Wangpha Lowang

Wangpha Lowang
Shri Wangpha Lowang at 81 years
Circle Officer, Khonsa, Tirap District
In office January 1969- March 1972
Counselor of Arunachal Administration
In office 1972 - August 1975
Minister for Education, Panchayat etc.
In office August 1975 - 1977
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1984 -1989
Preceded by	Sobeng Tayeng
Succeeded by	Laeta Umbrey
Constituency	Arunachal East
Member of Legislative Assembly
In office 1990 - 1995
Constituency	54 Namsang, Tirap District, Arunachal Pradesh
Minister for Health & Family Welfare
In office 1990 - 1991
Minister for Animal Husbandry & Veterinary
In office 1991 - 1995
Personal details
Born	(1938-03-01)March 1, 1938 Namsang, Tirap District ,British India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Changun Hondik Lowang (m. January 1970)
Children	3 sons
Residence	Wang Hum, Deomali

Wangpha Lowang is an Indian politician. He was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India from the Arunachal East constituency of Arunachal Pradesh as a member of the Indian National Congress.^[1][2][3]

Parents

The first son of Wangwai Lowang & Chahlon Bangsia, Wangpha Lowang was born in 1938. He is a native of Hakhunthin, the first settlement of the present-day Namsang village.

Like any others in the village, Wangpha's father, Wangwai, was a simple cultivator, who worked hard to feed his family while his mother, Chahlon looked after the children.

Wangwai had a very difficult life & faced acute financial crisis, but had never asked his elder son, Wangpha, to stop studying & help him with the field work.

Siblings

Wangpha is the second child in addition to his seven siblings, two girls & five boys. The eldest was a girl named Chahlat, who died in early childhood. His other younger sister, Charon also died early. His two younger brothers, Wanghang & Longwang, also died early.

However, Wangpha's other three younger brothers, Wangmok, Khenwang & Nanne survived and grew up with him.

Migration

In his lifetime, Wangpha Lowang had two migrations from his native village, Hakhunthin :

1. There were commotions in the entire area due to World War II (1939–45). Army personnel visited his village seeking help for transportation of luggage & other tasks. Apart from that, the entire Nocte & Wancho areas were living in rivalry, tension & had no peace in villages.

Therefore, the chiefdom of Hakhunthin was shifted to a place called Sumshi near Laptang in 1944. Wangpha was only seven.

2. The shifting to Sumshi was a blunder on the part of the village chief & his associates. Sumshi was not at all suitable for human habitation. It had acute shortage of water & had no suitable lands for cultivation. Many villagers died in Sumshi due to disease & starvation. Dead was so common that Wangpha recalled, "Instead of playing with wooden toys, we used to have a mock burial for fun & would cry over it." The migration significantly reduced the chiefdom's population.

Therefore, the chiefdom was once again shifted in 1948 to the present day Namsang village, also known as Thinnyan, which means "new land". And Sumshi means "sour salt".

Education

• Primary

In 1948, Wangpha Lowang started his primary education from the government school in his village, Namsang.

• Secondary

Wangpha completed his middle school in 1956 from a school named, Demonstration School at Margherita in Assam, managed by then N.E.F.A. Administration. He had to travel from his village to Margherita by foot, covering more than 30 km of jungle road, through dense forest.

• Higher

For high school, Wangpha went to Pasighat Government High School & cleared his matriculation exam in 1961.

• College

》 First Enrollment

Wangpha went to Shillong for PUC (Pre-University Course) in St. Edmund's College. Unfortunately, he was hospitalised for a year in N.E.F.A. Government Hospital at Margherita in Assam. He had to withdraw from the college.

》 Second Enrollment

After a total of four years gap, Wangpha went back to Shillong & enrolled in St. Anthony's College. He passed out with a B.A. degree in 1969.

During his college studies, Wangpha worked in the N.E.F.A. Secretariat as a L.D.C. (Lower Divisional Clerk) for a year.

Marriage & Children

On 5 January 1970, Wangpha married Changun Hondik, from his own village, and has three sons, Litwang, Chonwang (Monto) & Wanghan (Chintu). His wife played a pivotal role in looking after the family & making the family a success.

In his own words, Wangpha described Changun as an "ideal wife", "supportive from all sides" and "understanding".

Administrator

》 Circle Officer

After graduating from St. Anthony's College, Wangpha Lowang joined the administration as a Circle Officer, through a competitive exam, in January 1969. He was posted in Khonsa.

Three years later in March 1972, he resigned as a Circle Officer to join politics, beginning with Panchayati Raj system.

》 Director & Chairman

Wangpha was a Director of Nocte Timber Company (NTC) for 40 years. He was also the Chairman of Narottam Cooperative Plywood Industry at Deomali, for several years.

Politician

》 Vice-President & Counsellor

After resigning as an administrator, Wangpha Lowang got elected as Vice President of Tirap Zilla Parishad (under Panchayat Raj system) in 1972.

There were around five or six Pradesh Council Members in the undivided Tirap, who chose Wangpha, in the second half of 1972, as the Counselor from their district for the Arunachal Administration, and along with four other Counselors from Arunachal, he held this post till 1975.

When Assembly was granted to Arunachal on 15 August 1975, the Pradesh Council Members & the Counselors from the five districts were made the Members of Legislative Assembly & the Cabinet Ministers, respectively.

》 First Ministerial Berth

From 15 August 1975 to 1977, Wangpha served as the Minister for Education, Panchayat etc. in the Provisional Ministry of Arunachal Pradesh, where P.K. Thungon was the Chief Minister & Sobeng Tayeng, Tamo Riba & Tadar Tang were the other Ministers.

Nokmay Namati was elected the (first) Speaker of the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly in the Provisional Ministry.

K.A.A. Raja, the Chief Commissioner of the Union Territory, was the first Lieutenant-Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.

》 First Assembly Election

In 1977, Wangpha joined the Janata Party, along with all other members from Arunachal, & contested from Lazu & Dadum area in February 1978, the first Assembly election in Arunachal Pradesh. However, he lost this election.

Due to political instability in India, election was held after two years in 1980, but Wangpha did not contest.

》 First Parliamnetary Contest

In 1984, with an I.N.C. ( Indian National Congress) party ticket, Wangpha contested in Parliamentary election & was Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) for one full term, i.e., until 1989.

》 Second & Third Ministerial Berths

After Arunachal Pradesh gained the Statehood status in 1987, he contested in Assembly election from Namsang constituency & won.

In 1990, he was appointed as the Minister for Health & Family Welfare in the Cabinet of CM Gegong Apang.

A year later, in 1991, in the same Ministry, Wangpha was appointed as the Minister for Animal Husbandry & Veterinary & served in this capacity till 1995.

》 Second Parliamentary Contest

In 1998, Wangpha ran for Parliamentary election with the ticket of the national party, Indian National Congress. However, he was in the opposition party, because the Centre was ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party & the State was ruled by the regional party, People's Party of Arunachal.

For this reason, Wangpha could not muster enough political support and finance for campaigning & was defeated.

》 Second Assembly Election

In 2004, Wangpha tried to get a party ticket from the Congress. However, for various political reasons, he was not selected as a candidate by the State Congress Unit.

After this, Wangpha voluntarily steered away from the political arena.

Grandkids & lifestyle

Wangpha Lowang is now over 80 years & leads a healthy life from his home at Deomali. He is a proud grandfather of one grandson & two granddaughters. Wangpha is a contented man as his entire family grew & consolidated by his lead.

Lowang has retired from politics, but the people still remember him for his selfless dedicated services. Among other works, he played a major role in setting up of the finest school in Tirap - Ramakrishna Mission School at Narottam Nagar in 1971.

Incumbent Posts

》 Wangpha Lowang is the President of the Managing Committee of Ramakrishna Mission School at Narottam Nagar in Tirap.

》 He is also a Special Invitee of the NBF (Namsang-Borduria Fund) Trust Fund.

References