• Dr. Goken Geyi

Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state among the eight states of the North East India. It is a home for twenty six (26) major tribes and numbers of sub-tribes who speak their own distinct languages and maintained an identical cultural institutions and practices. Due to distinct cultural identities and language variation among the tribes the state is endowed with affluent cultural mosaic and indigenous institutions. The present paper provides an overview of the political relationship between Singpho tribe of Arunachal Pradesh and the British. Before the establishment of British authority in Assam the Singpho tribe was having commercial relation with the Ahom. In the year 1792 AD Ahom King Gaurinath Singha sought assistance from the British to suppress the rebels. In the Moamaria rebellion the Singpho tribe was fighting with the rebels against the Ahom power. The tribe stands against the British when the later came to assist the Ahom ruler, Gaurinath Singha. Hence, one could observe that the Singpho tribe stands against the British power since the very beginning of their political encounter. The tribe practiced barter system in their daily economic transactions. However, their tribal economy was totally transformed after the tribe came into contact with the British. After the discovery of tea bushes in 1823 in Singpho area the British understood the economic and strategic importance of the Singpho homesteads. After the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826 the British began to implement slave abolition policy in Singpho homesteads. This had severe effects in their traditional chieftainship system. The slave abolition policy became the bone of contention for the Singpho and British throughout their relation. As it was the beginning of the relegation of the traditional Singpho political and legal system. Many Singpho chiefs have tried to revolt against the British new policies but they were badly suppressed. Thus, the Singpho tribe has undergone a vast change in their political system after they came into direct contact with the British power. The British policies have relegated traditional Singpho political and legal institution by imposing new administrative system.

Ahom, barter, Moamaria, Chieftainship, Yandaboo, Gaurinath Singha.

"Political encounter between the British and the Singpho tribe of Arunachal Pradesh: A brief study from 1792 to 1829 AD", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 5, page no.a631-a635, May-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2105076.pdf

"Political encounter between the British and the Singpho tribe of Arunachal Pradesh: A brief study from 1792 to 1829 AD", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 5, page no. ppa631-a635, May-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2105076.pdf