Daily News and Analysis
May 18, 2015
The middle class and corporate India may be celebrating prime minister Narendra Modi’s success in China but it has left many in Arunachal Pradesh that shares an international boundary with China with heartburn for letting down Arunachalis by not touching upon the most relevant issue.
The middle class and corporate India may be celebrating prime minister Narendra Modi’s success in China but it has left many in Arunachal Pradesh that shares an international boundary with China with heartburn for letting down Arunachalis by not touching upon the most relevant issue.
Questioning the relevance of PM Modi’s China visit, Itanagar-based Arunachal Citizen’s Rights (ACR) said the current visit by Modi raised hopes that the border dispute would be addressed adequately and most probably resolved at the earliest. But, to our utter disappointment and dismay, the outcome has been unclear and mostly business oriented.
“Since the people of Arunachal have a stake in Sino-India relations, it is disappointing to us (ACR) and the people of this state that we are being left from the ambit of PMs’ visit to China,” said Joram Aatum, secretary of ACR.
China not only claims Arunachal Pradesh as a part of Tibet but also shows it as not part of India’s map. Coinciding with PM Modi’s China visit, China Central Television (CCTV), the state-owned television of China, had shown India’s map without Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The wrong map was displayed during a CCTV bulletin when Modi was in Xi’an city holding talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Yet the very next day, PM Modi announced preferred e-visa for Chinese nationals.
“The Indian side is willing to do everything it takes to woo Chinese investments and technologies by signing several MOUs, e-visa, and cultural and educational exchanges. The citizens of Arunachal must understand that we are being treated as ping pong balls in this geo-political and geo-economic game.”
“The whole country is perhaps rejoicing in developing provincial sister cities, educational and cultural based initiatives or the 21 MOUs, however, the people of Arunachal will again feel let down by this government,” said Autum.
