Nobody listened when he stood up in Parliament seven years ago. Now, Tapir Gao wants the nation to know — he was right.
Eastern Arunachal MP and senior BJP leader Tapir Gao has broken his silence on the ongoing row over alleged Chinese PLA intrusions in Upper Subansiri district, saying the current uproar vindicates every word he raised on the floor of Parliament back in 2019. In a social media post that has set off fresh debate, Gao didn’t mince his words. People had dismissed him then. Some had even accused him of demoralising the Indian Army by making such claims. Today, that silence looks a lot like denial.
A Warning Nobody Wanted to Hear
Back in 2019, Gao had stood before Parliament and alleged what many found uncomfortable to digest — massive Chinese PLA intrusions across multiple districts of Arunachal Pradesh. He named places: Chamdrung Chu valley in Tawang, Longju, Bisa, Original Maza and Asapila in Upper Subansiri, Andrela valley and Andrela Pass in Dibang Valley, and Glaitakru Pass and Hadigra Pass in Anjaw’s Chaglagam. It was a list of losses, not just a list of locations. And yet, the response was largely indifference. “I raised the issue of Chinese PLA intrusions in Arunachal Pradesh during the Parliament session in 2019, but unfortunately, people took it lightly,” Gao said.
Shera 4 and 5 — A Flashpoint That Could Have Been Avoided
The current crisis centres around Shera 4 and 5 in Upper Subansiri district, where locals from Taksing and Limeking have alleged that the PLA has steadily swallowed chunks of Indian territory. The Indian Army, the state government, and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju have all pushed back against these claims. But Gao isn’t backing down. He believes the confrontations at Shera might never have reached this level had the warnings from 2019 — and even the 1984–85 period — been taken seriously. That’s a sobering thought, and honestly, hard to dismiss given what’s unfolding now.
Border Villages Deserve More Than Silence
Gao also raised something that often gets buried under political noise — the people who actually live on the frontier. He called for border villagers to be allowed to freely access their land and properties in these sensitive areas. It’s a basic human concern wrapped inside a complex geopolitical reality. He also made a pointed appeal for locals to cooperate with the paramilitary and the Indian Army. “Border security demands vigilance and awareness. We must always be alert,” he said.
The Bigger Question This Raises
What makes Gao’s statement particularly significant is that he’s not an opposition voice looking to score points — he’s a sitting BJP MP speaking against the grain of his own government’s position. That takes a certain kind of conviction. Whether one agrees with him or not, the communities living closest to the Line of Actual Control have been raising alarms for years. Arunachal’s frontier is not a debate topic — it’s someone’s home, someone’s field, someone’s ancestral land.
Seven years of being told “relax, it’s fine” don’t look so reassuring anymore.
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