Leaders, locals denounce China’s claim to rename 6 Arunachal places

“Will naming Beijing as Mumbai make China’s capital an Indian territory?” asks the president of the Arunachal Chamber of Commerce and Industries summing up the mood of locals on China renaming places in the state.

People and political leaders cutting across party lines here have denounced the move to ‘standardise’ official names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh.

Arunachal BJP president Tapir Gao said China’s claim over the state is “baseless”.

“China forcefully occupied Tibet in 1959 and it wants to capture Arunachal Pradesh,” he said. Gao said the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama had stated many times at various international and national fora that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.

“So renaming of places in Arunachal by China is baseless and Beijing should learn from history that they forcefully occupied Tibet and their claim is meaningless,” he said.

Criticising China’s move, he said India has no boundary with China but with Tibet since 1914 when McMahon line, the British India representative, had signed a pact with the Chinese representative at Shimla over the line.

When contacted, Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary Shakuntala Doley Gamlin refused to comment on the issue. “We have nothing to say on the issue as the external affairs ministry will handle it”, she said.

Senior Congress lawmaker and former CM Nabam Tuki also ridiculed Beijing’s claim and said, “There is no logic in such claim. Everybody knows that Arunachal is an integral part of India. The Centre should take up the matter seriously and resolve the matter once and for all”.

China had announced ‘standardised’ official names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh.