(TibetanReview.net, Aug08’26) – In a move to counter China’s cartographic aggression on its strategic northeastern border state of Arunachal Pradesh, the Government of India has on Aug 7 formally assigned and mapped standard names to 27 places and geographical features in it, reported the PTI news agency Aug 7. They include 21 land areas, four passes, a lake, and a monument, including a village that has been under Chinese occupation rule since 1959.
India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that day that the exercise was carried out in consultation with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, the report said.
The newly designated names were stated to have been incorporated into the official maps of the Survey of India, providing uniform legal, administrative and cartographic recognition to the identified locations.
India’s move comes against the backdrop of China’s successive announcements since 2017 of what it calls standardized names of places and geographical features in “Zangnan” (southern Tibet). China lays sovereign claim over the territory on the basis of its claim over Tibet. Its last renaming exercise, the sixth, came on Apr 14 this year, with the total number of such new names now totalling 112.
India each time rejected the Chinese government exercise, reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of the country and that unilateral changes in nomenclature neither alter the ground reality nor affect India’s sovereignty.
The MHA has said the standardisation exercise was intended to eliminate ambiguities in geographical references while ensuring consistency across official maps and government records. It is also expected to improve administrative coordination, infrastructure planning, disaster management and public service delivery by establishing a uniform reference framework for all government agencies.
The land locations are Longju, Maja, Bisa, Bara Kundun, Chhota Kundun, Dhan Bari, Pritnagar, Buddhamandir, Jairampur, Teritnagar, Ramnagar, Jaswant Garh, Sagar, Padma, Jyotinagar, Baisakhi, Chhota Ropuk, Bara Ropuk, Shivaji Nagar, Sunpura, and Kamlang Nagar.
The passes are Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La, and Thag La, and the list included Sambho Sarovar lake and Sher-e-Thapa Memorial.
The village of Longju has been controlled by China since 1959 but falls within the Indian claim line, the hindustantimes.com Aug 8 cited officials as saying on condition of anonymity.
India has said its move is aimed at reinforcing the country’s absolute sovereign and legal jurisdiction over these territories.
The MHA has said the exercise follows established procedures for geographical nomenclature and forms part of a broader effort to maintain accurate and authoritative national cartographic records. By assigning standard names in consultation with the state government, the Centre aims to ensure that official maps, gazetteers and administrative documents reflect uniform and legally recognised nomenclature.
The report cited officials as saying the updated Survey of India maps will serve as the authoritative reference for governance, planning and public use while also preserving locally recognised place names through the formal mapping process.
The latest standardisation exercise is expected to strengthen the accuracy of India’s official geographical records while reaffirming its long-standing position that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inseparable part of India, the report said.
India recognizes Tibet as an autonomous region of China but justifies its sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh on the basis of the 1914 Shimla convention among British India, the Kuomintang-ruled China and independent Tibet when the McMahon India-Tibet boundary was drawn.