India vs China / China changed the names of 11 places in Arunachal, third time in 5 years

India vs China: China has changed the names of 11 places of Arunachal Pradesh in its map. China has done this for the third time in the last 5 years. Earlier in 2021, China had changed the names of 15 places and in 2017, 6 places. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has retaliated against this act of China. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi has said – We have come across reports of such antics of China earlier also. We reject these new names outright. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will remain an integral part of India. Changing the name in this way will not change the reality.

Read the names of 11 places that have been changed in the graphic...

The name of the area near Arunachal's capital Itanagar was also changed. Actually, China never recognized Arunachal Pradesh as a state of India. He describes Arunachal as a part of 'Southern Tibet'. It alleges that India has annexed its Tibetan territory and made it Arunachal Pradesh.

According to China's official newspaper 'Global Times' - On Monday, China's Civil Affairs Ministry approved the change of 11 names. All these areas come under Zhengnan (part of China's southern province of Xinjiang). Of these, 4 are residential areas. One of these areas is very close to Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. There are 5 hilly areas and two rivers. China has named these areas in Mandarin and Tibetan languages.

Congress said – PM Modi is responsible for this act of China

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for renaming places in China's Arunachal Pradesh. In a statement issued by the Congress, it has been said that PM Modi had given a clean chit to China in June 2020. Now we have to pay the price for it. The Chinese army is rejecting India's patrolling rights in the Despang field. Whereas earlier India had unhindered access to this area.

What is China's claim behind the name change?

In 2021, China changed the names of 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh. Of these, 8 were residential areas, 4 mountains, 2 rivers and one was a way out of the mountains. Why China changes the names of the areas of Arunachal can be gauged from the statement of the researcher there. In 2015, Zhang Yongpan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, "The place names that have been changed have been around for several hundred years."

It is absolutely justified for China to change the names of these places. In the past, the names of the areas of Zengnan (the name given to Arunachal in China) were kept by the central or local governments. Apart from this, the ethnic communities of the area like Tibetan, Lahoba, Momba also used to change the names of the places accordingly. When India illegally occupied Zangnam, the government there changed the names of places illegally. Zhang had also said that only China should have the right to change the names of areas in Arunachal Pradesh.

Will this really change the names?

The answer is - no. Actually, there are fixed rules and process for this. If a country wants to change the name of a place, then it has to inform the UN Global Geographic Information Management in advance. After this, the geographical experts of the UN give him a tour of the area. During this the proposed name is scrutinized. Talks are held with the local people. If the facts are correct, the change of name is approved and the same is included in the records.

Controversy over Arunachal and Aksai Chin as well

There is a dispute between the two countries over the 3488 kilometer long LAC (Line of Actual Control). However, China also considers the part of Arunachal Pradesh as disputed.

Arunachal Pradesh shares 1126 km long border with China and 520 km long border with China.

China claims that Arunachal is traditionally part of southern Tibet, while India claims the Aksai Chin region as its own.

In the 1962 war, China occupied the part of Aksai Chin.

The central government will build a frontier highway in Arunachal Pradesh. It will be ready in the next five years. The construction of this highway very close to the Indian border adjacent to Tibet-China-Myanmar will facilitate the movement of the army.

There was a scuffle between the soldiers of India and China on 9 December in Tawang, Arunachal. 600 Chinese soldiers tried to infiltrate to remove the Indian post located at an altitude of 17 thousand feet. This post is in Yangtse. Indian soldiers chased away the Chinese.