Beijing (PTI): China has released a third set of names in Chinese, Tibetan and pinyin characters for Arunachal Pradesh, as part of its efforts to reemphasise its claim over the Indian state.

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs on Sunday released the standardised names of 11 places for Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls "Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet" in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China's cabinet.

The official names of the 11 places were released on Sunday by the ministry, which also gave precise coordinates, including two land areas, two residential areas, five mountain peaks and two rivers and listed the category of places' names and their subordinate administrative districts, state-run Global Times reported on Monday.

This is the third batch of standardised geographical names for Arunachal Pradesh issued by China's civil affairs ministry. The first batch of the standardised names of six places in Arunachal was released in 2017, and the second batch of 15 places was issued in 2021.

India has previously dismissed the Chinese move of renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state has "always been" and will "always be" an integral part of India and that assigning "invented" names does not alter this fact.

"This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in December 2021.

"Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact," he had said.

The Global Times, which is part of the ruling Communist Party's mouthpiece People's Daily group of publications, quoted Chinese experts as saying that the announcement of names is a legitimate move and China's sovereign right to standardise the geographical names.

The first set of names was announced by China in 2017 days after the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh. China was sharply critical of the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit.

The Dalai Lama fled from Tibet through Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and sought refuge in India in 1959 after China took military control of the Himalayan region in 1950.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Agra, Dec 23: A truck driver dragged two people for about 300 metres in Agra under his vehicle, police on Monday said.

Some locals forced the driver to stop the truck and extricated the men from under the vehicle.

Police arrested the driver and seized the truck.

The two men, both residents of Nunhai in Agra, were going towards Rambagh from Waterworks when they met with an accident around 11 pm Sunday.

The driver, instead of stopping the truck sped up, trapping both of them underneath, police said.

"In the accident, two youths were dragged by a canter driver for about 300 metres. Later, some residents saved the youths by stopping the driver using force," Chhatta Police Station Inspector Pramod Kumar told PTI.

"The youths were sent for treatment at a nearby hospital and are still being treated, but are in stable condition. The youths were from Agra. The canter driver was arrested and the canter seized after the incident," he said.

A video of the incident that surfaced on social media showed the men shouting for help.

The video was purported to have been shot by a person passing by on a two-wheeler.