PURVACHAL

also called Eastern Highlands mountain ranges in eastern India, extending over about 37,900 square miles (98,000 square km) in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and eastern Assam states. The Patkai and other associated mountain ranges (including the Mishmi, Naga, Manipur, Tripura, and Mizo hills) that run through this region are referred to collectively as Purvachal (purva, east, and achal, mountain). The area is bounded by Bangladesh in the southwest, Myanmar (Burma) in the southeast, and China in the northeast. The Hindu epic the Mahabharata has several references to the region. The Purvachal was ruled by the Ahoms from the beginning of the 13th century. It was occupied by the British in the last quarter of the 19th century. Geologically, the region is unstable; it is crisscrossed by several faults. Its northsouth-aligned hill ranges are defined by narrow parallel valleys tending toward the west. The highest peak in the region is Mount Dapha (in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh), with an elevation of 15,020 feet (4,578 m). The major rivers are the Lohit, Burhi Dihang, Diyung, Kusiyara, Gumti, Kaladan, Manipur, Tixu, Nantaleik, and Naurya. The vegetation is diverse, ranging from tropical evergreen to temperate evergreen and coniferous, and includes oak, chestnut, birch, magnolia, cherry, maple, laurel, and fig; there are also extensive bamboo thickets. Rice, millet, corn (maize), pulse (legumes), sesame, rapeseed, mustard, sugarcane, potatoes, barley, wheat, and cassava are grown by means of shifting cultivation with traditional implements. Poultry farming and livestock raising are also important. Industry, mainly cottage and small-scale, produces woven textiles, baskets, wooden utensils, bows and arrows, traps, sleeping benches, sugar, paper, metalware, traditional embroidered costumes, bricks, tiles, soap, hosiery, and preserved fruit. Mineral resources include lime, lignite, coal, iron ore, copper ore, rock salt, clay, and ochre. The Nocte, Wancho, Tangsa, Naga, Kuki, Lushai, Lakher, Chakma, and Panei ethnic groups constitute most of the population. The North East Frontier Railway passes through only part of the region, but the National Highway has been expanded to reach several towns in the region, including Agartala, Imphal, and Kohima. The administrative headquarters of most of the districts in the region are linked by air.