China's dangerous claim over Arunachal Pradesh

The war of words between China and India over Beijing's renaming of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, the third time it has been done since 2017, escalated a notch higher with union home minister Amit Shah's visit to the state on April 10 The external affairs ministry rejected the latest renaming move untenable During his visit, Shah reiterated that India will not allow any part of its territory to be encroached upon The Chinese foreign ministry said “the activity of the senior Indian official in Zangan (China's name for Arunachal) is not conducive to peace and security in the border areas ” If Beijing truly believes, as it proclaims now and then, that the boundary issue has to be resolved through bilateral talks, there should be no place in pushing boundary claims through military moves or via cartographic aggression Due to these actions, a view has gained ground in India that Beijing is not interested in settling the border row peacefully

After the independence of India in 1947, China made claims to practically the whole upland area of what was then Assam state, arguing that the McMahon Line had never been accepted by China and was the result of British aggression In letters to the Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the Chinese prime minister, Zhou Enlai, quoted a map in the 1929 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica showing the disputed territory as Chinese, with the boundary following the alignment of Chinese maps Some Chinese maps before 1935 showed the North East Frontier Agency (i e , Arunachal Pradesh) as part of India and since then as part of Tibet The Survey of India (1883) depicted the disputed tribal areas as de facto adminis- tered by British India British and Indian maps since 1914 have usually followed the McMahon Line If the Chinese claims were allowed, the Indian-Chinese border would follow roughly the margin of the Assam plain, a frontier almost impossible to defend Following that dispute, Chinese troops crossed the McMahon Line on August 26, 1959, and captured an Indian outpost at Longju, a short distance south of the line They abandoned that outpost in 1961, but in October 1962 they again crossed the line, this time in force After first striking toward the Tanglha ridge and Tawang near the border with Bhutan, the Chinese later extended their attack along the whole frontier Deep inroads were made at a number of points Later the Chinese agreed to withdraw approximately to the McMahon Line, and in 1963 they returned Indian troops who had been held as prisoners of war

Since then, efforts have been made to more fully integrate the region into India, beginning with its designation as a union territory in 1972 and then as a state 15 years later There have been no instances of outright hostilities between India and China in Arunachal Pradesh since 1962, but tensions have remained high there Each country has maintained troops along the de facto international border, and there have been periodic reports of incursions by both sides Delhi should know that nothing can be taken for granted in an atmosphere on the Line of Actual Control that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has described as “fragile ” As a nation, the Indian leadership has to act with the aim of building deterrence even while making serious attempts to find peace with China

How Atiq used crime and politics to his advantage

Atiq Ahmed’s story is intertwined with the rise of criminals in Uttar Pradesh’s politics His tryst with crime had begun at least a decade before he entered politics His last and 104th FIR was filed just a day before he was killed He started from a small self-urban pocket in Prayagraj, but soon captured a good chunk of the historic Civil Lines in the city He began his tentacles to adjoining parts of Prayagraj, and even Lucknow In 2015, he tried to capture a big tract of land, belonging to a well-known trader of the city whose shop was the destination for fashion aficionados When police intervened after the trader mustered courage to lodge a complaint, the gang lord barged into his hotel, got all the CCTV cameras switched off and threatened him using choicest of expletives He tried to repeat the same with Lucknow’s trader Mohit Jaiswal in 2018

He started his political career in 1989 by becoming an MLA from Allahabad West, as an Independent After he retained his seat in the next two assembly elections as an Independent, the Samajwadi Party opened its doors to him In 1996, Atiq won from Allahabad West the fourth time, as an SP candidate He was also booked by Lucknow’s Hazratganj police in 1995, in connection with the infamous guest-house incident It involved the attack on the complex where the then CM Mayawati was staying with her MLAs However, after the SP showed Atiq the door in 1998, he joined the Apna Dal and won the Allahabad West seat in 2002 assembly elections on its ticket In 2003, Atiq returned to the SP fold, and in 2004, won the Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency In 2012 assembly elections, Atiq again tried his luck from Apna Dal from the same seat but lost It is said, being in jail when he moved HC to seek permission to campaign, several judges recused themselves He also contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 from Shravasti on the SP ticket but lost Even in face of repeated defeats, Atiq’s political ambitions were far from over He filed nomination from the Varanasi constituency against PM Narendra Modi in 2019 from jail but managed to get only 855 votes

There is a long list of victims Atiq Ahmed and his gang had trampled upon for expanding their reign of terror And there was no retribution He committed his first crime in 1979 and his first conviction came 44 years and 100-odd FIRs later Atiq extorted and murdered his way into underworld infamy Till 2004, he had accumulated 159 criminal charges in 36 separate criminal cases He openly declared these cases in an affidavit accompanying his candidature for parliamentary elections that year The fear he struck into the hearts of ordinary citizens together with his larger-than-life-persona ensured that he not only won that election, but was also elected to the UP legislative assembly five times In the process he became massively rich, his gang having accumulated illegal assets of over £ 1 billion till date The killings of gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother have drawn the usual outrage from “liberals” Some of the outrage is warranted, but it says more about their political predilections than real concern for the state of law and order in India’s biggest state, where the chief minister has vowed to eliminate mafia syndicates at any cost This is troubling, for criminals are criminals, and the caste or religious affiliations of the person(s) concerned should not be the basis on which encounters, whether real or stage managed, should be judged

Belief

Political Sketchbook

Alpesh Patel

William James

The UK and Indian PMs Speak

Thi s past week the UK an d Indian PM s s poke on i ssues concerni ng anti- Indi an extremi sm i n the UK

What m ore m ight India n offic ials i n the UK do?

Intelligenc e Gatherin g:

Infiltrate the separatist group to gather critical information about their motives, leadership, connections to extremist elements, and plans Assess the potential threat they pose to Indian interests in the UK and relay this information back to UK and Indian

Governments

Coun ter- Intelligenc e:

Monitor and counter any attempts by foreign intelligence agencies from India’s adversaries to exploit the protests for their advantage Identify and neutralize potential threats to Indian interests and keep a close watch on any suspicious activities around the Indian High Commission

Di plomati c Engagement:

Maintain close coordination with the UK Foreign Office and provide regular updates on the evolving situation Advise on diplomatic strategies to engage with British authorities and facilitate dialogue between moderate groups and the Indian government

Strategic Communi cations:

Work closely with the UK Foreign Office and India groups in the UK to counter the extremist narrative and present a balanced perspective on the situation Utilize social media and other communication channels to disseminate accurate information and showcase India's commitment to unity, diversity, and democratic values

Coordin ation with Law an d Order agen cies in the U K:

Establish communication channels with police and Home Office to exchange intelligence and insights about the extremist groups Collaborate on efforts to ensure public safety and prevent the protests from escalating into more violent incidents

Asset M obiliz ati on :

Mobilize trusted assets within the Indian diaspora i n t h e U K t o g a t h e r o n - t h e - g r o u n d i n t e l l i g e n c e , counter the extremist narrative, and organize peaceful counter-protests that promote India s and UK’s core values

Contingenc y Plannin g:

Develop contingency plans to protect Indian assets and citizens in the UK, in case the protests escalate or lead to violent incidents This could include coordinati n g w i t h l o c a l l a w e n f o r c e m e n t , i m p l e m e n t i n g enhanced security measures

The reasons it is im portant I ndian of fici als in the UK do take action is that without ac tion thes e are the problems:

Unchecked narratives: Allowing the extremists to continue without addressing the narrative could lead to the spread of misinformation and a distorted portrayal of India in the international community

Em boldening ex trem ism : Inaction could be interpreted as weakness by the extremists, leading them to intensify their efforts and potentially gain more support Los s of control: If the extremist protests continue unchallenged, they could spiral out of control and lead to violent confrontations or incidents that could harm India s interests

Continued on page 18

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