New Delhi's counterpunch: India to rename 30 Tibetan sites with ancient Indian names, claims report
File photo of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian PM Narendra Modi
Renaming foreign places with Chinese names has been a widely-used geopolitical tool of an expansionist China over the past decades. Now, New Delhi looks all set to give Beijing a taste of its own medicine. According to a Diplomat report, India has started the process of renaming more than two dozen places in Tibet currently held by China in the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region. The magazine quoted sources in the Indian military as saying that the list of 30 new names could be publicised soon after the new government settles in.
China has renamed regions in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in the past in order to strengthen its territorial claims. In March this year, Beijing renamed 30 locations in Arunachal Pradesh with Chinese names, a move that was rejected by India.
"This is not a new issue. I mean, China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today,” said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on March 23 while reacting to the development.
This was the fourth time that Beijing had moved to change the geographical names in the Indian state.
The brain behind the bold move
According to the report, the Indian Army's information warfare wing is overseeing the renaming process. The wing has been doing extensive research with support from top Indian institutes to debunk the Chinese names and come up with ancient names in Indian languages.
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The wing has also organised several media tours in the regions claimed by China over the past months, with locals expressing their allegiance to India while speaking to journalists.
“The ultimate target is to push through the Indian counter-narrative on the disputed border through regional and global media, anchored on both solid historical research and local residents’ vox pops,” the report quoted an Indian military officer as saying.
Modi's strongman image
According to experts, by taking the bold move, the new government would like to revive Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strongman image.
Former Intelligence Bureau officer Benu Ghosh was quoted by Diplomat as saying that PM Modi "will authorise the renaming of Tibetan places to live up to that image."
“India has accepted Tibet as part of China since it was forcibly occupied by Beijing, but now [the] Modi government seems prepared to change course to deflate the Chinese cartographical and nomenclature aggression,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)