Uniindia: Itanagar, Apr 30 (UNI) A special screening of the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ was organized at the Raj Bhavan here on Sunday.
To highlight the expansive history of Buddhism and trace its source, a one-day national conference on Nalanda Buddhism was held at Chintan Bhawan in Gangtok on Monday.
GUWAHATI: In his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday highlighted the revival of ‘Mon Shugu’ the thousand-year-old traditional, handmade paper of Arunachal Pradesh used in Buddhist monasteries for religious scriptures.
In his radio programme, Modi said: “For centuries, a type of paper called ‘Mon Shugu’ is made in this hilly region (Tawang) in Arunachal Pradesh. The locals make this paper from the bark of a tree named Shugu Sheng, hence trees do not have to be cut. Besides, no chemical is used in the making of this paper. Therefore, it is safe for the environment and health too.”
Arunachal Is Reviving Its 1000-YO Art of Making Paper That Doesn’t Harm Trees
More durable than conventional paper, Mon Shugu holds a special place in the history of the Arunachal Pradesh’s Monpa tribe.
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In February 2020, Maling Gombu, a Tawang-based social worker and lawyer, wrote to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) a statutory body dedicated to the development of village industries, about the potential of a 1,000-year-old paper-making craft of the Monpa tribe in Arunachal Pradesh that was languishing.
Taking note of his letter, the KVIC took appropriate actions. Following months of planning, which was abruptly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the KVIC launched a Monpa handmade paper making unit on 25 December at an erstwhile abandoned government building in Tawang. Called ‘Mon Shugu’, this fine-textured handmade paper is an integral part of Monpa history.