India Deploys RAF to Arunachal Pradesh Amid Dam Protests

The Indian government dispatched 250 Rapid Action Force personnel to Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, following violent protests against the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP). On October 23, mobs torched a police station and the offices of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), and vandalized the homes of three political leaders, including state BJP President Kaling Moyong. Clashes between security forces and over 150 protesters resulted in injuries to approximately 40 police personnel.

Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, condemned the violence and called for peace, stating that while peaceful protest is a democratic right, demonstrations must remain within the law. He maintains that the government is currently only focusing on a pre-feasibility report (PFR) scheduled for November 2026 to January 2027 and has not made a final decision on construction. Khandu has offered round-table discussions with stakeholders and plans to visit the Siang region to address misinformation.

Indigenous groups, including the Adi Bane Kebang and the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum, oppose the project due to fears that the dam could submerge 27 villages and displace 150,000 people. The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee has also formally opposed the project, calling for a halt to field surveys. Conversely, the state government views the project as a geostrategic necessity to create a water buffer against a 60,000-MW hydropower project being developed by China on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet.