For years, the people living near India’s most sensitive borders were essentially living in a forgotten corner of the country. Now, the government is saying — loudly — that those days are over.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who also represents Arunachal West in the Lok Sabha, came out swinging on Thursday, August 20, declaring that border development is now a “top priority” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. His comments came amid fresh concerns about Chinese military activity in the Upper Subansiri region of Arunachal Pradesh — a part of the state where roads, connectivity, and basic infrastructure have historically lagged far behind the rest of India.
“I Went There Myself”
Rijiju didn’t just make statements from Delhi. He posted on X that he personally visited remote areas like Maza, Galemo, and Taksing in Arunachal Pradesh to directly push for faster infrastructure work. That’s the kind of ground-level urgency that communities in border areas have been waiting to see for a long time. “Borders were neglected in the past but it’s top priority now,” he wrote — a line that carries weight precisely because of how long those areas waited.
Congress Called Out, Antony’s Own Words Used Against Them
Rijiju didn’t hold back when it came to accountability. He pointed directly at the Congress party’s legacy on border infrastructure, citing a remarkable 2013 statement by then Defence Minister A.K. Antony. In Parliament, Antony had openly acknowledged that India had, for decades, followed a policy of deliberately not developing border areas — operating under the belief that undeveloped terrain was a natural security buffer. Rijiju’s point was blunt: the neglect wasn’t accidental, it was policy. Antony, to his credit, had been honest about it. The problem is that the price for that honesty was paid by border communities and India’s strategic standing.
Rejecting the 60-km Intrusion Claims
A day before his infrastructure remarks, Rijiju had also pushed back against reports claiming Chinese troops had penetrated as far as 60 kilometres inside Arunachal Pradesh. He called it a false claim and urged caution on such sensitive matters. At the same time, he was careful to acknowledge that concerns from residents in border areas are real and deserve to be addressed. That’s a fine line to walk — dismissing misinformation while not dismissing the anxiety of the people who actually live there.
Where Things Stand on the LAC
The broader India-China relationship remains delicate. The Ministry of External Affairs has consistently stressed that peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control is central to how the bilateral relationship moves forward. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated on August 11 that border issues with China are treated as “most serious” by the government.
Decades of delayed roads, bridges, and connectivity in places like Upper Subansiri can’t be undone overnight. But if the political will is genuinely there — and Rijiju’s visits to Maza, Galemo, and Taksing suggest it might be — the people of Arunachal Pradesh’s border regions may finally be getting the attention their geography always demanded.
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