By returning 17 yaks to Chinese in Arunachal, India occupies high moral ground

The Indian Army of Eastern Command said that in a humane gesture it handed over 13 yaks & 4 calves, that strayed across the LAC on 31 August 2020 in Arunachal Pradesh's East Kameng, to China on 7 Sept 2020. Following this, Chinese officials present thanked the Indian Army for the compassionate gesture, writes Senior Journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah.

New Delhi: It is not just for the control of the dominating heights of eastern Ladakh that Indian and Chinese militaries are engaged in amid one of the biggest military mobilization between the two Asian giants in recent times caused by a border row that seems to have spiraled out of control.

The conflict is also for the occupation of the high moral ground. And if recent events are an indication, round one obviously goes to India.

On Monday, responding to Chinese belligerence and aggression with wholeheartedness and generosity, Indian army handed over 13 full-grown yaks and four calves to Chinese officials at the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Kameng district. The yaks had strayed over to the Indian side last week.

An Indian army tweet said: “Indian army handed over 13 yaks to China on 7 Sep that had strayed across LAC on 31 Aug in East Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh. Chinese thanked @adgpi for this gesture and gave assurance to avoid such occurrences in the future.”

The Indian action is in sharp contrast to the alleged ‘kidnapping’ of five Arunachali youth from the Tagin tribe by Chinese PLA soldiers on August 3 (Thursday).

ETV Bharat had reported how the five youth from Nacho village in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district were picked up by a team of PLA soldiers on Thursday (September 3). The youth were part of a local village team hunting for the famed Himalayan musk deer that secrets a substance from its abdomen called ‘musk’ or ‘kasturi’.

The ‘kasturi’ used for making expensive perfumes and medicines fetches a high price in the market.

On Monday, PLA denied any knowledge about the five youth despite the Indian army having contacted the PLA on the hotline.

The Chinese government media mouthpiece ‘Global Times’ in a tweet attributed to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said: “China has never recognised so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ which is China’s south Tibet region, and we have no details to release yet about the question on Indian army sending a message to PLA about five missing Indians in the region.”

Again, quite contrastingly, on the same day that the five Arunachali youth were picked up, the Indian army rescued three Chinese citizens who had lost their way in the mountainous area of North Sikkim bordering China at an altitude of 17,500 feet.

“Realising danger to the lives of the Chinese citizens which included two men and one woman in sub-zero temperatures, the soldiers of Indian Army immediately reached out and provided medical assistance including oxygen, food and warm clothes to protect them from the vagaries of extreme altitude and harsh climatic conditions,” an army release said.