India Standardises 27 Arunachal Pradesh Place Names to Assert Sovereignty

The designation of standardized names for the 27 locations and geographical features located in Arunachal Pradesh was done by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in consultation with the Arunachal Pradesh Government. The survey conducted has put into record all formal cartographic records in the Survey of India (SoI). 

The Ministry aims to remove administrative confusion, make discipline smooth, manage plans for disaster management work efficiently establish India’s sovereignty and make all claims to the territories legally supported.

The official list of the 27 standard locations and their specifications

The detailed list contains a wide range of geographic points from major frontier towns like Longju to important mountain passes and ancient lakes. The 27 standard points are classified as follows:

Settlements and territories (21): 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, Kamlang Nagar.

Mountain passes (4): Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La, Thag La.

Water body (1): Sambho Sarovar (high altitude lake).

Memorial (1): Sher-e-Thapa Memorial (in honor of war hero Trilok Singh Thapa).

The Importance of Geography

The importance of naming geographical places get registered when one considers that the government uses them to guarantee the standardisation of the national mapping of the territories.

It guarantees unification for both land revenue records and census as well as for infrastructural and administrative developments along the entire border.

The most important aspects noted in the official announcement are as follows:

Longju is the border location that has remained very important historically it has been of great importance ever since 1959.

Thag La and the mountain passes are very important high-altitude passes that are directly related to the events of the war of 1962.

Memorials such as the Sher-e-Thapa memorial and Jaswant Garh commemorate the feats of the Indian troops.

The mapping of these 27 locations by the Survey of India is seen as an important step on the part of the government as it makes the administrative process easier and guarantees the unification of the geographical names used in the country after mapping them officially by the Government of India.