ITANAGAR, 15 May: Slamming China for renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, Lok Sabha MP Tapir Gao on Thursday urged the Centre to take steps fo “correct historical wrongs” by reclaiming areas inhabited by Lhoba Tani and Mishmi communities beyond the McMahon Line.
In a statement, the BJP MP of Arunachal East constituency said that communities living beyond the McMahon Line share “deep civilisational roots with Bharat” and it’s time for India to reclaim the regions “that are rightfully part of our country.”
Beijing recently announced Chinese names for 27 places in Arunachal – 15 mountains, four passes, two rivers, a lake and five inhabited areas. China claims Arunachal as part of southern Tibet.
“China can rename mountains and rivers as much as it wants, but it cannot rewrite history,” Gao said in a statement, criticising what he called a “deliberate and politically motivated attempt” to distort geographical and cultural facts.
“Arunachal Pradesh has never been part of Tibet. Even the 14th Dalai Lama has made that abundantly clear,” he said.
Noting the historical and cultural ties of the indigenous people of the region with the rest of country, Gao said that Arunachal has always belonged to India and its people, and the Lhoba Tani (Nyishi, Tagin, Bokar, Mishmi) communities living beyond the McMahon Line share “deep civilisational roots with Bharat.”
“The McMahon Line may serve as a political boundary, but it cannot divide a shared heritage,” he noted.
He urged New Delhi to take steps to correct “historical wrongs” by reclaiming areas inhabited by Lhoba Tani and Mishmi communities beyond the McMahon Line.
“It’s time we addressed the historical oversights. India should move to reclaim the areas beyond the McMahon Line where Lhoba Tani and Mishmi people reside, the regions that are rightfully part of our country,” he said.
The Centre had on Wednesday rejected as “vain and preposterous” China’s renaming of the places in Arunachal, and said such attempts will not alter the “undeniable” reality that the state “was, is, and will always remain an integral part of India.”
“Bharat’s unity is not open to negotiation. Our borders are not mere lines on a map; they represent the soul of our nation. Arunachal Pradesh is not just a territory, it is an identity. And it will always remain Indian,” Gao said.
This is the fifth time that China has renamed places in Arunachal. In April last year, India had reacted sharply when Beijing released a list of standardised names of 30 places in the state.
The Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry released the first list of the standardised names of six places in 2017, while the second list of 15 places was issued in 2021, followed by another list with names for 11 places in 2023. (PTI)
