Living on the Sino-Indian Border The Story of the Mishmis in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India

In northeast India, there are several indigenous peoples who reside along the Sino-Indian border about whom there is very little academic research. Some communities are present on either side of the border, making research very difficult. The Mishmi is one such indigenous group living in the northeast region of India bordering southern Tibet. Out of four Mishmi clans, three reside on the Indian side and one on the Chinese side of the international border. After the 1962 Sino-Indian War, movement of Mishmi people across the border was restricted, impacting social ties and trade-related activities. We discuss relations between the Mishmi and the British, followed by their interactions with the Indian administration. We document how people used the borders before the war and how development on the border has impacted Mishmi lives. This research is a first attempt to document information about the Mishmis in India and China. In this article, we present our preliminary observations based on anthropological fieldwork in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Secondary information was gathered from websites, archives, and reports.