New Delhi: As part of its celebrations to mark 75 years of bilateral relations and Indian Independence, the US embassy will launch a website on Tuesday, September 27, to document the cultural heritage of tribes in Arunachal Pradesh.
With an eye on China, the United States embassy’s action has geo-political implications, as it visibly supports Indian sovereignty over the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Beijing claims the entire northeastern state, which it calls as south Tibet.
Two previous US ambassadors to India have visited Arunachal Pradesh in 2016 and 2019, triggering a verbal spat between the two Asian neigbhours. After the last visit in October 2019, a senior US state department official stated that the trip was part of a demonstration of “US support for Indian sovereignty” in Arunachal Pradesh.
China’s sensitivity over Arunachal was demonstrated last month after the new German envoy Philipp Ackermann described Beijing’s claim on Arunachal as “outrageous”. The Chinese embassy spokesperson regretted the ambassador’s remarks and asserted that there was no role of a “third party to intervene, or make unwarranted comments or pick sides”.
The US embassy’s acting deputy chief of mission Brian Heath will launch the audio-visual documentation and website of the cultural heritage of 17 indigenous communities of Arunachal Pradesh.
The project has been funded by the ministry of tourism, UNESCO’s International Information and Network for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific (ICHCAP) and United States Mission in India’s Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.
