Himalayan Nature and Tibetan Buddhist Culture in Arunachal Pradesh, India ― A Study of Monpa

This is the first book to systematically describe the formation and historical changes of the Monpa people’s area (Monyul) through its nature, society, culture, religion, agriculture and historically deep ties with Bhutan, Tibet and the Tibetan Buddhist faith. The state of Arunachal Pradesh is located in the northeastern part of India, surrounded by the borders of Assam, Bhutan, and Tibet (China). There has been a long history of conflict over the sovereignty of this area between India and China. Foreigners were prohibited from entering the state until the 1990s and the area has been veiled in secrecy until recently. Thus, there are not many academically researched works on the region. This book serves as an essential guide for anyone who would like to learn about a unique geographical area of Monpa.

Kazuharu Mizuno is physical geographer and professor in the Department of Geography, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, following nearly 20 years as an associate professor of the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies and the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Japan. He graduated from Department of Geography at Nagoya University and earned his master’s degree in the Graduate School of Environmental Science at Hokkaido University, and obtained his doctoral degree in the Department of Geography, the Graduate School of Science at Tokyo Metropolitan University. He has researched vegetation and environments of the Japan Alps and the Daisetsuzan Mountains of Japan; glacial fluctuation and vegetational changes in tropical high mountains (Mount Kenya, Kilimanjaro and Andean Cordilleras); natural environments and human activities in the Namib Desert of Namibia and nature, culture, and society of the Arunachal Pradesh of India.

Lobsang Tenpa is the specialist for Tibetan and Himalayan Studies and a Contractual Lecturer/ Ph.D. Candidate at the Institute of South & Central Asian Studies, University of Leipzig, Germany. He had his Bachelor’s degree from Central University of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath and earned his M.A. and Mphil degrees from the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, respectively in New Delhi. He was Tibetan Studies Lecturer at the University of Bonn, Germany (2009-11) and Research Assistant at the University of Vienna, Austria (2011-13).