China recently indulged in another gimmick of renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh. Just after its ally Pakistan received a drubbing at the hands of India in Operation Sindoor, China once again did the mischief of renaming 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh. The timing of the Chinese move is important. Chinese weapons and equipment, particularly the air defence systems supplied to Pakistan, failed miserably against the Indian onslaught. As a result, the defence stocks of the Chinese share market plummeted. The Indian External Affairs Ministry dismissed such claims of China, but the time has come to strategise a more robust response to the absurd Chinese claims.
On May 12, China continued its absurd tactics of renaming 27 country 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 a renaming exercise in Arunachal Pradesh earlier too, that is in the years 2017, 2021 and 2023. The last renaming exercise took place in March 2024. China also issues maps of Arunachal Pradesh with the new names so as to bolster its claim over the state. But it was heartening to see people of Arunachal Pradesh coming out in large numbers, with the Indian tricolour, to protest against the Chinese mischief.
Located in 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 the 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 the 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 the 1962 war.
China continues to irritate India over its claims over Arunachal Pradesh. Right after granting asylum to the Dalai Lama in 1959, the friction led to the 1962 war. Even after that, China continued to have some altercations with China from time to time. The 1967 standoff between two armies at Nathu La in Sikkim was followed by the Somdurong Chu standoff in Arunachal Pradesh in 1987. It was followed by a 72-day standoff at Doklam on the India-China-Bhutan trijunction in the year 2017, in which China had to retreat against India’s resolve. The relations between India and China have followed a different trajectory after the violent Galwan clash of 15-16 June 2020 in Eastern Ladakh. Notwithstanding an agreement, uneasy peace still prevails in the region after a massive buildup of troops and the creation of infrastructure on both sides.
So, what is China’s real interest 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 buildup. One factor which is generally not mentioned is huge water and mineral resources, including hydrocarbons, available in plenty in Arunachal Pradesh. Ultimately, the state of Arunachal Pradesh is a great bargaining chip for China while negotiating the border dispute with India.
But what about India’s historical linkage with the region? It is here that the poor chronicling of Indian history hurts our rightful claims. It is believed that Arunachal is mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Kalika Purana. 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 the grant of statehood in 1987.
The state of Arunachal has close historical and cultural links with the states of 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 the right earnest to document our ancient linkage with the state and the region. Such well-documented historical evidence should bolster our claims to the global community.
India has responded to the cartographic and other adversarial activities of China much better of late. 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 Prime Minister Modi 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.
With China coming out openly in support of Pakistan, it is now evident that India has to be prepared for a two-front war or conflict at all times. By supporting Pakistan, obviously to safeguard its economic interests, China has indirectly signalled its connivance to state-sponsored terrorism. China in the past has supplied arms and ammunition to the terrorist groups operating in India’s North East. India now therefore has to be better prepared for a major upsurge in terror activities in the North East, particularly in Assam and Manipur. In due course, India may have to review its stated position on Tibet as a counter response to China.
As competing economies and rivals in the region, India and China would inevitably clash with each other. The growing rise of India as a developed nation (Viksit Bharat @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. As a nation, we should review our strategy about Arunachal Pradesh being an integral part of India, more aggressively, backed by historical and cartographic evidence. Our collective might as a nation would be needed to thwart the nefarious designs of China.
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