IRRESPECTIVE OF HOW THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA PORTRAYS THEM, THE ARUNACHALESE ARE PROUD OF BEING INDIAN AND SICK OF INANE OFFICIAL POSTURING, WRITES JARPUM GAMLIN
The Arunachalese neither gloat over nor fear the geographic proximity to China but the brushstrokes of the mainstream media have caused discomfort to our Indian identity. The only time the mainstream media writes or talks about Arunachal Pradesh has been on the China context, opening old wounds. An impression has been created that either the people are inclined towards that Communist nation or perpetually live in fear of the Chinese. For us, China is non-existent, whereas New Delhi is a reality.
To the discerning Arunachalese, New Delhi’s nonchalant attitude is far more dangerous than that of China or its aggressive posture. India’s failure to curb the Chinese incursion, its disinterest in prioritising to resolve the vexed McMahon Line or, for that matter, rushing through hydel projects in the garb of “national security” are symptomatic of New Delhi’s blasé attitude. We haven’t forgotten its repeated failure to stand up to China on the Asian Development Bank issues as well. Undoubtedly, it is evident that the native commoners, upholding patriotism, are more loyal to New Delhi than vice-versa.
It’s about time to place the picture in the right frame against the right backdrop. It’s a different story that New Delhi has repeatedly failed to stand up for the people of Arunachal Pradesh, yet the locals have absorbed and accepted the betrayal with dignified silence. India’s flip-flop approach on the “stapled visa” issue is not just perplexing but disheartening, too. An Arunachalese, travelling as a student or tourist to China on a stapled visa is allowed to board the flight; however, an Arunachalese travelling as India’s official delegate with the very same stapled visa, is rejected.
For the record, as per international norms over disputed territory, right or wrong, the Chinese government has been very consistent in issuing “stapled visas” to the Arunachalese as they claim the frontier state to be one such zone. It is but natural that Indians in the frontier state are not bothered about the Chinese stand. However, many are concerned about the inconsistency of the Indian officials in treating such stapled visas. One of the major causes of this feeling of alienation amongst educated people (around 68 per cent, as recorded in 2011, substantially larger compared to the good old days of the 1960s when the literacy rate was just in single digit) is that such antics of the Indian authorities questions our Indian identity and leaves a bad aftertaste.
As a matter of fact, if the 1962 war is taken as a reference point, the McMahon Line issue is limited to just a few kilometres. There’s no confusion between the two countries except over a small stretch from the tri-junction of “Indo-Tibet-Bhutan” to “Point MM 7914”. This controversial stretch, drawn in thick blue ink, is an outcome of armchair research, without ground verification of the Himalayan watershed. An historical anecdote has it that Captain HT Morshead, the surveyor who drafted the McMahon Line, fell in love with a native girl and his attention got diverted; thus, he did not conduct a ground survey and drew the line for this particular stretch well below the watershed, thereby leaving Thagla Ridge and Namkha Chu for the Chinese to lay claim to. Despite patriotism, the fact remains that Morshead’s survey map was taken as a Biblical document during the signing of the “Simla Agreement of 1914”.
Therefore, within Arunachal Pradesh, there is a school of thought that holds that since India accepted the 1914 Simla Agreement, there is no reason why it should insist on watershed principle for this small stretch of land. Further, India should not unnecessarily push north towards Thagla Ridge and Namkha Chu, like in 1962. The very same school of thought also believes that a compromise on territory through the barter of land, either at Aksai Chin or at Thagla Ridge/Namkha Chu, must be done at the earliest to provide for dignified living as an Indian citizen.
Many villagers felt humiliated by the actions taken by the government in ignorance of their views while signing 155 deals on dam projects (on the Siang, the Subansiri and Lohit rivers originating in China). These were rushed through in the name of “national security” and “first-user right”. The locals are not against dams per se, but are definitely against the methods adopted in the process of signing up and executing these projects.
Against the principles of natural justice, the principle of Free Prior Informed Consent has been blatantly violated. The great excitement shown by the state government and the various Central ministries in the most non-transparent manner has only aggravated the distrust between local communities and the authorities. Adding salt to the wound, protesters were dubbed “anti nationals” by successive Congress governments in the state. Isn’t it the right of the people to seek s “free and fair” public hearing? Aren’t they entitled to raise concern over the environment and on a few of our existing heritage sites?
There is a need to look beyond making this frontier state just another buffer-zone — militarily or otherwise. The onus lies on the incumbents of North and South Blocks to decide whether integrating Arunachalese with the mainland, or using it for military posturing against China, is more important. What about infrastructural development? Devoid of a single airport since Independence, attempts are now being made to revive a few advance landing grounds that are hardly usable. While operational railway connectivity has remained frozen since the colonial days, road infrastructure development can be gauged from the fact that since 2008 only 100 km has been built under envisaged 1,159-km Trans-Arunachal Highway Project.
Irrespective of shabby treatment and underdevelopment, the Arunachalese are proud of being Indian. But to set the record straight, in so far as the locals are concerned, their “fear” of the dragon, as depicted by the mainstream media, is as mythical as the beast itself. Does an Arunachalese need to write more!
THE WRITER IS CEO OF THE ITANAGAR-BASED EASTERN SENTINEL AND CAN BE CONTACTED AT jarpumgamlin@gmail.com
The Arunachalese neither gloat over nor fear the geographic proximity to China but the brushstrokes of the mainstream media have caused discomfort to our Indian identity. The only time the mainstream media writes or talks about Arunachal Pradesh has been on the China context, opening old wounds. An impression has been created that either the people are inclined towards that Communist nation or perpetually live in fear of the Chinese. For us, China is non-existent, whereas New Delhi is a reality.
To the discerning Arunachalese, New Delhi’s nonchalant attitude is far more dangerous than that of China or its aggressive posture. India’s failure to curb the Chinese incursion, its disinterest in prioritising to resolve the vexed McMahon Line or, for that matter, rushing through hydel projects in the garb of “national security” are symptomatic of New Delhi’s blasé attitude. We haven’t forgotten its repeated failure to stand up to China on the Asian Development Bank issues as well. Undoubtedly, it is evident that the native commoners, upholding patriotism, are more loyal to New Delhi than vice-versa.
It’s about time to place the picture in the right frame against the right backdrop. It’s a different story that New Delhi has repeatedly failed to stand up for the people of Arunachal Pradesh, yet the locals have absorbed and accepted the betrayal with dignified silence. India’s flip-flop approach on the “stapled visa” issue is not just perplexing but disheartening, too. An Arunachalese, travelling as a student or tourist to China on a stapled visa is allowed to board the flight; however, an Arunachalese travelling as India’s official delegate with the very same stapled visa, is rejected.
For the record, as per international norms over disputed territory, right or wrong, the Chinese government has been very consistent in issuing “stapled visas” to the Arunachalese as they claim the frontier state to be one such zone. It is but natural that Indians in the frontier state are not bothered about the Chinese stand. However, many are concerned about the inconsistency of the Indian officials in treating such stapled visas. One of the major causes of this feeling of alienation amongst educated people (around 68 per cent, as recorded in 2011, substantially larger compared to the good old days of the 1960s when the literacy rate was just in single digit) is that such antics of the Indian authorities questions our Indian identity and leaves a bad aftertaste.
As a matter of fact, if the 1962 war is taken as a reference point, the McMahon Line issue is limited to just a few kilometres. There’s no confusion between the two countries except over a small stretch from the tri-junction of “Indo-Tibet-Bhutan” to “Point MM 7914”. This controversial stretch, drawn in thick blue ink, is an outcome of armchair research, without ground verification of the Himalayan watershed. An historical anecdote has it that Captain HT Morshead, the surveyor who drafted the McMahon Line, fell in love with a native girl and his attention got diverted; thus, he did not conduct a ground survey and drew the line for this particular stretch well below the watershed, thereby leaving Thagla Ridge and Namkha Chu for the Chinese to lay claim to. Despite patriotism, the fact remains that Morshead’s survey map was taken as a Biblical document during the signing of the “Simla Agreement of 1914”.
Therefore, within Arunachal Pradesh, there is a school of thought that holds that since India accepted the 1914 Simla Agreement, there is no reason why it should insist on watershed principle for this small stretch of land. Further, India should not unnecessarily push north towards Thagla Ridge and Namkha Chu, like in 1962. The very same school of thought also believes that a compromise on territory through the barter of land, either at Aksai Chin or at Thagla Ridge/Namkha Chu, must be done at the earliest to provide for dignified living as an Indian citizen.
Many villagers felt humiliated by the actions taken by the government in ignorance of their views while signing 155 deals on dam projects (on the Siang, the Subansiri and Lohit rivers originating in China). These were rushed through in the name of “national security” and “first-user right”. The locals are not against dams per se, but are definitely against the methods adopted in the process of signing up and executing these projects.
Against the principles of natural justice, the principle of Free Prior Informed Consent has been blatantly violated. The great excitement shown by the state government and the various Central ministries in the most non-transparent manner has only aggravated the distrust between local communities and the authorities. Adding salt to the wound, protesters were dubbed “anti nationals” by successive Congress governments in the state. Isn’t it the right of the people to seek s “free and fair” public hearing? Aren’t they entitled to raise concern over the environment and on a few of our existing heritage sites?
There is a need to look beyond making this frontier state just another buffer-zone — militarily or otherwise. The onus lies on the incumbents of North and South Blocks to decide whether integrating Arunachalese with the mainland, or using it for military posturing against China, is more important. What about infrastructural development? Devoid of a single airport since Independence, attempts are now being made to revive a few advance landing grounds that are hardly usable. While operational railway connectivity has remained frozen since the colonial days, road infrastructure development can be gauged from the fact that since 2008 only 100 km has been built under envisaged 1,159-km Trans-Arunachal Highway Project.
Irrespective of shabby treatment and underdevelopment, the Arunachalese are proud of being Indian. But to set the record straight, in so far as the locals are concerned, their “fear” of the dragon, as depicted by the mainstream media, is as mythical as the beast itself. Does an Arunachalese need to write more!
THE WRITER IS CEO OF THE ITANAGAR-BASED EASTERN SENTINEL AND CAN BE CONTACTED AT jarpumgamlin@gmail.com
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