External affairs minister S. Jaishankar hit out at China’s decision to announce Chinese names for geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh, saying “If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine?”
“Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect,” Jaishankar also said, adding that “our army is deployed at the Line of Actual Control.”
This is the fourth time in seven years China has announced Chinese names for places in Arunachal Pradesh.
Its ministry of civil affairs on Saturday, March 30, released the “standardised” names for 30 places in “Zangnan”, which is Chinese nomenclature for the northeastern state.
The announcement was made after getting approval from the State Council, as per the official statement.
The third such list was issued in April 2023 with 11 names, and the second with 15 names and the first list with six places were issued in 2021 and 2017 respectively.
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar hit out at China. “If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect,” he said. “Our army is deployed at the Line of Actual Control…,” he added.
India has made it clear on more than one occasion that it rejects such moves outrightly. “Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality,” a spokesperson of ministry of external affairs had said last year when the third list was released.
“Set to take effect from May 1, 2024, the implementation measures stipulate in Article 13 that ‘place names in foreign languages that may harm China’s territorial claims and sovereignty rights shall not be directly quoted or translated without authorization’,” reported Global Times.
The latest move comes after China lodged a diplomatic protest over the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Arunachal Pradesh, where he dedicated to the nation the Sela Tunnel built at an altitude of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh.
Congress party blamed the Narendra Modi-led government for the Chinese actions. Taking to X (Twitter), Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Even after at least 19 rounds of bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart, PM Modi has not able to use any diplomatic influence on China to stop this absurdity of ‘renaming’ Indian territories.”
According to Kharge, the reason is “simple”. “The reason is simple. Post Doklam and Galwan, and after the Chinese occupation of 2000 square kilometres of Indian territories in Ladakh, multiple transgressions in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand, PM Modi conveniently handed over a clean chit to China!”
He continued: “So called ’56 inch’ and ‘Laal Aankh’ is wearing Chinese Blinkers! No amount of diversion can change the fact that PM Modi gave a free pass to the Chinese, after 20 Indian soldiers made supreme sacrifice in Galwan! China has been a habitual offender in claiming territories and renaming areas of different countries. We, the people of India, are together in condemning these preposterous actions of China. The least Modi Govt can do is strongly condemn and reprimand China on these daily ludicrous actions and statements.”