India, Aug. 16 -- Beijing's repeated renaming of places in Arunachal is cartographic aggression.

In the long shadow of the Himalayas, maps have become weapons. Beijing's repeated attempts to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh are not mere semantic exercises; they are acts of cartographic aggression, designed to erode sovereignty by reshaping perception. India's decision to respond in kind-by asserting its own nomenclature and refusing to let Chinese renaming go unanswered-is more than a bureaucratic manoeuvre. It is a statement of intent, a refusal to cede the battlefield of narrative.

The politics of naming: Names are not neutral. They carry history, identity, and legitimacy. When China publishes lists of "standardized" names for India...