Arunachal Pradesh, the largest state of north east India lies in the easternmost stretch of the Himalayas. It shares an international boundary with Bhutan, Tibet, China and Myanmar. Arunachal Pradesh is very often called a ‘Linguist’s Paradise’. The twenty six major tribal groups with their sub-groups speak about sixty to seventy dialects, independent of each other. The linguistic pockets are well marked. The languages spoken by the tribes reveal diversity of origin rather than confirm the unity of the origin. A state formed on the basis of ethnic rather than linguistics division.  The question that arises from the given situation, is how the different tribes communicate? Development of lingua franca in Arunachal Pradesh presents an interesting viewpoint. One of the first such contact language that serve as a lingua francas among the Arunachalees was Nefamese, a pidgin of Assamese and Arunachalee dialects. This language came into being due to the constant contact between the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. However, due to socio, political and economic upheaval, Hindi replaced Nefamese as the new lingua franca in the state. In spite of the natural inclination of the mother tongue groups, within the fellow tribes; there is a remarkable absence of clash of linguistics loyalties. On the contrary, the existence of this comparatively well–developed lingua franca is generally considered a blessing in contemporary India where tribal and national aspirations often clash. Hindi’s political culture in Arunachal Pradesh has brought out a situation where mother tongue sentiments have harmonious inclusive relationship with the aspiration, to build Arunachal Pradesh with an identifiable cultural ethos with the rest of the nation. In this respect, it can be seen more as integration with social organization rather than homogenization of the social structure.

With regards to this favourable situation, the question that is set before us is why such acceptance is not seen in other neighbouring states – Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim ( This regions are known as Seven sisters of Northeast India, including Arunachal Pradesh), which are supposedly having more affinities with the rest of the nation. Is it because of the introduction and implementation of government language policies to the state? Does this emergence have anything to do with Arunachal Pradesh sharing a boundary with China? Is of the virtue of Hindi, not being associated with any political powerful group within the state?  Will the popularity lead to the demise of tribal languages?

Keeping the vast diversity in mind, the paper will critically analyse all the above questions mentioned and mainly focus on the following:-

• How Nefamese as a lingua franca came to loose its significance?
• The various factors that are, in all probability, responsible for the cause of the emergence of the new lingua franca.
• The impact of the new lingua franca on the tribal languages of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The present role and functions of the lingua franca.

NAME: Miss Yankee Modi
AFFILIATION (S): Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono hills, Doimukh, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
TITLE: The complexity and emergence of Hindi as Lingua Franca in Arunachal Pradesh.
EMAIL: yankeemodi@rediffmail.com
ADDRESS: Department of English, Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hills, Doimukh, Itanagar-791111, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
TEL: 91-9436053148
FAX: 91-360-2244336