…What seems clear, though, is that each vote cast in Tawang is a vote for India. Under Tibetan control until as recently as 1951, and claimed now with growing stridency by China, the Tawang area remains staunchly Indian. The local inhabitants, the Buddhist Monpa tribe, reject China and communism as antithetical to religion.

China, however, remains uncompromising on Tawang. Insiders familiar with the Sino-Indian dialogue say Tawang is the only impasse that is holding up an agreement. There is growing local concern here that India could barter away Tawang for the sake of peace with China. Such fears are fanned by events that are barely noticed in New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaving Tawang out of his itinerary during his 2008 visit to Arunachal Pradesh; and the recent last-minute cancellation — under foreign ministry pressure — of the Dalai Lama’s visit to Tawang, scheduled for March 16.

The Dalai Lama was visiting Tawang to commemorate his dramatic escape from Tibet half a century ago, when he entered India right here in Tawang. But China, determined to deny separatist Tibetans a high-profile 50th anniversary celebration of the 1959 anti-China uprising, pressured New Delhi to stop the visit.

There is widespread frustration in and around Tawang at New Delhi’s reluctance to anger Beijing. The Rimpoche (Abbott) of the Tawang Gompa, told Business Standard, “I don’t understand why the Indian government does not claim Tawang in more forceful words. The people of Tawang want to hear New Delhi say, ‘Tawang is ours. We will never give it away to China’. Until they hear that, they will be insecure.”

Sad, very sad.

Former Chinese envoy calls for Tawang�s return

BEIJING, Oct 31 � India must make �substantial adjustment� in the eastern sector, including returning the Buddhist enclave Tawang to China, to reach an early settlement of the border issue, former Chinese Ambassador to New Delhi, Zhou Gang, said, reports PTI. �As the Chinese people will never accept �McMahon line,� India must make substantial adjustment in the East sector,� he told PTI here as boundary negotiations are expected to gather momentum in the weeks ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh�s visit, which is now put off until January, 2008.

�On China-India boundary issue, my view is that China has always taken a positive approach, hoping a settlement acceptable to both sides will be reached through talks at an early date,� Zhou, now a Special Consultant to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said.

He emphasised that the foremost thing is to abide by the principles of mutual understanding, mutual accommodation and mutual adjustment so as to obtain a final package settlement.

�I cited the following example that during my tenure as Chinese ambassador to India, I made it clear on many occasions to the Indian public � Tawang belongs to China, it is the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama and the Dalai Lama is �China�s Dalai Lama�, who cannot be �India�s Dalai Lama�.�

�I think if the Indian side can make substantial adjustment in the East sector according to the principles of mutual understanding, mutual accommodation and mutual adjustment, the Chinese side will make its adjustment in the Western sector accordingly,� Zhou, also a Senior Adviser to China Institute for International Strategic Studies, emphasised.

Interestingly, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, during their meeting in northeast Chinese city of Harbin last week, had discussed the vexed boundary issue with the latter coming out with the first public statement that the two sides must make �mutual concessions and adjustments� for the settlement of the issue.

China would make joint efforts with India under relevant political guiding principles and hoped the two countries could understand each other, make mutual concessions and adjustments so as to strive for an early agreement on a framework which would be fair, rational and acceptable for both sides on resolving bilateral border issue, Yang was quoted as telling Mukherjee by the official Xinhua news agency.

Yang had said that China would firmly support the Chinese and Indian special representatives� work on resolving bilateral border issue, who have so far held 11 rounds of negotiations.

He had said that thanks to the concerted efforts by both sides, bilateral ties have maintained healthy development.

Other Chinese scholars say that India must start �educating� its people that the boundary question can only be settled under the principle of �give and take� and not on the basis of the 1962 Indian Parliament resolution.

Mukherjee had announced in Harbin that India and China have established a Working Group to prepare a framework for the settlement of their boundary issue.

He had said the 11th round of talks between the Special Representatives of India and China held in Beijing was successful and they have decided to set up a Working Group to prepare a framework for the resolution of the boundary issue.

�Let us wait for the recommendations of the Working Group,� Mukherjee, who was in Harbin to attend the third standalone trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of India, China and Russia, had said.

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Article posted by “yasiyalow”, a commentator on the Arunachal blog linked above.
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Very intriguing…Are we preparing for an “exchange” – Arunachal for Aksai Chin?

Apparently Google Earth shows Arunachal Pradesh as an “independent nation” and if you zoom in on it, as a part of Chinese Territory.

Google has “admitted” its error and has promised to correct it: Google admits Arunachal error

I have not checked it yet – will do so later today/ tomorrow

During Zero hour, Mr Rebia (Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh) raised the issue of incursions by the Chinese into both Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and the recent demolition of a Buddha statue in Tawang district by Chinese troops.

�Nothing has come from the mouth of the government, no reaction has come from the government till now. We are in a dilemma. Therefore, I want a clear statement on the stand taken by the Government of India on this issue.�

Mr Rebia said, �China still does not recognise the McMahon Line as the border between the two countries… Chinese advisor, Attache, in the Chinese Embassy has openly claimed that particularly Tawang belongs to China and the claim of China is that 96,000 sq km area of Arunachal Pradesh belongs to China whereas the total area of Arunachal Pradesh is nearly 84,000 sq km�.

Echoing what would seem like the BJP on the issue, the Congress MP from Arunachal asked, �Why are you keeping us in the dark? We really want to know this. Sir, we, the people of Arunachal feel that the state of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, and, therefore, please do not keep us hanging. We really want to know what exactly is the Government of India doing.�

Am I to infer that the people of Arunachal want an assurance from the Indian Government that they really are Indian citizens? Is the Government treating them like illegitimate children fearful offending a powerful neighbour? Is it wrong to believe that our silence on this matter could encourage our ambitious neighbour to become more adventurous? It is clear from the above that China�s ambitions go far beyond Arunachal. Since the Congress is scared to death, can Karat and his comrades give us some subtle hints?

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NOTE by MODERATOR: Here is the link to the article referred above