Key Takeaways
- India has deployed hundreds of additional security personnel in Arunachal Pradesh.
- Youth protesters clashed with police over a proposed mega-dam project.
- Villagers fear the dam will submerge their ancestral villages.
India has deployed hundreds of additional security personnel in its remote northeast region, authorities announced on Tuesday, following violent protests over a proposed mega-dam project. The deployment comes in response to escalating tensions in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley, which borders Tibet.
Protests in the Siang Valley turned violent last week, resulting in clashes with police and at least 21 arrests. Police used tear gas shells, while protesters threw stones and set fire to a police station and an office of the state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation.
SD Singh Jamwal, the police chief of Arunachal Pradesh, stated, 'Forces are being increased in the places where it is required. We do not want any law and order problem.'
The proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, to be developed by the state-run National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, has been a source of contention for the past two years. Villagers, particularly members of the Adi tribe, fear that the dam would submerge their ancestral villages.
Gegong Jijong, a representative of the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum, expressed, 'We will keep opposing this dam till they cancel it. If it is constructed, 27 of our ancestral villages will be completely submerged. At least 40 or 50 more will be affected.'
The Siang river, which flows into Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet, is the site of the proposed dam. China announced plans in December 2024 to build the world’s largest hydropower dam upstream, a move that has raised concerns in New Delhi about potential strategic implications.
India claims the state of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of its territory, while China calls it Zangnan, part of southern Tibet. Arunachal Pradesh’s chief minister, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, has termed the Chinese project an existential threat and vowed to protect national interests while respecting the rights and aspirations of the people of Siang Valley.
The deployment of additional security forces underscores the seriousness with which India views the situation, highlighting the potential for continued unrest and the need to maintain law and order in the region.
Forces are being increased in the places where it is required. We do not want any law and order problem.
SD Singh Jamwal, Police chief of Arunachal Pradesh
We will keep opposing this dam till they cancel it. If it is constructed, 27 of our ancestral villages will be completely submerged. At least 40 or 50 more will be affected.
Gegong Jijong, Representative of the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum
