In a significant development, India on Friday formally identified 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh on the official maps of the Survey of India, a move that comes amid repeated attempts by China to rename places in the border state. As per the official statement, the exercise was carried out in consultation with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and is intended to ensure accurate identification of these places and improve public awareness.
Why did India identify 27 locations in Arunachal?
"Identifying them formally on the Survey of India map of Arunachal Pradesh is aimed at facilitating their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large," the Centre said in a statement.
The development comes as China's act of renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh has always been categorically rejected by New Delhi which has consistently termed such moves "vain and preposterous" and asserted that these will not alter the "undeniable" reality that the state "was, is, and will" always remain an integral part of India.
27 locations formally marked on the official map of India
Check the list of 27 places:
| Name of place | |
| 1 | Longju |
| 2 | Maja |
| 3 | Bisa |
| 4 | Dzo La |
| 5 | Riza La |
| 6 | Pukur La |
| 7 | Thag La |
| 8 | Sambho Sarovar |
| 9 | Bara Kundun |
| 10 | Chhota Kundun |
| 11 | Dhan Bari |
| 12 | Pritnagar |
| 13 | Buddhamandir |
| 14 | Jairampur |
| 15 | Teritnagar |
| 16 | Ramnagar |
| 17 | Jaswant Garh |
| 18 | Sagar |
| 19 | Padma |
| 20 | Jyotinagar |
| 21 | Baisakhi |
| 22 | Sher-e-Thapa Memorial |
| 23 | Chhota Ropuk |
| 24 | Bara Ropuk |
| 25 | Shivaji Nagar |
| 26 | Sunpura |
| 27 | Kamlang Nagar |
Maja, a village near Long Ju in Upper Subansiri district, has also been marked on the map, the statement said. The other areas include Bisa village, a strategically important high altitude mountain passes in the region Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La.
Which are the strategically important locations in Arunachal?
One of the most strategically important high altitude passes Thag La, where one of the opening battles between Indian and Chinese forces took place in 1962, has also been formally marked on the official map by India.
Another place is Jairampur, an important logistics hub in Changlang district which is known as the gateway to the eastern border region supporting movements of security forces towards eastern Arunachal and the Myanmar frontier.
Some of the other names included in the official map include Sambho Sarovar (a high-altitude lake), Bara Kundun and Chhota Kundun on Eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Dhan Bari, Pritnagar, Teritnagar, Ramnagar Jaswant Garh that houses memorial of Indian martyr Jaswant Singh Rawat on Tawang Road, villages of Sagar, Padma, Jyotinagar and Baisakhi.
Sher-e-Thapa Memorial commemorating Trilok Singh Thapa, 1962 war hero, Chhota Ropuk and Bara Ropuk, Shivaji Nagar, Sunpura, Kamlang Nagar located near the Kamlang sanctuary and Buddhamandir are also there.
India dismisses Chinese efforts to add ‘fictitious names’ in Arunachal
It is significant to note that India has categorically been dismissing Chinese efforts to assign "fictitious names" to Indian territory, asserting such attempts to create "baseless narratives" cannot alter "undeniable reality" and could derail efforts to normalise bilateral ties.
Earlier, Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry had released the list of the standardised names of six places in Zangnan in 2017, while the second list of 15 places was issued in 2021, followed by another list with names for 11 places in 2023. Zangnan is the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh.
With inputs from PTI
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