I’m an Arunachali and I belong to India: Protest against China over Arunachal rocks Delhi

The protest was against China's move to rename six towns in Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi, April 26: A group of students from Arunachal Pradesh staged a protest right outside the Chinese Embassy in the national capital to express their anger against the Chinese government's move to rename six places in the border state of India recently.

Along with the students of Arunachal Pradesh, under the banner of Arun Chetna Manch, several members of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad were also part of the protest rally.

With pro-India and anti-China banners in their hands, the protesters shouted slogans like Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata ki Jai. The police detained several of the protesters to keep the situation under control.

"We joined these people because the leader of the demonstration (Romjir Rakshapa) is a Delhi University cultural secretary and we support India' s integrity " ABVP member, Himang Verma, told IANS.

Rakshapa said that he belongs to Arunachal Pradesh and lives in one of the renamed towns, and that he cannot allow it. "Arunachal Pradesh is part of India... My district's name is changed to something which I cannot even pronounce. I am a proud soul of India," he told media persons.

"The Chinese government is also misleading people through media that inhabitants of Arunachal Pradesh support China and want to be a part of it, which is a complete falsehood... I am an Arunachali (as the people of Arunachal Pradesh are known) and I belong to India," he added.

The Chinese ministry of civil affairs announced on April 14 on its website that it had standardised in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls South Tibet.

On Monday, a protest rally was hosted by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union in the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar, to send out a clear message to China, which claims the border state of India as its own.

In recent times, India and China saw some heated exchange over Arunachal Pradesh after the former gave a red carpet welcome to the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in the border state.

Thereafter, China announced that it had 'standardised' official names for six places in the state and termed the move a 'legitimate action'. India, on its part, opposed the latest Chinese action of renaming places.

OneIndia News