Tawang: Arunachal Pradesh is perhaps the only northeastern state that does not have a serious insurgency problem at hand. The state bordering China, which Beijing claims as its own, proclaims its Indian identity with pride.
The people's dislike of the Chinese here is in sharp contrast to the affinity they have for Tibetans. In fact, they tend to agree with Beijing that Tawang is part of South Tibet. "Our religion and our roots are the same as the Tibetans," says Dr Wange, who points out that in Mago, Thingbu and Luguthang villages, near the Chinese border, people speak Tibetan.
If the Tibetans throw off the Chinese yoke, the desire to be one with the people of Tibet may give rise to a separatist movement in Tawang. But as long as the Tibetans suffer under Chinese occupation, as the people of Tawang see it, there is no fear of this happening.
"India gave shelter to the Dalai Lama and offered him a home. We never want to stay under Chinese occupation. But a free Tibet is something different. People's moods could change," Wange explains.
However, what people in Tawang feel about Tibet is not uniform in Arunachal. It is only in west Kameng and Tawang districts, where most people follow the Tibetan school of Buddhism; and they constitute only 13 to 14% of the population. Many Tibetans have settled and inter-married here, but most follow the traditional Donyi Polo (sun-moon) animistic religion. While there are Hindus, the percentage of Christians is small.
This is because in the 1950s and 1960s, when Nagaland was boiling, many pundits in the North Block believed that Christian missionaries encouraged separatism among tribals.
Foreign missionaries were not allowed into Arunachal and the Ramakrishna Mission was encouraged in the state.
Many elders in Tawang remember the 1962 border war, when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) marched into the town and occupied it. "The PLA was well-behaved and did not destroy anything," says Dorji, 65.
"My father said the Chinese kept telling the local people that we, the Mopas of Arunachal, are more akin to China than India. Look at your features and look at ours, aren't we similar? You people have nothing in common with the Indians. You will be regarded as foreigners in New Delhi," Dorji recalls.
But despite this, there is a deep-rooted hatred and suspicion of the Chinese in Tawang.
There is a lot of respect for the Gandhis, especially Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. "Nehru, Indira and Rajiv have always respected our distinct culture," says Wange. Despite the love for India, people cannot help but speak of the lack of development here. "We have no infrastructure worth the name; roads are terrible, electricity is erratic and money given for development by the Centre is siphoned off by politicians and contractors," says Sonam Wanchuk.