: to the west flows the Barak, whose lower course is called Meghna in Bangladesh and there is a main river of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta . The approximately 350 kilometers long Kaladan flows south through the state of Mizoram and reaches the east coast of the Bay of Bengal near Sittwe in Myanmar . The Manipur River flows 768.5 meters above sea level through the 287 square kilometer Loktak Lake and then flows southeast into the Chindwin , which flows into the Irrawaddy , the largest river in Myanmar. South of the Brahmaputra Basin extends the up to 1961 meter high Khasi Mountains , which, including its southern slopes, belong to the state of Meghalaya. These southern slopes are considered the wettest region on earth.
The area of the area is 262,230 km², which is just about that of Italy.
Population and culture
A total of 45 million people live in the seven states of northeast India (2011 census). This is less than four percent of India's total population. The population is very unevenly distributed: While the mountain regions are only sparsely populated, a large part of the population is concentrated on the Brahmaputra level. With 31 million inhabitants, Assam is by far the most populous state in northeast India.
Northeast India is an ethnically and culturally very heterogeneous area. The main distinction is between the plains and the mountain regions: The Brahmaputra plain of Assam is culturally close to the rest of India, as is South Assam and Tripura, which can historically be assigned to the greater region of Bengal. The inhabitants of these areas mainly speak Assamese and Bengali , two Indo-Aryan languages. In contrast, the mountain regions of northeast India have hardly been penetrated by the Sanskrit culture. The peoples who settle here tend to have similarities with the inhabitants of Southeast Asia in terms of their appearance, their languages and their customs . A large number of small languages are spoken among the inhabitants of the mountain regions, most of which belong to the Tibetan-Burman language family. The Meitei occupy an intermediate position in the Manipur valley region. They speak a Tibetan-Burmese language, but are culturally closer to the Indian majority society.
Most of the inhabitants of the plains of Assam, Tripura and the Manipur Valley are Hindus . There is also a large Muslim minority there. In the mountain regions, on the other hand, Christianity is the dominant religion: in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram as well as the mountain region of Manipurs, the majority of the population is Christian. This is essentially the result of the mission of American free churches . There are also smaller Buddhist minorities on the borders with Tibet and Burma .
history
Northeast India came under British rule as a result of the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) . The area was initially part of the Bengal presidency before the province of Assam was formed from it in 1874 . In 1905 Bengal was divided and its eastern part merged with Assam to form the province of Assam and East Bengal . Because of the resistance of the Indian population, the partition of Bengal was reversed in 1911. Manipur and Tripura remained as nominally independent princely states under British rule during the British colonial period .
When India gained independence in 1947, East Bengal became part of the newly established state of Pakistan before it became independent as Bangladesh in 1971 . As a result, northeast India, which since then has only been connected to the rest of the country by a narrow land corridor, found itself in an isolated position. At the time of independence, northeast India consisted of the state of Assam with the capital Shillong , which at that time still comprised almost the entire northeast, as well as Manipur and Tripura, which were initially incorporated into India as union territories . As a result of the attempts at autonomy by the various mountain peoples, Assam was gradually divided: in 1963 Nagaland became a separate federal state. Meghalaya initially received autonomy within Assam in 1970, before it was raised to a full federal state in 1972. In the same year, Manipur and Tripura also received full state rights. Also in 1972, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram were dissolved as union territories from Assam before they became fully fledged states in 1987.
In 1971, the North East Council (NEC) was set up to coordinate development planning, from which the Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DONER) emerged in 2001. Sikkim , north of West Bengal, is also east of the corridor and is also under the jurisdiction of the DONER. However, it does not border on any of the seven sister states and is traditionally not included in the group because, as a previously independent kingdom, it did not join the Indian Union until 1975.
By a law of 1958, the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, visits to the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland are only permitted for foreigners with a Protected Area Permit (PAP).
fauna
The little panda (Latin: Ailurus fulgens, red panda, kitty bear) is a very shy predator that is threatened in its population and (still) lives in the region across borders. Today it is classified as the only member of the Ailuridae family, so it is not closely related to the panda or the small bears.
Web links
- Homepage: North Eastern Council. Government of India (English).
- Thomas Benedikter: Northeast India: Experimental field for regional autonomy. On: suedasien.info. August 2, 2009, accessed on September 28, 2018 (Northeast India's autonomous districts between minority protection and secession).
Individual evidence
- ↑ (PDF) Progressive Edges in North East India for South East Asian Businesses and Trades. In: researchgate.net. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
- ^ India-Bangladesh International Rail Link Project - India Briefing News. In: india-briefing.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .