Calling Arunachal Pradesh ‘A disputed territory’ is a factual mistake by media houses

Media portals should understand the difference between disputed area and integral parts of any nation, the way they portrayed Arunachal Pradesh as disputed region is very improper.

@theshubhamv
Identity (Distortion & Appropriation) | 11-04-2017

As we all know Arunachal Pradesh and North East are integral parts of India and all states of north east choose their chief ministers democratically by election process. Few days ago, a terrorist outfit named ULFA gave warning to Dalai Lama during his visit to Assam saying – “Don’t say anything against China”. It clearly shows the relationship between separatist outfit ULFA and China and their presence is clearly visible in Indian state of Assam.  Similarly, other north eastern state Arunachal Pradesh is also an integral part of India but China forcibly claims the state in the eastern Himalayas as “South Tibet”, and denounced foreign and even Indian leaders’ visits to the region. Arunachal Pradesh people have democratically elected their Chief Minister Pema Khandu and this territory has been a part of India since independence.

“On 15th August 1947 when India became an independent nation, North East Frontier Agency commonly known as NEFA became an integral part of the Union of India. It was administrated by the Ministry of External Affairs with the Governor of Assam acting as agent to the President of India. The administrative head was the Advisor to the Governor.

In 1972, the NEFA became a Union Territory when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister and it was rechristened as Arunachal Pradesh. After 3 years, in 1975, it acquired a legislature. Finally on 20th February 1987, Statehood was conferred on Arunachal Pradesh, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister and it became the 25th State of the Union of India.”

Area-wise, Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state of the NE region of India. But, China tries to capture that part by force like earlier they did with Tibet and Taiwan. Last month a Taiwanese parliamentary delegation visited Delhi, China has also objected to that delegation.

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The main concern of writing this article is not about clearing the position of Arunachal Pradesh because it is a well-known fact that it is an integral part of India. But, the main concern is the headlines of several media houses including Indian media houses, calling Arunachal Pradesh a disputed territory. I have already mentioned above that Arunachal Pradesh is an Indian state but look at the headlines of these media houses:

  1. Reuters.com (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”.
  2. MSN.com (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”.
  3. Deccan Herald (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”.
  4. Moneycontrol.com (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”.
  5. DNAindia.com (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”.
  6. Yahoo.com (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”.
  7. Morungexpress.com (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”.
  8. Thehansindia.com (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”.
  9. Tribune.com.pk (3 March 2017): “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”. (Pakistani domain)
  10. Today.nhely.hu (6 April 2017): “China slams India for hosting Dalai Lama in disputed region”. (Hungarian domain)

Now, look at the top nine news headlines of different media portals. They all are exactly same. I do not know whether they all have any connections or links with each other or not, but I am sure about one thing that- it cannot be just a coincidence that all content writers of these media portals create the same headlines saying – “India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China”. These types of headlines are clearly misguiding the people by calling an Indian state- ‘A disputed territory.’  As mentioned above, the same headlines were then followed by Pakistani, Chinese and Hungarian media portals. The above mentioned media portals should understand the difference between disputed area and integral parts of any nation, the way they portrayed Arunachal Pradesh as disputed region  in their headlines is very fallacious and improper. I am also worried about copycat behavior of content writers in media houses, without cross checking the news they all copied the headlines and made it public without knowing the repercussions of the news. Such reporting is not only unprofessional and highly irresponsible, but it also raises questions about neutrality and agenda of such media houses.

References-

  1. http://www.jansatta.com/rajya/ulfa-i-warns-dalai-lama-against-making-anti-china-remark/287318/
  2. http://arunachalpradesh.gov.in/
  3. http://arunachalpradesh.gov.in/govt.htm
  4. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/india-to-host-dalai-lama-in-disputed-territory-defying-china/ar-AAnK5zK
  5. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-china-dalailama-idUSKBN16A0VZ
  6. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/india-to-host-dalai-lama-in-disputed-territory-defying-china/ar-AAnK5zK
  7. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/599269/china-warns-india-against-allowing.html
  8. http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/india-to-host-dalai-lamadisputed-territory-defying-china-1059513.html
  9. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-india-to-host-dalai-lama-in-disputed-territory-defying-china-2341206
  10. https://www.yahoo.com/news/india-host-dalai-lama-disputed-territory-defying-china-093224530.html
  11. http://morungexpress.com/india-host-dalai-lama-disputed-territory-defying-china/
  12. http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/National/2017-03-03/India-to-host-Dalai-Lama-in-disputed-territory-defying-China/284576
  13. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1345026/india-host-dalai-lama-disputed-territory-defying-china/
  14. http://www.today.nhely.hu/news/china-slams-india-for-hosting-dalai-lama-in-disputed-region
  15. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1345026/india-host-dalai-lama-disputed-territory-defying-china/
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