Arunachal has a new threat across border

Called the ‘‘Green Pearl’’ of the Tibet-Qinghai plateau, the Nyingchi prefecture is blossoming under Bejing’s strategic attention to the development of Tibet, especially its border regions.

In contrast, repeated appeals from the government of Arunchal Pradesh to bring connectivity to the state are yet to get an effective response from Delhi.

Ever since 1962, when the People’s Liberation Army rolled down the eastern Himalayas, India has been preparing for a repeat.

While the threat of a military invasion from China has long disappeared, the neglect of Arunchal Pradesh is creating a new economic imbalance across the Indo-Tibetan border in the east.

As it prepared for the last war, India chose to keep Arunachal Pradesh underdeveloped. Delhi argued, somewhat perversely, that the PLA might take advantage of any infrastructure development in Arunachal.

As Delhi takes time to get its act together, Beijing is pushing ahead purposefully.

While Tibet itself has developed at about 12 per cent year over the last decade, the Nyingchi prefecture has grown at 17 per cent and is one of the richest parts of Tibet, local officials here say.

Baimalang Jie, the Secretary General of the local Chinese Communist Party, told visiting Indian journalists that the per capita income of the the prefecture now stands at 13,000 yuan (one yuan is a little over Rs 5).

This marks a four-fold growth in incomes since 1994. The incomes in Nyingchi are also more than four times those in Arunachal Pradesh.

The dramatic expansion of road-building in Nyingchi over the last decade has brought the total mileage in the prefecture to 3,276 km. Arunachal Pradesh is one of the most poorly connected states within India with a National Highway mileage of only 393km.

Like all other local leaders in China, Baimalang Jie is enthusiastic about foreign trade with neighbouring countries. Nyingchi has border with Mynmar and India. Border trade has already started with Myanmar.

As New Delhi and Beijing intensify their talks to resolve the dispute, it is inevitable that this border will have to open one day. When that moment comes, Arunachal Pradesh will be woefully unprepared.