Arunachal Pradesh Day: Know why the state matters so much to India and China

February 20 is celebrated as Arunachal Pradesh Statehood Day. It was on this date in 1987 that this beautiful, biodiversity-rich state in the North-East became India’s 24th state.

During the British era, and for many years after Independence, what is now Arunachal Pradesh was part of the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) or North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT). On January 20, 1972, the former NEFA was broken up to carve out the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh with the administrative headquarters in Shillong. In 1974, the headquarters were shifted to Itanagar. And in on February 20, 1987, it got the status of a state.

In terms of area, Arunachal is the largest of the north-eastern states and one of the prettiest in India. However, it usually remains in the news for all the wrong reasons — mainly Chinese intrusions. So, what is so significant about this state that two of Asia’s biggest powers, India and China, have been at loggerheads over it since the 1950s? There are several points to the answer.

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The McMahon Line

One of China’s arguments to stake claim over several areas in Arunachal Pradesh, especially Tawang, has been that it was all part of Tibet, which it annexed in 1950. So, what is the history behind that claim?

It was only after the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826 that British India gained a common border with China, when Manipur and Assam became part of British India from what was then Burma (now Myanmar). Documents of the time show that at least till the last half of the 19th century, the British treated the Tawang Tract as part of Tibet.

In 1913, British, Chinese, and Tibetan representatives held a conference in Shimla to decide the borders between British India, China, and Tibet. The foreign secretary of British India, Henry McMahon, reportedly settled the border by negotiating directly with the then Prime Minister of Tibet, Lochen Shatra, bypassing China.

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What Indians believed was that the border — McMahon Line — ran through the highest Himalayan ridges because these were the ancient boundaries of the Indian subcontinent. However, it was later realised that the McMahon Line lay south of those ridges. And, the Chinese believed those areas to have been geographically and culturally part of Tibet since ancient times.

Tawang’s importance in Tibetan culture

In fact, even Tibet had objected to the McMahon Line placing the trading town of Tawang under British-Indian jurisdiction. Even till World War II, Tibetan officials administered Tawang with full authority. Until February 1951, when an expedition led by Major Ralengnao “Bob” Khathing took over the Tawang administration, Tibetan officials collected monastic taxes in the area.

Tawang has always been special for Tibet because the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, was born in Urgyeling near Tawang. Even the 14th Dalai Lama fled the China-occupied Tibet by crossing into Tawang in 1959. In the 8th century, Padmasambhava (or Guru Rinpoche) crossed over to Tibet via Tawang on his mission to spread Tantric Buddhism in Tibet. The Tawang monastery is sacred to Buddhists across India and Tibet.

Hence, China’s claim over Tawang is two-fold. First, it has never agreed with the McMahon Line, which was drawn without its consent. Second, it has never accepted the existence of the Tibetan government in exile in India. If it can get India to return Tawang, the 1914 Indo-Tibet border agreement and the McMahon Line would cease to exist.

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China’s official claims on NEFA or what is now Arunachal was further bolstered after the creation of the Xikang province in the 1930s. A Chinese scholar named Ren Naiqiang made a map of the new province, which included NEFA, though the Chinese had never set foot into the territory. This map went on to be distributed among the PLA in the late 1940s, leading to Beijing’s claims over NEFA as Chinese territory.

The 1962 Sino-Indian War

The border dispute and India’s hosting of the Tibetan government in exile went on to spark the Sino-Indian War in 1962. However, even then, it was the Aksai Chin region, which India claims as part of Ladakh, that was more important to China. Once the war ended, China held on to Aksai Chin but pulled back from what was still NEFA.

In an interview to The Diplomat, author, historian, and Tibetologist Claude Arpi explained that Aksai Chin was strategically far more important to Beijing than NEFA. The then Chinese premier Zhou Enlai had declared to India that Aksai Chin had always been part of Xinjiang, its new province. In the early 1950s, it built a contentious road in Aksai Chin linking Xinjiang and Tibet.

According to Arpi, it is all about a swap. If Beijing can get India to acknowledge Aksai Chin as Chinese territory, it would recognize the NEFA or now Arunachal as Indian. And for Beijing, it is still a bargaining chip for India’s recognition of Aksai Chin as Chinese territory.

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More recently, Beijing has started claiming the entire Arunachal Pradesh (what is calls Zangnan) as part of “South Tibet”. In 2017, the Chinese government released the first batch of “new names” for six places in Arunachal. Early last year, another 15 places in Arunachal were named, along with precise coordinates. Of these there were eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers, and the Se La (mountain pass).

Arunachal’s strategic importance

For India, Arunachal is not only about prestige. It is rich in forest and water resources. It is also a strategic location to target missiles at China in the event of a 1962-like situation. It’s the best location to launch a multi-tiered air defence system to thwart any possible attack from the other side.

For China, Tawang is strategically important to deny India these advantages. In fact, China’s claims over Arunachal are a security threat to not only India but also Bhutan. China has been building roads to connect strategic points in western Bhutan. Reports say that China wants to extend the roads from Doka La to Gamochin, which the Indian Army guards.

To thwart China’s nefarious plans, India has been improving connectivity and military infrastructure along the border. Arunachal Pradesh now has four airports in Itanagar, Pasighat, Ziro, and Tezu. There are several helipads near the McMahon Line. Roads have been improved and a new tunnel under Se La is being built to improve connectivity.

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Most importantly, Arunachal and its border areas are no longer “remote” places that few Indian citizens can access. Tourism is being promoted to prevent large-scale outmigration from the remote border areas. China takes advantage of the migration to claim such desolate areas as its own. At the same time, it builds infrastructure and populates the other side to make the job easier.

One of India’s key projects is the Vibrant Villages Programme for which the Centre has just allocated Rs 4800 crore. The aim is to develop infrastructure and generate livelihood opportunities in the border regions across Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, and Ladakh. It is expected to boost the local economies in these largely inaccessible areas, as well as aid the Indian armed forces, which can use the infrastructure for defence purposes if the need arises.