When there was hue and cry over China’s
repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh’s silence on the issue, during his address while
on a visit to the state, raised many eyebrows. But silence
sometimes speaks louder than words.
His announcement of a mega package worth
Rs 8,000-10,000 crore was perhaps an assurance to the people
that their land was well looked after. His visit was significant
in the sense that the Arunachalese were eager to catch a glimpse
of the Prime Minister since visits by national leaders are
few and far between and the last one to do so was HD Deve
Gowda, 12 years ago.
Once implemented, the package should not
only open up employment opportunities but also lead to the
state’s economic resurgence. Despite being blessed with
nature’s bounties, Arunachal Pradesh has been lying
low for over four decades due to the lack of a concrete policy
following the 1962 Chinese aggression.
Bereft of air and rail linkages and proper road connectivity,
the Centre’s commitment of building an 1,840 km two-lane
trans-Arunachal Pradesh highway from Tawang in the west to
Mahadevpur (Lohit district) in the east, would provide inter-district
connectivity and connect the state with the rest of the country.
Itanagar will have a greenfield airport and the state capital
will be be linked with Harmutty in Assam by train. A daily
helicopter service between Guwahati and Tawang should open
up Arunachal and make it one of the leading states in the
region.
Dr Singh’s visit soon after his trip
to China assumed significance. What Delhi gained was nothing
more than some rhetorical statements that India and China
must develop a joint vision for the coming decades of the
21st century. The Chinese army’s repeated incursions
into Arunachal may have proved a point that India lacks determination
to deal firmly with security concerns.
It is perhaps the inclement weather in Tawang that prevented
the Prime Minister from visiting the place but the itinerary
seemed to have been prepared in such a way that he could avoid
the controversy in the face of Chinese claims on Tawang.
Dr Manmohan Singh was expected to give a firm assurance of
the Centre’s commitment that every inch of Arunachal
Pradesh, including Tawang, would be protected at any cost.
However no mention of China was made in his speech.
Notwithstanding party lines, people in the state felt the
Prime Minsiter should have convinced his counterpart to respect
the 2003 bilateral agreement between the two countries and
maintain the status quo on both sides of the McMahon line.
Courtesy: The Statesman |
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