Issue no. 14
July 2025
The Meyors of Arunachal Pradesh: Accounts of the 1962 India-China War and of Changing Times
Abstract
A small community like the Meyors in the extreme interior of Arunachal Pradesh are grappling between preserving their identity and simply trying to survive. There is constant discussion around identity under the onslaught of transitions introduced by the militarization and administrative development. This Issue Brief adopts the method of oral history to present these struggles in the voices of the Meyors themselves.
Keywords: local history; oral history; borderland tribes; militarization; identity struggle; 1962 India-China War
Oral history becomes an important method of collecting people’s account when their voices and experiences are absent from the written records. The official records and other written accounts have treated Arunachal Pradesh as if no humans lived here before the arrival of British colonialism or treated the people like an object without any agency to experience things on their own and incapable of narrating their own history. This issue brief presents several oral history accounts collected during fieldwork in 2019 and 2025 in Walong region of Arunachal Pradesh. These are being published for the first time and presented in long form narratives to ensure that the speakers present their own stories in their own voice and style with minimal editing only for the sake of clarity.
The narratives have been structured around interviews with Ange Meyor, on 21 April 2019 and again on 14 February 2025 in Walong village. This narrative is interspersed with information and narratives shared by several other village elders about the ways and life of the Meyor community. Ange Meyor is considered as a ‘gifted’ priest and is considered as one of the most powerful priests in Walong by the community members. In Meyor beliefs, one does not and cannot become a priest by their own choice but it comes as a ‘gift’ from the spirits – who chose him as the mediator, bestow him with certain capabilities and protection. His family is known to have produced many prominent priests in the past who protected the village. Even today, he has his siblings as village priests in different villages. He has an extensive knowledge and memory about Meyor history and traditions. During the most recent visit, he was not well and was planning to visit Tezu for a health check-up.
The following are excerpts from interviews with Ange Meyor and other Meyor community members on the India-China conflict of 1962.
Our people were clueless about the entire war affair but they still mostly sided with Indian army because they had not seen China. In the old days when there were no borders or army guarding it, people used to travel across. After the armies were put on both sides people stopped going across and relations were broken and left behind. Our relations were from up there, like all my mother's relatives are from there. Grop's mother side is also from there. They had moved and settled here during the British period itself. There were many daughters who were married here while their parents remained that side. Similarly, girls from here also went to that side. What to do even if we feel sad? They won't let us visit our families or relatives. I heard that they allowed people (in western parts of India) from across the border to go across but not this side. Pakistan and India have so many conflicts, they kill each other and attack each other but they have gates and they still allow them to go across. Our side is so peaceful but they don't allow us to go across the border.
When we returned after the war, we found that our houses were looted and
destroyed. However, it was not the Indian army or Chinese but the local people who took away everything. The Indian army had only opened the doors of the houses but did not take away anything. They only took the wood from our houses or house structures to build their bunkers. They did not steal anything from our house or from our granaries. But everything was gone when we returned.
Mine was a well-to-do family. We had many items at home made of brass, bronze and copper, like the big utensils; we had locally made guns, local daos, and many other goods and antique items that we had inherited. It was all lost during that time. (When war broke out) the people were suddenly rounded up and could hardly take anything to keep, and even if they took some of those expensive items, they were not allowed to carry them on the Otter helicopter, except for their clothes. The properties and belongings of our Walong villagers were completely gone. My Dada himself had some 6-7 local made guns from Tibet. Not a single one was left. Forget about the grain, everything was gone. Only the livestock like cows and sheep were left roaming around.
The government did not give any compensation for the loss we suffered. We helped the Indian army but we were not given any relief—not even small government jobs. We continued to lose in different ways even after the coming of the Indian government.
Changing Place Names, Changing Memory-scapes
One of the significant losses that took place for the Meyor community was through the naming and renaming of places by the government and army. Each renaming introduced a shift in the narrative and meaning ascribed to that place. Several government structures and military infrastructures in Walong are built on land which used to be agricultural fields. The villagers complain that these lands were taken with the promise that these would be temporary structures but that they eventually turned into government property. No one is able to reclaim it now.
The GREF[i] camp was also a Walong village field. Earlier, we had many people living in the village and they could use and cultivate all these fields. When the government came, they started using the fields as grounds for dropping their goods through helicopters. They said they won’t take the land but only use it for dropping. It was already creating so much trouble for the people who were working in the field. They used to postpone their work waiting for the dropping process to be over like tomorrow, day after tomorrow. But gradually people lost their fields and lost everything, and the government occupied all the land. There was no compensation given for any land that the government took away from us.
Now, what do we say to army people? They are our people, here to protect us. Besides, in those days no one could speak or understand Hindi, no one was there to tell them anything, nor were they educated. They depended on the CO[ii] for everything. Whatever the CO said became the order and rule. They changed the names of places according to their convenience and with every change they changed the ownership of that land. (Excerpts from interview with Ange Meyor)
Similar stories are reported about the schools and school ground, the airfield ground, the PWD line, the SIB colony, etc. All these places where government quarters and offices are standing in Walong town are known as dhankhet because they used to be agricultural fields once.
In another instance, the name of Kibithoo – an important army base and the last major military outpost in the region – is a misnomer. The older and traditional name of the village where it is located was Thapa. Kibithoo, traditionally pronounced as Kibitho is actually a river that flows down the valley. The army decided to establish their base in the village top and renamed it as Kibithoo.
The Thapa village carries an interesting story behind it.
Long back, many wealthy Meyors lived in Thapa-Taba as did – according to legend – a powerful but ugly and one-legged spirit called Mergut. He would remain invisible and only let humans know of his presence with his footprint. One day he fell for the third daughter of a rich man. So, he made himself visible to the father and befriended him, and finding a good occasion proposed he would take his daughter and in return will bring him anything he would ask for. The father first agreed but later regrated his decision and started making excuses by asking for all sorts of things from Mergut – bear skin, wild boar, everything, including kasturi.[iii] The spirit would leave the gift on a rock outside the village, which is still located in the village. After every few days, as soon as sunlight would fall on the stone, the spirit would come and ask ‘What should I bring for you today?’
Gradually, there was nothing the father could think of to ask for. So finally, Mergut said, so finally the day has come when I can take your daughter. He fixed the date and fixed the same rock where he would come. (Ange Meyor interjects, ‘I don't know why the father didn't offer him to join their family instead, if he had done that, things would have been different’). The father and others were worried, when someone gave an idea. They collected honey and smeared it all over the rock. So, when early the next morning Mergut came and sat on the stone, he got stuck to the rock because of the sticky honey. He tried and with so much force he got up from the rock that even his skin came off. He screamed and cursed them for betraying him. In anger he cursed “Tabamtushik” or “Thapa-Taba” meaning—may the people of Thapa be destroyed or cursed, and left in anger.
Then one day the whole village fell sick and one by one people started dying. When they returned after burying one, two more had died, when they buried them, they found more people dead in the village. Just like chickens, the whole village perished, and the remaining few left the village. Therefore, now it is people from all other villages who have settled in Kibitho – people from Mushai, Chota Kundun, Bara Kundun, Dong – except for the people from Walong.
Every village is rich with such stories and landmarks and each village has their designated hills and designated spirits protecting those hills. Their relation to their land is integral to their life, lifestyle and identity. Changing their landscape thus changes their memory-scape, and the meanings they bring to their lives.
Losing Control Over Their Lives
With the coming of government officials and as Walong was declared block headquarters, many new dynamics have emerged in the region and within the community. Traditional institutions started eroding as there were few men who could do the work of a go-between with the ability to speak the language of the outsiders could and form ties with officials. Most locals remained outside this circle of influence and felt there was no one who could represent their voice or concerns. They feared and avoided any interactions with the administrative or army officials. The government appointed Gaon Buras, but they too, were illiterate and were merely following the instructions and orders of the Circle Officer (CO). No one could protest these orders.
According to Ange Meyor, the traditional village council was more democratic and sensitive to the local realities.
We used to have our elders guiding us and helping the village in resolving our issues. We used to call this council Gdjongk-Tai. The last time I saw this functioning was at the time when my Dadaji (paternal grandfather) was still alive. For instance, if something happens in this village – some unfortunate incident, women’s issues, forest-related issue – we had our elders' body who looked into the matter. Now, people have moved more towards the government's laws and rules. People never used to depend on the government.
Our cases did not have to reach the offices, there was a CO but we never consulted him, instead we approached our council. It was constituted of our elders, the wise ones. It could be related to any issue. So, for instance, if something happened in Dong, the elders from other villages would go and talk to them that they should not allow such problems to occur. They would sit together and talk to resolve the issue. If there was someone who is well known for mediation of cases, they would invite the person to be part of the case mediation. If there was a case in Tinai, the Tinai people would come here to ask me to mediate the case.
Once the case was resolved, if both the parties were satisfied, then it would be sanctified by the Bomak (rice beer) ceremony. He would perform Dhung-du-Chak, and then we would brew local rice beer and hold a feast for the mediators as Tingkher, the feast. People respected the mediation and agreement. They had to keep their word, if they said that they would not do such things. It was agreed upon by their understanding, it was a negotiated agreement, not an imposition on anyone; no one would force it. They would carefully talk about issues and would not take alcohol or any intoxication while talking. They knew our traditions and history well. (Excerpts from interview with Ange Meyor)
Nowadays, Meyors fear that all their traditions are dying. One such is the institution of the priesthood. No one is willing to take up the responsibility. It takes years of practice and devotion, and gifts earned from spirits and the younger generations seem not to be interested in the position. Grop Meyor, complained that younger generations were going for easy money.[iv] According to him, working as a daily wage labourer for the Border Roads Organisation (BRO-GREF) has become a more attractive source of income as this brings more regular cash for the family. So most Meyor youths would drop out from school and enrol as labourers. They would earn enough to buy bikes or mobiles and leave the work. Unfortunately, some youths have fallen victim to opium addiction. According to the locals, running any form of business is impractical as the population is so sparse and villages are far from each other. Moreover, Walong itself is deeply isolated from any urban town. There is no public transport to Walong from the two nearest towns – Hawai (58 km) and Tezu (100 km). A private vehicle service is available but one has to either hire the whole vehicle or wait for days to gather other passengers to travel. Sometimes, an army vehicle gives them a lift but for that one has to have contacts in the army.
Ange Meyor worries that if something happens to him then he is not sure if his son will
be able to take over the priesthood, “You have to learn so many things. It takes time and patience to become a priest. Nowadays, no one has that kind of patience. The younger ones want to go to the town; they want to study there or work there. There is nothing left in Walong to keep them.” They are picking up and speaking Hindi and other languages instead of the Meyor language. To learn about one’s tradition and rituals, however, one has to learn the language first.
Conclusion
The fear of losing control over their way of life has been a common theme across the narratives collected from different members of the Meyor community. The overwhelming presence of outsiders in their land has become a part of their lived reality which they have accepted. But the changing attitude and aspirations of their younger ones is a conflict that every household is dealing with. Sometimes the depth of these fears, struggles and sense of urgency could be understood only from the long stories in which they talk about their past, people, traditions and beliefs. These stories are important to them and convey feelings about their present which is in transition. Rather than only answering specific questions, these narratives sometimes shared without any design or plan, takes the listener into their inner-world of meanings. Oral history collection among indigenous communities involves seeing the transitions and connections between their traditional/spirit world and their present.
ENDNOTES
[i] The General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF), is a wing of the Indian Army that functions as part of the Border Roads Organisation of the Ministry of Defence and deals with constructing and maintaining essential infrastructure in remote border areas.
[ii] Circle Officer
[iii] Kasturi is a secretion of the musk deer used in local medicine.
[iv] Interview with Grop Meyor, 14 February 2015 at Walong.
About the Author: Dr. Tadu Rimi is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies. A trained social worker and social scientist, she holds a doctorate from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and the Council for Social Development, Hyderabad. She specialises in tribal studies, oral history, and women’s studies in Northeast India and was also a Post-Doctoral Fellow at The M.S. Merian – R. Tagore International Centre of Advanced Studies ‘Metamorphoses of the Political’ (ICAS:MP). Dr. Tadu has conducted extensive fieldwork across the region, including the audio and video documentation of oral histories, with a focus on community history, historical events from popular and local perspectives, and preserving indigenous knowledge systems.
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