India has formally assigned standard names to 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh, in a move presented by the Government of India as a response to China’s successive efforts to rename locations in the strategically important northeastern state.
The exercise was formally announced on August 7 by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), with the Press Trust of India (PTI) reporting that the new designations cover 21 land areas, four passes, a lake and a monument. The exercise was carried out in consultation with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, according to the report.
The newly designated names have been incorporated into the official maps of the Survey of India, providing what the government described as uniform legal, administrative and cartographic recognition to the identified locations. The MHA said the standardisation was intended to eliminate ambiguity in geographical references and ensure consistency across official maps and government records.
The locations given standard names 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 four passes are Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La and Thag La. The list also includes Sambho Sarovar lake and the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial.
Among the locations is Longju, a village that has been under Chinese control since 1959 but falls within India’s claim line, according to officials cited anonymously by Hindustan Times on August 8. India has said the latest exercise is intended to reinforce what it describes as its sovereign and legal jurisdiction over the territories concerned.
The move comes amid a continuing dispute over geographical nomenclature between India and China. Since 2017, China has made successive announcements of what it calls standardised names for places and geographical features in “Zangnan” (southern Tibet). China’s claims to the territory are based on its claim over Tibet.
China’s sixth such renaming exercise was announced on April 14 this year, bringing the total number of new names issued through these exercises to 112, according to the supplied report.
India has rejected the Chinese renaming exercises on each occasion, maintaining that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. New Delhi has also argued that unilateral changes to geographical nomenclature cannot alter the ground reality or affect India’s sovereignty.
The Indian government has presented its own standardisation exercise primarily as an administrative and cartographic measure. According to the MHA, establishing a uniform geographical reference framework is expected to improve administrative coordination, infrastructure planning, disaster management and public service delivery by ensuring that government agencies use consistent names for the same locations.
The ministry said the exercise followed established procedures for geographical nomenclature and formed part of a wider 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 use uniform and legally recognised nomenclature.
The updated Survey of India maps are expected to serve as the authoritative reference for governance, planning and public use, while preserving locally recognised place names through the formal mapping process, according to officials cited in the report.
India recognises Tibet as an autonomous region of China but bases its position on Arunachal Pradesh on the 1914 Shimla Convention involving British India, Kuomintang-ruled China and independent Tibet, under which the McMahon India-Tibet boundary was drawn.
The latest exercise therefore combines administrative standardisation with a reaffirmation of India’s long-standing territorial position. By formally incorporating the 27 names into national cartographic records, the government says it is seeking both greater consistency in official geographical references and a clear reaffirmation that Arunachal Pradesh remains, in its view, an integral and inseparable part of India.
