Arunachal part of India, no matter what China says: Tharoor

Union minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor said on Sunday that despite China’s academic claims on Arunachal Pradesh the fact was that the state was an integral part of India. Tharoor was speaking after attending the convocation ceremony of Symbiosis International University.

He said China had been making such claims since 1962. “Arunachal Pradesh, however, is part of India. Recently, elections were held there. We control the borders and have maintained Arunachal’s integrity.” On the Dalai Lama’s recent visit, Tharoor said, he had visited Arunachal as a spiritual leader, and not for any political gains. “Dalai Lama has a mass following there.”

Despite the border issue, Tharoor said trade between the two countries had increased. “About 50,000 business visas were issued to Chinese businessmen coming to India,” he said. On the other hand, over 70,000 Indian students have visited China.

“We are pushing for negotiation on border issues and so far 13 rounds of talks have taken place. The Chinese government is making an academic claim on Arunachal Pradesh but India has agreed to disagree on the issue,” he said.