The Braided River: A Journey along the Brahmaputra

Abstract

T he Brahmaputra is the oldest antecedent and the widest braided river flowing through China, India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Tsangpo in Tibet, Siang in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh, Dihang in the plains, Brahmaputra in Assam, and the Jamuna in Bangladesh. In The Braided River: A Journey along the Brahmaputra, Samrat Choudhury, a journalist and author, elucidates on the life around Brahmaputra in Assam and Bangladesh. The book is a travelogue wherein Choudhury describes his personal experiences juxtaposed with the broader environmental, socio-cultural, political, and strategic issues. The author begins his journey from Dibru Saikhowa to the three formative tributaries of Brahmaputra—Lohit, Dibang, and Siang—through Upper and Lower Assam, and finally to Bangladesh. In the first section, the author discusses the three Brahmaputra tributaries, illustrating their socio-political and cultural ethos. Choudhury notes the difficulties in obtaining the Inner Line Permit (ILP) due to the pervasive problem of illegal migrants attempting to enter Arunachal Pradesh. He notes how Lohit is considered sacred by the local communities as per Parshuram Kund tales. Choudhury mentions British explorers Captain F.M. Bailey and Captain Henry Morshead’s adventurous trip to the Dibang Valley, where they discovered a village called Mipi, which is still a small village on the Indian side of the McMahon Line (p. 66). The author expresses concern about a multipurpose dam being built in a high-risk zone along Dibang, opposed by the local Idu Mishmi tribe. After a long journey, the author and his photographer friend Akshay Mahajan, who accompanied him on some part of the journey, arrive at Pasighat, the oldest town in Arunachal Pradesh, which was founded by the British in order to establish authority over the Adi tribe, who were then known as Abor (p. 88). They also travelled to the small town of Tuting, located on the bank of the Siang River (the Indian avatar of the Tsangpo), and met a truck driver L.V. Sobro, who narrated to them the folktale about the town’s transformation. Choudhury observes how the mighty Brahmaputra changed course following the Great Earthquake of 1950, wearing out old Dibrugarh and making Tinsukia the hub of Upper Assam’s tea and oil industries. While visiting the chars (river islands) and the chaporis (sandbanks) on the Akha (a mobile boat clinic), he met Dr. Bhaben Bora and Dr. Juganta Deori who run local medical facilities and apprised him of the struggles of people living on the chars where government services reached only in 2008. Choudhury also tells the tale of his encounter with Atul Buragohain, an 86Strategic Analysis, 2023 Vol. 47, No. 1, 92–94, https://doi.org/10.1080/09700161.2023.2176059