A few states of India, namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh share borders with China.
Arunachal Pradesh, one of the prominent seven-sister states of North-East India, is known as “The Land of the Rising Sun”. China has always been keen to take control over Arunachal Pradesh but has failed in its efforts. Arunachal Pradesh, which shares international borders with Bhutan on its West, China on its North and Myanmar on its East, was declared a centrally ruled state by India on 20 January 1972. On 20 February 1984, it became the 24th state of the Indian Union.
It is noteworthy that refugees from Tibet, fleeing Chinese occupation, first arrived in Arunachal Pradesh.
There are historical references to this terrain from the 16th century when the Ahom dynasty was ruling. When the Qing dynasty rule ended in 1911 after the Revolution, Tibet and Mongolia became independent nations. But because of the attacks by the Han Chinese Republic, Tibet and Mongolia lost their independence again. Before 1962, Arunachala Pradesh was known as a Border Agency and was part of the Assam state.
In 1913-1914, Sir Henry MacMahon, the foreign secretary to British India, drew the 550 km long border between India and China. In 1962 October, the Chinese army crossed the MacMahon line and this led to the war between India and China. Since then, China has been laying claim to over 90,000 sq kms area belonging to India.
The Strategic Location of Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a strategic area in the Brahmaputra Valley, which is home to the North Eastern states of India. Arunachal Pradesh shields Bhutan in the East. In the event of a war, Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh can provide a shortcut to Tibet and the Chinese hinterland. Hence, India maintains a credible information network in this region.
In contrast to Aksai Chin, connectivity to Arunachal Pradesh is available all-year round. If China undertakes an aerial attack on India today, India has the capability to conduct a multi-pronged attack from Arunachal Pradesh. This state has an abundance of natural resources such as minerals, mountain ranges, rivers, valleys. Arunachal Pradesh is home to many minerals – coal, iron ore, granite, quartz, copper, dolomite, natural gas & oil, marble. With its ample water resources, there is vast potential for generating hydroelectric power.
It, therefore, comes as no surprise that China covets this piece of heaven on earth.
The Indo-China Conflict in Rivers and Seas
In order to undermine India’s strength, China has started creating conflict in the seas. As part of its crooked strategy, China has also started using natural resources to damage India.
China is at a higher altitude than India. It has been building dams over huge lakes at the Indo- China border only to blow them up and flood Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand causing severe damage to our towns and cities. A sadistic China has been building several dams on small rivers along the border thus blocking India’s share of water. That China is using such methods to attack India even violating international regulations & agreements at great risk, is a reflection of its strong sentiment against India.
China has dug five huge tunnels on the pretext of building infrastructure for hydro-electric projects but the real intention behind this is to change the course of the Brahmaputra river. Because of these tunnels, the quantity of water flowing into India has reduced considerably. China has built 11 small dams and 5 large dams on the Brahmaputra. Normally, India would receive 2651 TMC of water during monsoon and 1981 TMC of water in other seasons but the water flow has reduced by 40 % thanks to China’s intervention.
Buddhist-Political Developments
China has been following Buddhism for the last 2500 years. Most people in China follow the Buddhist faith. China’s Communist dispensation is doing its best to exploit the presence of a large number of Buddhist followers in East and South-East Asia, to expand its influence. In recent years, China has tried hard to diminish the stature of the Dalai Lama, who is the Buddhist spiritual leader, as it believes this will help them attain their hegemonic goal. China wants to become the spiritual land of the Buddhists. It tried to put forth this idea at the Buddhist Convention held in Bodhgaya recently. But, it met with opposition from the Eastern and Southeastern nations.
China has long been trying its best to control the Buddhist religious authority. With this in mind, China has established one of the biggest Universities and named it Nalanda University (Nanhai Buddhism Academy) appropriating the ancient Nalanda University of India. The languages used for instruction at China’s Nalanda University include Pali, Nepali and Thom.
