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No land lost, insists Centre

The home ministry and the army have vehemently denied the claim of a local magistrate that India has lost a lot of land to China in Ladakh over the years.

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The home ministry and the army have vehemently denied the claim of a local magistrate that India has lost a lot of land to China in Ladakh over the years.

The ministry said it was at best a matter of perception, while the army claimed it had not withdrawn or abolished a single post in the region since the Sino-India war of 1962.

A PTI report had claimed on Monday that the area along the line of actual control (LAC) with China had “shrunk” in the past two decades, with India losing “substantial” amount of land. It quoted a local magistrate’s report that the loss was largely due to the difference in maps of various agencies.

The opposition BJP said on Tuesday the government was in denial mode. Its spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “Whenever questions have been asked about incursions, the government has issued denials. How can they deny this report which has come from the administration? The government should answer questions raised by the report.”

A senior home ministry official insisted they had not “received any report from the J&K government”.  Army and home ministry officials insisted there was no difference in maps. They said large tracts of land in the inhospitable terrain in the border regions were “occasionally patrolled” by both sides.

Each side has its regular routes and security personnel of both India and China are “careful” not to bump into each other. The army said it does not vacate permanent posts even in winter, but the number of long-range patrols may be less than in summer.

“It’s a similar situation on the other side,” an army source said.
“This border is not demarcated. Wherever they get a chance, they come in, and wherever we get a chance, we may do so. It is an ongoing battle of nerves,” senior home ministry sources said.

The Chinese have two advantages compared to India, said a home ministry source. The terrain on their side is easier and they have highly-developed infrastructure.

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