India has formally marked 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh on the official maps of the Survey of India, amid repeated attempts by China to rename places in the border state. According to a statement issued by the Union Home Ministry on Friday, the locations were marked in consultation with the Arunachal Pradesh government. The exercise aims to ensure their precise identification and increase public awareness about the places.
“The Government of India, in consultation with the State Government of Arunachal Pradesh, has marked a total of twenty-seven (27) locations/geographical features situated in Arunachal Pradesh on the official maps of the Survey of India, along with their standard names,” the ministry said.
The government said the formal inclusion of the locations on the Survey of India map would help facilitate their accurate identification and foster greater awareness among the public.
What Are The 27 Locations?
The list includes 21 land areas, 4 passes, 1 lake and 1 monument. It includes Longju, located along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which was one of the early flashpoints in India-China border tensions after Chinese forces entered the area in 1959. Maja village in Upper Subansiri district has also been included.
Among the passes, it features several strategically important high-altitude passes including Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La and Thag La.
Photo Credit: AI Generated
Jairampur in Changlang district, a key logistics hub supporting the movement of security forces towards eastern Arunachal Pradesh and the Myanmar frontier, is among the identified locations.
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The other locations include Sambho Sarovar, a high-altitude lake, as well as Bara Kundun, Chhota Kundun, Dhan Bari, Pritnagar, Teritnagar, Ramnagar and Jaswant Garh. Villages like Sagar, Padma, Jyotinagar and Baisakhi have also been marked on the official map.
The list further includes the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial, dedicated to 1962 war hero Trilok Singh Thapa, along with Chhota Ropuk, Bara Ropuk, Shivaji Nagar, Sunpura, Kamlang Nagar and Buddhamandir.
The government said all 27 locations have been formally marked along with their standard names and geographical positions on the Survey of India map.
India Rejects China's Renaming Exercises
The move comes amid China's repeated attempts to assign new names to locations in Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing refers to as “Zangnan”. China first released a list of six renamed places in Arunachal Pradesh in 2017. It followed this with a list of 15 places in 2021 and another list containing 11 names in 2023.
India has repeatedly rejected the renaming exercises and maintained that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inseparable part of the country and that China's administrative or cartographic measures do not alter India's legal or territorial position. India has also said such actions could undermine efforts to improve bilateral relations.
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