We are not Chinese, We are patriotic Indians retorted the leader of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union when staging their protest against China renaming districts in the state. The alleged controversial regions in the state, which China claims as parts of Chinese territory have been renamed by China to claim their stronghold in the recent times.
“We are not Chinese,” he said. “Arunachalees are patriotic Indians. We speak Hindi here, not Chinese.” said Hawa Bagang, President of All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union. He said China was interfering with the internal affairs of India according to a report in Scroll.
“Hundreds of students in Arunachal Pradash organised rallies in the capital city of Itanagar as well as Tawang, Pasighat and other parts of the state on Monday to protest against China’s move to “standardise” the names of six places in the Northeastern state, effectively trying to rename them.” said the report.
The Indian government in a move to ascertain their unquestioned sovereignty over the whole region of Arunachal Pradesh, ignored the Chinese dissent against allowing His Holiness the Dalai Lama to visit Tawang and near by regions of the state. The tussle over the border disputes renewed with this bold move by the Indian government. China avenging the Indian government’s move renamed six regions in the state.
“Khoon bhi denge jaan bhi denge, desh ki mitti kabhi nehi denge,” chanted the students in protest against the Chinese attempt to claim their authority in the regions Arunachal Pradesh. The students chanted that they are ready to bleed but they will never give up their country’s soil, a very popular slogan from India’s freedom struggle. The protestors also requested the ruling party, BJP to respond in an apt manner against the repeated Chinese interference India’s internal matters and claim the sovereignty over the whole of Arunachal Pradesh.