ON MARCH 30, 2024, China continued its absurd tactics of renaming 30 county administrative centres, villages, townships, mountain peaks and rivers/lakes in Arunachal Pradesh in Tibetan or Chinese characters. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Southern Tibet and calls it ‘Zangan’. China has done such renaming exercise in Arunachal Pradesh earlier too, that is in the years 2017, 2021 and 2023. China also issues maps of Arunachal Pradesh with the new names so as to bolster its claim over the state. Located in the India’s North East, Arunachal Pradesh is the largest State in terms of area of the seven sisters which make the North East Region (NER) but has the least population density in the country. Earlier it formed part of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and it became a full-fledged State in February 1987. It borders Bhutan in the west, Myanmar in the east and States of Assam and Nagaland to its south. The strategic importance of Arunachal Pradesh lies in the fact that it shares 1129 kms of boundary with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) demarcated by the McMahon Line during British India in 1914 and now disputed by China. Therefore, this boundary is called Line of Actual Control (LAC). The entire LAC with China is 3488 km long, stretching from Aksai Chin in the West to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. It may be noted that China still controls 15,500 sq km of Indian territory in Aksai Chin of Ladakh, which it captured after 1962 war.

 

China continues to irritate India on its claims over Arunachal Pradesh. Right after granting asylum to the Dalai Lama in 1959, followed by 1962 war and India’s struggle with economy coupled with not-so-great diplomacy led to some altercation with China from time to time. The 1967 stand-off between two armies at Nathu La in Sikkim was followed by Sumdurong Chu stand-off in Arunachal Pradesh in 1987. It was followed by 72-day stand-off at Doka La on India-China-Bhutan trijunction in 2017. The relations between India and China have followed a different trajectory after the violent Galwan clash of June 15-16, 2020 in Eastern Ladakh and still uneasy peace prevails in the region after massive build-up of troops and creation of infrastructure on both sides. So, what is the real interest of China in Arunachal? One reason is the importance of Tawang monastery which is the second largest monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. The second is its bigger interest in the disputed Aksai Chin from where it is building a highway, close to the LAC to connect Xinjiang to Tibet which would facilitate troops and logistics build-up. One factor which is generally not mentioned is huge water and mineral resources including hydrocarbons available in plenty in Arunachal Pradesh.

 

Ultimately the State is a great bargaining chip for China while discussing the border dispute with India. But what about India’s historical linkage with the region? It is here that poor chronicling of Indian history hurts our rightful claims. It is believed that Arunachal finds mention in the Mahabharat and the Kalika Puran. During the British rule, it was part of Assam, the mother State of India’s North East. After Independence, it was called NEFA and directly ruled by the MEA till it became a Union Territory in 1972, followed by grant of Statehood in 1987. The State of Arunachal has close historical and cultural linkage with Assam and Nagaland. On the contrary, the LAC is located in the rugged and inhospitable terrain and there is not much connectivity with the TAR. I feel that the young students, particularly from Arunachal must research the history with right earnest to document our ancient linkage with the State and the region. The regular irritants from China are stapled visas to the residents of Arunachal and regularly raising the bogey of any VIP visit including the inauguration of Sela tunnel by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 9, 2024. Now that Lok Sabha elections are round the corner, China once again will object to any legitimate democratic activity in the State. With due regard, one did not find much support to Indian cause from the revered Dalai Lama as far as the recent controversy is concerned.

 

The latest input is about China’s plan to develop 175 more villages opposite the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh. These settlements would further enhance military preparedness of China by acting as border security villages. But most discomforting is the news from Microsoft that China plans to meddle in the forthcoming elections in India by swaying public opinion through false narratives created by artificial intelligence. It would be interesting how the government copes up with the latest challenge. India has responded to the cartographic and other adversarial activities of China much better. The development of infrastructure and connectivity in the region is much better. A large number of projects are ongoing to further improve the border villages through the pet scheme called First Village.

 

Mana in Uttarakhand was officially designated as the first village of the country by the Prime Minister in October 2022 and he stated that every border village should be the first village and not the last village of the country. Militarily, India is much stronger in terms of permanent deployment of troops but we have to match up with China’s huge arsenal quickly. As competing economies and rivals in the region, India and China would inevitably clash with each other. The growing rise of India as a likely superpower by 2047 will face China’s challenge in one way or another. In the physical and kinetic domain, not much may happen in the immediate future but in other unseen spheres, we are likely to witness much more intervention from China. Our collective might as a nation would be needed to thwart the notorious designs of China. (The author is retired Lt General, PVSM, SM**,VSM)