Following Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, another BJP leader from the Northeast has demanded that the Indo-China border be renamed the Indo-Tibet border. Sikkim BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP D T Lepcha urged the Union government to rename the India-China border as the Indo-Tibet border, as the LAC connects India with Tibet only, not with China. In an interview with North East Live news channel, MP Lepcha termed it a historical inaccuracy and said the border lies between India and Tibet, not India and China. He also pointed out that the issue was also raised in the 2024 summer session of Parliament.
Recently, in an interview with news agency PTI, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu said that India shares a 1,100-kilometre-long boundary with Tibet, not with China. CM Khandu said no Indian state shares a boundary with China, but with Tibet. Although China is now officially recognised, historically, Arunachal Pradesh shares a boundary only with Tibet. Khandu also said that Arunachal shares boundaries with Bhutan around 150 kilometres, with Myanmar around 550 kilometres, and with Tibet over a thousand kilometres.
Commenting on CM Khandu’s statement, MP Lepcha said that he is in full support of the Arunachal CM’s statement, and it is now time to correct the wrong terminology and acknowledge the historical truths. The Sikkim MP also urged the Union government to instruct all agencies, including the Indian army, ITBP, BRO, etc, to adopt the term Indo-Tibet border in all official uses and communications. He further said this is not just a change in interpretation, but a reflection of historical reality.
