Zemithang (Arunachal Pradesh)

Sending out a strong message to China, which recently attempted to rename 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh in a fresh attempt to lay claim on sovereign Indian territory, a group of top Himalayan Buddhist leaders on Monday visited the state and held a day-long national conference on Nalanda Buddhism Tradition at Gorsam Stupa, Zemithang in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district.

It's rare for top Himalayan Buddhist leaders to come together in such big numbers in the border state and the meeting on Monday is being seen as a clear and unambiguous message to China after its renaming attempt.

The day-long conference, attended by about 600 delegates, is also being seen as an attempt to give a strong push to Himalayan Buddhism.

Zemithang in Arunachal is the last village in India, along the Indo-China border.

In December 2022, Chinese PLA troops clashed with Indian forces on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh later issued a statement saying that the Chinese troops tried to unilaterally change the status quo on the LAC and the bid was successfully foiled by the Indian forces.

The meet was also attended by Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu. The CM said, Buddhist culture, which thrives on the peaceful co-existence of every sentient being, should not only be preserved but also propagated.

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Khandu added the state has a big chunk of the Buddhist population and "fortunately they have kept their culture and traditions safe with religious fervour."