MHA Assigns Official Names to 27 Places in Arunachal Pradesh

Key facts

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on 7 August 2026 the formal assignment of standard names to 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The exercise was carried out in consultation with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The newly designated names have been incorporated into the official maps of the Survey of India (SoI).
• The move counters China's repeated attempts to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as 'South Tibet'.
• The 27 notified locations include settlements, mountain passes, water bodies and memorials spread across the frontier state.
• The notified settlements include Longju, Maja, Bisa, Bara Kundun, Chhota Kundun, Dhan Bari, Pritnagar, Buddhamandir, Jairampur, Teritnagar, Ramnagar, Jaswant Garh, Sagar, Padma, Jyotinagar, Baisakhi, Chhota Ropuk, Bara Ropuk, Shivaji Nagar, Sunpura and Kamlang Nagar.
• The notified geographical features include the mountain passes Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La and Thag La, Sambho Sarovar lake and the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial.
• The standardisation exercise is intended to eliminate ambiguities in geographical references and ensure consistency across official maps and government records.
• It is expected to improve administrative coordination, infrastructure planning, disaster management and public service delivery.
• India has maintained that attempts by other countries to rename places within Arunachal Pradesh have no legal validity.