Arunachal Pradesh is a remote and picturesque state (Photos: Subhamoy Bhattacharjee)
Driving from the east of Arunachal Pradesh to its oldest town, Pasighat, I was made all too aware of the state's underdevelopment.
Much of the time was spent bumping along stony beds of dried up rivers which would be filled during the monsoon.
When I suggested to the driver that the river bed didn't seem to be a road, he said: "Oh yes, it is. It's National Highway 52."
The situation became even more alarming when we came to the Dibang river, which did have water in it and much of that water was flowing very fast.
I was amazed to see that the ferry carrying two cars across the river was being propelled by six men with punts.
The unwieldy vessel consisted of two traditional wooden boats latched together like a catamaran requiring almost constant baling to keep afloat.
It seemed inevitable that the punters would lose control and the ferry be borne downstream.
But no. The crew hurriedly exchanged their poles for oars, paddled for all they were worth and managed to edge the ferry into the far bank.
They then towed it up to the landing point which was just two planks.
When it came to our turn to cross I noticed with trepidation that three cars were loaded - but we still got across safely.
Isolated state
Arunachal Pradesh has no trains although the railways try to convince the people of the state that they do have one.
It is a train called the Arunachal Express but it is not an express, and it does not touch Arunachal.
It runs along the north bank of the Brahmaputra stopping at some stations which are quite near the Arunachal border.
But the state's isolation has preserved the tribal way of life.
While I was in Pasighat there was a Kebang or gathering to sort out a land dispute.
It was held in a clearing in the middle of the thick jungle which still covers most of the state.
The adjudication consisted of a series of speeches on behalf of the two sides in the dispute.
Some merely wanted to say they did not know who was in the right. One tribal elder said he could not smell the truth.
At one point the most vocal speaker on one side challenged his leading opponent to a "peki", or a trial by ordeal.
This apparently could involve clutching burning coal, putting hands into boiling water, or even into boiling oil.
But happily things did not reach that pass.
No decision was taken and the aggrieved party went off to enjoy a feast washed down by rice beer.
It was clear that a Kebang was not always a very effective way of settling disputes.
But it was probably better than getting involved with India's notoriously corrupt police or the courts where lawyers would see to it that the case never ended so that their fees did not end either.
One undoubted benefit of the inner-line system and the protection of Arunachal from outsiders is that land has not been appropriated.
In central India vast numbers of tribal people have been dispossessed of their lands for development schemes such as power stations and mines.
They have drifted into the towns and cities where they have pulled cycle-rickshaws or earned puny and precarious incomes from similarly arduous jobs.
The Arunachal villages I saw were spacious, with traditional houses set well apart from each other, giving the owners' cows, chickens, pigs and dogs plenty of space to wander about.
The villagers have the jungle to themselves to pursue their favourite pastime of hunting.
They are hospitable, welcoming people who are not given to complaining.
Road-building
But now development is scheduled for Arunachal.
The central government has decided it can no longer afford to ignore the vast hydro-electric capacity of the rivers flowing through and down the state's mountains.
Plans for several dams have been drawn up. They will all involve moving people off their land and they will bring in outside labourers who might well try to settle in Arunachal.
There are plans to build roads too that will require land and outside labour.
There is talk of building an airport in a jungle which is part of a corridor elephants move along.
Tourism has been identified as the industry the state should develop - but tourism means letting outsiders in.
So those who want to see a particularly beautiful part of the world before its jungles are cut down and its tribal villages turned into crowded clusters of concrete boxes, should get their passes quickly.
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