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A rare mammal sighted by WWF-India’s Survey Team in Arunachal Pradesh
The black pika sighted (© Aishwarya Maheshwari/WWF-India) There are still many areas in our world that are unexplored, their secrets hidden often due to their inaccessibility. Many high altitude areas...
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Uncle Moosa takes the joy of reading to the hills of Arunachal Pradesh
Those of us who live in urban environments can seldom understand the impact of an abstract concept like education. It is another matter that education itself may mean completely different things to...
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TBI Travel: Flowing With The Jia-Bharali
Meena Vaidyanathan continues her exploration of India’s little-known rivers to enlighten and enchant our readers with the little secrets they hold. In the second post in this series (read the first one...
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TBI Offbeat Travel: Living in a Small Hamlet in Remote Arunachal Pradesh
Yoginder Sikand takes you on a daring trip to a remote part of the remote state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is not for the faint-hearted or the luxury-seeker. You will not be observing exotic wildlife or...
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A Small Tribe In Arunachal Pradesh Is Showing How Man And Nature Can Co-exist...
A small tribe in Arunachal Pradesh located in a small valley has been able to defeat modern technological advancements in terms of environment conservation. The Apatanis from Ziro have a unique...
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India’s Fastest-Growing State and Other Northeast Surprises
Though the northeast states are often clubbed together, in many cases, there are wide differences between them. The eight north-eastern states–Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,...
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Locals in These Tiny Arunachal Villages Are Taking Huge Steps to Save the...
Often referred to as ‘the land of the dawn lit mountains’ , Arunachal Pradesh’s extensive geographical diversity, climatic conditions, and vibrant wildlife makes it one of the richest biodiversity and...
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#TravelTales: Exploring Mechuka, Where Horses Run Wild and Friendly Tribes...
Located about 29 km from MacMahon Line (that separates India from China), the breathtakingly beautiful Mechuka Valley lies in the West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. With a name that literally...
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Indian Railways on Top, Plans to Add New Lines at 10,000 Feet in Tawang
The Indian Railways is on the track to make some of the highest corners of the country more accessible by trains. The Ministry of Railways has announced that it will soon be connecting Arunachal...
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Meet the Director of Aaba, the Only Award-Winning Indian Short Film at Berlin...
Amar Kaushik’s debut short film Aaba bagged the Special Jury Prize at the recently concluded Berlin International Festival. Here, he opens up about growing up in the northeast, moving to Mumbai to make...
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Taking Inspiration From Bats, a Student From Arunachal Pradesh Has Designed...
A high school student from Arunachal Pradesh has developed a set of goggles that promises to significantly improve the quality of lives of those who are visually impaired in India. In fact, the product...
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How a Retired IAF Pilot Created Arunachal’s First Mechanised Textile Factory
The textile industry of northeast India is famous for its intricate and beautifully handcrafted fabrics. With each state having a rich textile heritage of its own, the remarkable handiwork of the...
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Land-locked, Mountainous Arunachal Pradesh Has One More Officer in The Navy
The passing out parade of the 93rd batch of Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala will go down in the history of Arunachal Pradesh, as a new officer in the newly-commissioned batch of 2017 becomes one...
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Arunachal Pradesh Has Become Open Defecation Free Almost Two Years Before the...
Arunachal Pradesh has become the second state in the Northeast to become open defecation free (ODF), the state government announced on Sunday. The first was Sikkim. While the national target is October...
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Kiwi Farmers of Arunachal’s Ziro Valley Give ‘Corky’ Twist to Their Future!
Kiwis have always been considered an exotic fruit. Imported to India from New Zealand, Italy and Chile, Kiwi was never thought of being an indigenous fruit. This was mostly because most of us are...
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Victory Without a Drop of Blood: The Unknown, And Incredible Story of a...
In the fabled history of Independent India, many citizens from its frontier regions—Ladakh and the Northeast—have significantly contributed to the process of nation-building. Some have received due...
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This 40-Year-Old Mother of 4 Girls From Arunachal Just Scaled Mt. Everest!
40-year-old mother of four Muri Linggi has done us all proud as she becomes the third woman from Arunachal Pradesh to conquer Mount Everest – the highest mountain peak in the world. A peon in the state...
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First Commercial Flight Lands in Arunachal: 5 Gorgeous Places You Can Visit!
Popularly known as the ‘Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains’, or the ‘Orchid State of India’, a visit to Arunachal Pradesh is sure to leave you spellbound! The state happens to be the largest of the Seven...
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Arunachal Tribe Protects Unique Bird Species, Wins the India Biodiversity Award!
The best system of governance entails a seamless collaboration between governments and the communities they govern, with trust being reposed on either side. One can cite numerous examples of how such...
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Arunachal Artist Raps Against Racism in Hindi, Drives Home A Powerful Message!
Music and humour are double-edged swords. Sometimes they reinforce certain uncomfortable stereotypes, but real artists find a way to present them in ways that break barriers and bring people closer...
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Age Old Tales of Culture & Conservation From the Himalayan Reaches of Arunachal
“You must have seen an unfinished concrete structure there. Last year, we started constructing a temple inside the forest. But we think we displeased our deity; and our village was hit by an...
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American Dad-Daughter Duo Are Making Poor Arunachal Orphans Tech-Savvy!
Deep in the remote corners of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district is a community, school, and home for 90 orphaned, destitute and abandoned children called the Jhamste Gatsal Children’s Community. With...
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Arunachal Villagers Become Millionaires For Helping India Defend Its Borders...
For more than 56 years, villagers in Arunachal Pradesh have waited patiently for monetary compensation from the Government of India. Why? When war broke out against the Chinese in 1961-62, Arunachal...
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Purple Is the New Gold: Rare Tea from Arunachal Sells for a Whopping Rs 24501!
In the heart of Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang District are wild vegetations of a rare kind of tea. This tea, rich in its health benefits was once believed to be from Kenya. But in 2015, the Tocklai...
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The Intriguing Story of How Hindi Emerged as The Lingua Franca of Arunachal!
If the Indian government had to choose one state to represent the mind-boggling cultural diversity that exists in the country, it would probably choose Arunachal Pradesh. With a population just under...
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Arunachal Governor Brig Mishra Takes Pregnant Lady to Hospital in Official...
Retired Brigadier BD Mishra, who is the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, overheard a conversation between Chief Minister Pema Khandu and a local MLA. The three were at an official programme in Tawang on...
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See Pic: In a First, India’s Only Snow Tigers Spotted at 3630m in Arunachal...
In a significant development for conservationists in India, a three-year survey in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley Wildlife Sanctuary has found photographic evidence of tigers residing 3630 metres...
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Residents of 11 Villages Join Forces, Help IAF Repair Damaged Airstrip in...
In today’s world, it is a rare sight to see a congregation of people coming together to work towards building a better tomorrow. And, at Arunachal Pradesh’s remotest circle, Vijaynagar, this has...
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School Didn’t Have Physics Teacher for 5 Years. So an IAS Officer’s Wife...
In 2016, when IAS officer Danish Ashraf took charge as the District Magistrate of Upper Subansiri in Arunachal Pradesh, his wife, Ruhi, was setting foot in the district for the first time. They were at...
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Duo Quit Jobs To Travel, Ended Up Changing Hundreds of Lives in Remote...
Life is a lot like roads leading up to a mountain. You never know what’s in store at the next sharp turn—this idea best explains the accidental discovery by two friends that changed their lives...
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How Arunachal’s First IPS Officer Is Making Delhi Safer For Northeastern Youth
Toward the end of last year, Arunachal Pradesh’s first Indian Police Service officer Robin Hibu was appointed Additional Director General of Police, Delhi Police and also took charge as Special...
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Want to See the Real Northeast? This Mumbai Man Can Help You Do It Responsibly!
Unfulfilled and dissatisfied with the corporate life, Mumbai-born Piran Elavia decided to take a sabbatical sometime in 2008. On a tip from a friend, he got an opportunity to do some voluntary work...
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With Children’s Books & Bamboo Mugs, Arunachal Village Preserves Ancient Wisdom
It was sometime in the second half of 2018 that I read about a community-run library called Garung Thuk in the tiny village of Shergaon in Arunachal Pradesh. While I usually spend many months of...
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Meet the IFS Officer Who Built an Award-Winning System to Prevent Forest Fires
Last year, the world witnessed the worst fires to hit the Amazon Basin in Brazil in over a decade. This made international headlines with the fires destroying ecosystems and pumping climate warming...
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COVID-19: How an Andhra-Based App Delivers Groceries in Remote Arunachal...
While many parts of the country are witnessing long lines outside grocery stores during the current nationwide lockdown, the administration of a remote district in Arunachal Pradesh and MeeBuddy, an...
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Doctor, IAS Help Arunachal Stay Calm, As its First COVID-19 Victim Recovers
On 31 March 2020, the Lohit district administration in Arunachal Pradesh received information from various sources about a person with a history of travelling to Delhi whom they were trying to trace....
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Why ‘The Bob Marley of Indian Cricket’ Vows To Play The Game Till He Dies
There have been two definitive moments in the nascent cricketing career of Techi Doria, the diminutive and dreadlocked opening batsman from Arunachal Pradesh. The first arrived on 21 September 2018, in...
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Last of the Himalayan Honey Hunters: The Amazing Craft of a Brave Arunachal...
With The Positive Collective, The Better India’s COVID-19 coverage is available to regional language publications for free. Write to editorial@thebetterindia.com for more details. While growing up in...
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3 Arunachal Villages Come Together To Build a 154-Foot Bridge in Just 2 Months
William Shakespeare’s famous quote goes, “When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions.” This old adage summarises the year 2020 in light of the successive miseries inflicted upon...
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With ‘Project 37’, Arunachal Officers Raise Lakhs to Repair Schools, Build Roads
Repairing government assets, renovating structures or sanctioning little purchases through government protocols can often be a tedious task. However, a group of officers in Arunachal Pradesh have found...
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We Helped Arunachal IAS Sponsor Education for 3 Kids. He Now Plans to Help More
A couple of weeks ago, we brought you a story about an initiative by an Arunachal Pradesh IAS officer, Devansh Yadav, who started crowdfunding to help bright students from the North-East of India. We,...
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Arunachal Is Reviving Its 1000-YO Art of Making Paper That Doesn’t Harm Trees
In February 2020, Maling Gombu, a Tawang-based social worker and lawyer, wrote to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) — a statutory body dedicated to the development of village...
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Arunachal Pradesh IFS Officer Gives India’s Only Orchid Sanctuary A Facelift...
Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Ankit Kumar of the 2019 batch—who is currently posted at Bhalukpong and in charge of the Tippi Range of Khellong Forest Division, Arunachal Pradesh—along with his...
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Arunachal Cop Inspires Son to Pursue Music. He Will Now Rap in a Varun Dhawan...
It has been an eventful month for 25-year-old Kekho Thiamkho, the Hip Hop artist from Arunachal Pradesh, who is popularly known by the moniker ‘K4 Kekho’. After confirmation on 4 March that he will...
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Arunachal IAS Officer’s ‘Free Medical Care via Fines’ Should Inspire Other...
Police in Delhi have collected Rs 11 crore in fines for various rule violations during the COVID-19 lockdown. The collected fine is submitted to the government treasury. However, in East Siang, a...
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IAS Officer Ensures Covid Aid Even After the Only Bridge to an Arunachal...
Anini – the headquarter of the Dibang valley in Arunachal Pradesh is referred to as the ‘Last Town of India’. With 8,000 residents, it also holds the distinction of being the least populated district...
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With YouTube As His Coach, Labourer’s Son Wins Gold At National Martial Arts...
From when he was little, Tashi Wangchu loved the Rocky series, starring Sylvester Stallone, which often played on HBO. He says he was fascinated by the depiction of fitness, training and boxing in the...
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Man Creates Script for Dying Language from Scratch, Gets Microsoft to...
Did you know that the feeling of love can be described in 9,000 words if we put all the Indian languages together? A country that is often touted as the treasure trove of linguistic diversity, has 780...
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Ex-Students Convince 320 Villagers to Donate a Day’s Salary, Renovate Govt...
Tumto Ete, a native of Arunachal Pradesh’s West Siang district, was one of the first in his family to attend school. Back in 1961, the Pobdi Secondary School was the only school opened in the region...
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How Two Friends’ Impromptu Trip Brought Electricity to 100s of Homes in Rural...
In 2011 when Merwyn Coutinho and Rajiv Rathod set out on an impromptu trip to the remote village of Gandhigram in Arunachal Pradesh, they fell in love with the lush green forests and its hilly...
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