11 August,2026 06:20 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addresses the media on Tuesday. PIC/X
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an "inalienable and integral part of India", amid a row with China over Beijing's attempts to rename places in the border state, news agency ANI reported.
"Let me reiterate this once again that Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable and integral part of India and this is a fact that is self-evident. At the same time, let me also underline that nothing can change this indisputable reality," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a media briefing.
The remarks came after India formally identified 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names on the official Survey of India map, amid China's repeated attempts to assign Chinese names to places in the state.
The government said the move is aimed at ensuring precise geographical recognition of the sites while enhancing public awareness about their historical and geographical significance.
New Delhi has consistently rejected Beijing's practice of assigning Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh, describing such efforts as "vain and preposterous" and maintaining that they can never alter the reality that the state "was, is, and will" remain an integral part of India.
Several of the 27 locations have significant strategic and historical importance, including Long Ju, which witnessed an early Sino-Indian military clash in 1959, and Thag La, where initial engagements of the 1962 conflict took place.
The official list also includes Jairampur, a key logistical centre in eastern Arunachal Pradesh, as well as Jaswant Garh and the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial, both built to honour Indian soldiers who fought in the 1962 war.
The move comes after Beijing released multiple lists of names for places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it claims as "Zangnan".
China issued its first list of six names in 2017, followed by 15 designations in 2021 and another 11 in 2023.
India has consistently rejected these claims as "fictitious", stressing that such unilateral attempts only seek to create "baseless narratives" and do not change the ground reality.
(With ANI inputs)
