Kolkata: Some Indian Army officers of Eastern Command are undergoing soft skill training on Tibetan language and culture to counter Chinese influence in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the GOC-in-charge Eastern command Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita said during a media interaction on Friday, January 27, 2023.
Officials said the officers were undergoing a two-month Tibetology course involving studies in culture, geography, history, politics and demography from Sikkim-based Namgyal Institute of Tibetology. They are also visiting monasteries and interacting with villagers to know their culture better, he said. Some officers are learning Chinese and Mandarin language in collaboration with Tezpur University.
Speaking about the current state of the LAC in northeastern states, RP Kalita said the situation was stable but unpredictable. “Since the border is not demarcated in this part of the country, there are places which at times experience conflicts due to PLA advancement. Currently, the situation is stable but unpredictable,” said Kalita, at Kolkata Press Club on Friday afternoon, responding to journalists’ queries.
To counter the Chinese further, the Indian army is developing 130 vibrant villages along the undefined border in the Eastern Command area for better information inflow and better guard against outside forces, he added.
The move comes against the backdrop of China developing model villages following the recent conflicts, officials said. Under the programme, army officers are approaching residents of border villages often abandoned or with a sparse population to return, with the promise of basic amenities, prompting a reverse migration.
Officials said, to counter the infrastructure development by Chinese forces on the other side of the border, roads and other infrastructure activities, including building multiple all-weather tunnels, are underway on the Indian side of the region.
Credit: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
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