Itānagar City Map Poster

About Itānagar

History Itanagar was established as the headquarters of the North East Frontier Agency in 1954, when India acquired this territory from the then independent country of Tibet. The name "Itanagar" is a combination of two words: Ita meaning "new", and nagari meaning "city". In Tibetan language, it means new city. The town was originally called New Tuting during its establishment but later renamed to Itanagar by Prime Minister Nehru on 28 December 1955.[1] A Buddhist monastery named Tawang Monastery is located near here which has been built around 635 AD by King Songtsen Gampo. This place also houses one of Asia's biggest Buddha statue (55 feet) made out iron and bronze donated by Dalai Lama in 2006.