(TibetanReview.net, Aug01’21) – Indian supporters of the Tibetan freedom movement have decided Jul 31 to observe Oct 20 each year as protest day against China’s aggression on Arunachal in 1962 and Ladakh in 2020, reported the PTI news agency Aug 1.
The move was announced at an event in Arunachal state capital Itanagar by the India-Tibetan Cooperation Forum (ITCF), an umbrella body of Indians supporting the Tibetan freedom movement
After fully annexing Tibet in 1959, the Chinese attacked Arunachal Pradesh on Oct 20, 1962, making a deep inroad into Indian territory as the war continued for around a month. But the Chinese withdrew suddenly apparently because it did not have the means to sustain the assault despite their initial success.
In Ladakh, the armies of India and China faced off in the Galwan valley in June last year, with a violent night clash not involving use of firearms resulting in deaths and serious injuries on both the sides. The faceoff continues amid ongoing talks.
The announcement of the protest day was reported to have been made by former Arunachal minister and ITCF functionary Mr Rinchen Khandu Khrimey. He has said Sikyong Mr Penpa Tsering, the popularly elected executive head of the Central Tibetan Administration, would attend the launch of the protest day event to be held at Tawang.
China calls Arunachal Pradesh southern Tibet and therefore part of the People’s Republic of China, although it has never been a part of Chinese territory at any time in history.
