Tawang District
| Tawang district | |
|---|---|
| District of Arunachal Pradesh | |
 Location of Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh |
|
| Country | India |
| State | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Headquarters | Tawang Town |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,085 km2 (805 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 49,950 |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 60.6% |
| • Sex ratio | 701 |
| Website | Official website |
Tawang district (Pron:/tɑ:ˈwæŋ or təˈwæŋ/) is the smallest of the 16 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. With a population of 49,977, it is the eighth least populous district in the country (out of 640).
The area is claimed by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Tawang is inhabited by the Monpa people. From 500 BC to 600 AD a kingdom known as Lhomon or Monyul ruled the area. The Monyul kingdom was later absorbed into the control of neighbouring Bhutan and Tibet.
Tawang Monastery was founded by the Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1681 in accordance with the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, and has an interesting legend surrounding its name, which means "Chosen by Horse". The sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, was born in Tawang.
Tawang was historically part of Tibet. The 1914 Simla Accord defined the McMahon Line as the new boundary between British India and Tibet. By this treaty Tibet relinquished several hundred square miles of its territory, including Tawang, to the British, but it was not recognised by China. However, the British did not take possession of Tawang and Tibet continued to administer and collect taxes in Tawang. When the British botanist Frank Kingdon-Ward crossed the Sela Pass and entered Tawang in 1935 without permission from Tibet, he was briefly arrested. This drew the attention of the British, who reexamined the Indo-Tibetan border and rediscovered that Tibet had ceded Tawang to British India. Tibet did not repudiate the Simla Accord and the McMahon Line but refused to surrender Tawang, partly because of the importance attached to the Tawang Monastery. In 1938 the British made a cautious move to assert sovereignty over Tawang by sending a small military column under Capt. G.S. Lightfoot to Tawang.
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Wikipedia