Cultural Sovereignty at the Margins: Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the Geo-Political Context of Arunachal Pradesh

The paper explores the role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in the surrounding communities of Arunachal Pradesh, India, in expressing cultural sovereignty and its capacity to operate in the wider geopolitical context. Arunachal Pradesh, with its north eastern frontier with India, and sharing a lengthy international position with China, Bhutan, and Myanmar, is a very sensitive area that is characterized by a collision of culture, identity, and security. In this context, native healing practices, ecological literacy and spirituality are not just local sources of health, but are also strong identifiers of cultural identity, survival, and political presence. It is centuries of experience involving these knowledge systems with brittle Himalayan ecologies that provide comprehensive ways of approaching wellbeing that consider physical, spiritual, and environmental aspects of health. Based on ethnobotanical literature, anthropological literature and policy-focused literature, the research focuses on three related aspects, namely how the indigenous systems of healing contribute to the community wellbeing and strengthening intergenerational transmission of knowledge, how vulnerable these systems are to acculturation, religious conversion, modernization, and governance issues, and what the study implications have on state strategy, cultural sovereignty, and social cohesion in borderland areas. The qualitative synthesis approach adopted in the paper will examine the role of indigenous epistemologies in advancing local resilience and a sense of belonging and continuity in geopolitically disputed spaces. The study posits indigenous knowledge to be a type of cultural capital and soft power by placing IKS in a geopolitical context, which enhances the stability of the borderlands. It points out that the protection of these systems is not just a question of cultural protection or healthcare sustainability, but also a strategic need to have inclusive governance and national integration. The paper ends by reiterating that there is an absolute necessity of an integrated and culturally sensitive policy frameworks that safeguard indigenous epistemologies, safeguard community participation, and bring the alignment of local knowledge with the overall development and security agenda, which enhances regional stability without undermining indigenous autonomy.