Arunachal: Watch Tawang’s History
It is an untouched tourist destination which is decorated with wonderful colors of nature.
Arunachal: Watch Tawang’s History: ( By Manzar Alam, Founder Editor, www.arunachal24.in, Former Bureau Chief (Northeast), Zee News )-
Tawang is the town in Arunachal Pradesh which is known all over world for many reasons. In today’s video, we will know about the history of Tawang.
It is an untouched tourist destination which is decorated with wonderful colors of nature. Where the snowy peaks emerging from the dense forest of pine trees, and the snowy passes passing between them further enhance the beauty of this valley. While surrounded by mountain ranges, numerous Buddhist monasteries make you experience an adventurous and thrilling journey.
According to the 2011 census Tawang has a total population of 49977 of which 29151 are males and 20826 are females. At the same time, the total population of children is 5,788.
The major ethnic group of Tawang are the Monpa, who live in all 163 villages. Tibetan people are also found in small numbers throughout Tawang. A small tribal group, the Takpa, are also found in small, scattered numbers in the west and north in Tawang.
Tawang is a district of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. The name of the headquarters of this district is also Tawang. It is located in the western part of Arunachal Pradesh. The city of Tawang is located at a distance of about 518 km from Guwahati, while its altitude is about 3500 meters above sea level. It is adjacent to the international borders of Tibet in the north, and Bhutan in the south-west.
It is believed that the name Tawang is derived from the Tawang Monastery situated on top of a hill here. ‘Ta’ means ‘horse’ and ‘Wang’ means ‘chosen one’. Thus the meaning of Tawang is “chosen by horse”.
History tells that this place was discovered by the horse of Mera Lama Lodre Gyatso. Actually Mera Lama Lodre Gyatso was looking for a right place to build a monastery but he could not find any such place.
At last he decided to pray to seek guidance from the divine power and closed his eyes and immersed himself in the prayer. When he opened his eyes after the prayer, he found that his horse was not in its place. He immediately started looking for his horse. After few hours he found his horse on the top of a mountain. Finally around the year 1681 the monastery was built on the same place where horse was found, and the word Tawang was born.
The specialty of this place is that when the morning sun rays enter Tawang, the first ray falls on this monastery and this view is worth seeing. At the same time, when the last ray of the sun passes through here, the whole sky is filled with countless stars.
Whenever and wherever the name of Tawang is taken, there is also a mention of the tension between India and China regarding Tawang.
Friends, let us tell you that it is also recorded in the map of the world that Tawang is the part of India. Time to time, Several Prime Ministers of India, Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and local leaders hundreds of times had said that “ Tawang was a part of India, is a part of India and will remain an integral part of India.
In ancient times there was no permanent dividing line between Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh as seen on the world map. There was never much interference of the Mughals or the British in these areas.
When the British government partitioned the area between Tibet and India in the year 1914, Tibet considered itself independent. However, Tawang and surrounding areas remained under Arunachal Pradesh. Later, when China occupied Tibet, from that time it was trying to capture Tawang. In the 1962 war, China had to leave Tawang despite capturing Tawang.
