India officially maps 27 Arunachal locations to counter China’s renaming claims

India on Friday formally identified 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh using their standard Indian names on the official Survey of India map, in a move that comes amid repeated attempts by China to rename places in the northeastern state.

According to a PTI report, the government said the move is aimed at ensuring that the locations are accurately recognised and that the public has greater awareness of their geographical and strategic significance.

“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,” PTI quoted an official statement as saying.

The latest move comes against the backdrop of China periodically issuing lists of purportedly “standardised” names for places in Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing refers to as Zangnan.

New Delhi has consistently rejected the renaming exercises, calling them “vain and preposterous” and maintaining that such actions cannot change the fact that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is, and will” remain an integral part of India.

Strategically important locations identified

Among the 27 locations formally marked on the Indian map is Long Ju, situated along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The area was one of the early flashpoints in India-China tensions, witnessing the entry of Chinese forces in 1959.

Maja, a village near Long Ju in Upper Subansiri district, has also been included in the list.

Several strategically significant high-altitude passes have been formally identified, including Dzo La, Riza La and Pukur La. The list also features Thag La, one of the key locations associated with the opening battles of the 1962 India-China war.

Jairampur in Changlang district has also been included. The town serves as an important logistical hub and is regarded as a gateway to eastern Arunachal Pradesh and areas adjoining the Myanmar frontier, facilitating the movement of security forces in the region.

The locations additionally include Sambho Sarovar, a high-altitude lake, as well as Bara Kundun and Chhota Kundun in eastern Arunachal Pradesh.

Other places identified on the official map include Dhan Bari, Pritnagar, Teritnagar, Ramnagar and Jaswant Garh, which houses a memorial dedicated to Indian soldier Jaswant Singh Rawat on the Tawang Road.

The list further includes the villages of Sagar, Padma, Jyotinagar and Baisakhi, along with the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial dedicated to Trilok Singh Thapa, a hero of the 1962 war.

Chhota Ropuk, Bara Ropuk, Shivaji Nagar, Sunpura, Kamlang Nagar, located near the Kamlang sanctuary, and Buddhamandir are also among the locations formally identified.

India rejects China’s renaming exercises

New Delhi has repeatedly dismissed China’s efforts to assign what it describes as “fictitious names” to locations in Arunachal Pradesh. India has maintained that such attempts are intended to create “baseless narratives” and cannot alter the “undeniable reality” of the state’s status as part of India.

The Indian government has also warned that such actions could complicate efforts to improve and normalise bilateral ties between the two countries.

China’s Civil Affairs Ministry began publishing lists of purportedly standardised names for places in Arunachal Pradesh in 2017, when it released names for six locations. A second list covering 15 places was issued in 2021, followed by another list naming 11 locations in 2023.

Beijing refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan and claims the territory as part of southern Tibet, a position that India has consistently rejected.

The formal identification of the 27 locations on India’s official map reinforces New Delhi’s position that geographical names and administrative claims cannot be altered through unilateral renaming.

With inputs from agencies