India marks 27 Arunachal Pradesh locations on official map amid China renaming row
New Delhi: India on Friday formally marked 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh on the official maps of the Survey of India amid China’s repeated attempts to rename places in the border state. The Centre completed the exercise in consultation with the Arunachal Pradesh government. It said the move would ensure the accurate identification of the locations and increase public awareness.
“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 Home Ministry said.
“The objective of formally marking these on the Survey of India’s map of Arunachal Pradesh is to facilitate their precise identification and foster greater awareness among the general public,” it added.
Strategic locations included
The list includes Longju, which lies along the Line of Actual Control. The area became one of the earliest flashpoints in India-China border tensions after Chinese forces entered it in 1959. The government also marked Maja village in Upper Subansiri district and several high-altitude passes, including Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La and Thag La. One of the opening battles of the 1962 India-China war took place at Thag La. Jairampur in Changlang district, an important logistics centre for movement towards eastern Arunachal Pradesh and the Myanmar border, also features on the map.
List of 27 places
| S No. | 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 |
India rejects Chinese names
The list includes Jaswant Garh, which houses a memorial dedicated to 1962 war hero Jaswant Singh Rawat, and the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial, which commemorates Trilok Singh Thapa. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan and has periodically released lists of so-called standardised names for places in the state. It released six names in 2017, 15 in 2021 and 11 in 2023.
India has called the Chinese exercise “vain and preposterous”. It has maintained that such actions cannot change the “undeniable” reality that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is, and will” remain an integral part of India.