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In this episode of India Today Explains, Anchor Akshita Anandagopal dissects the week's top stories, headlined by the harassment of an Indian citizen, Fema Wangchom Tongdok, at Shanghai airport over her Arunachal Pradesh domicile. Discussing the diplomatic row, Anandagopal asserts, 'Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a fact which is self-evident.' The show also investigates the viral death rumors surrounding former Pakistan PM Imran Khan and the controversy over X’s new location feature, which exposed foreign-operated bot farms targeting India. Additionally, the segment explores the artistic heritage of the Indian Constitution illustrated by Nandlal Bose.
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00:00Hello and welcome, you're watching India Today Explains, I'm Akshita Nanda Gopal and over the
00:12next half hour I'll break down the top stories of the week for you. So what's coming up? With
00:18an Arunachal woman being harassed at the Shanghai airport, we'll tell you about how China has
00:24repeatedly tried to claim Arunachal as theirs. Also we talk about Imran Khan being a minor
00:29why he's in jail, what are the charges against him, we'll break that down for you. Also on the show,
00:35the new X feature that tells you the origin of posts that sparked a storm globally. And finally
00:41this week we celebrated Constitution Day and so I'll give you a very interesting anecdote on how
00:46the constitution also refers to our beautiful heritage. All that and more coming your way,
00:52let's get started. Recent incident at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport has once again
00:58pushed Arunachal Pradesh in the spotlight of the long-running India-China dispute.
01:03Pema Wangjom Tongtok, an Indian citizen based in the UK, was traveling from London to Japan on 21st
01:11November when her three-hour layover turned into a distressing episode. Tongtok says immigration
01:17officers at Shanghai airport refused to recognize her Indian passport, calling it invalid solely because
01:23Arunachal Pradesh had listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace.
01:27The immigration officer came to single me out of the queue while I was queuing up for the security
01:33check-in and basically took my passport from me, from my possession and said when I did continue to
01:42ask what is the issue I have a connecting flight, why are you singling me out and taking me out of
01:46the queue. She went on to say Arunachal is not part of India, that it's part of China and that my Indian
01:54passport was an invalid document for travel. Reacting strongly to this, India hit back, reiterating our firm
02:02position, saying in a quote, Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India and this is a
02:08fact which is self-evident fact. India has since lodged a formal diplomatic protest in both Beijing and New Delhi.
02:15Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India and this is a fact which is self-evident.
02:22No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality.
02:28On the other hand, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that officials at the airport had acted in
02:34accordance with Chinese laws and insisted no wrongdoing had occurred, maintaining that Arunachal Pradesh
02:40is a part of China.
02:44First of all, Zangan is Chinese territory and China has never recognized the so-called Arunachal Pradesh
02:50illegally established by India. As for the individual case you mentioned, according to my
02:54understanding, during the handling of the process, China's border inspection authorities have always
02:59performed inspection procedures in accordance with laws and regulations, enforced the law impartially and
03:04civilly, fully protected legitimate rights and interests of persons involved. There was no so-called
03:09detention, harassment or other situations. The airline also provided the person with food and rest.
03:18So what exactly is this dispute all about? Arunachal Pradesh, the largest of India's Northeastern
03:25Seven Sisters, as they are called, has a history stretching back thousands of years with evidence of
03:31neolithic settlements. Its location on the frontier led to periodic interactions with Tibet and Bhutan and later the
03:38British administration. Now during the colonial era, it was known as the Northeast Frontier Agency, a name it
03:46retained until it became a full-fledged Indian state in 1987. China disputes this evolution. China claims that
03:54large parts of the region historically fell under Tibetan influence, a territory Beijing considers its own after taking control
04:02of Tibet in the mid-20th century. This underpins China's recurring references to Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet or
04:10Zangnan. Now although China asserts claims over the entire state, which everyone has disputed and made clear is not the case
04:18considering it's part of India. Experts note that it's particularly Tawang, which is a
04:23northwestern Arunachal Pradesh that's central to Beijing's interest. Why? Well, Tawang hosts the second largest
04:30monastery of Tibetan Buddhism outside of Lhasa. Established in 1680 to 81, at the directive of the fifth Dalai Lama, the
04:40monastery has deep spiritual and historical ties to Tibetan Buddhism. Ties that China cites as evidence of past
04:48Tibetan administrative influence. The sixth Dalai Lama, Sangyang Yatso, was born near Tawang and when the
04:55current Dalai Lama escaped Tibet in 1959 amid China's crackdown, he entered India through Tawang, staying
05:02briefly at that monastery as well. And also at the core of the conflict lies the McMohan Line, drawn in
05:081914 during the Shimla Convention between British India, Tibet and China. Although a Chinese
05:14representative attended, he refused to accept the boundary agreement, arguing that Tibet lacked the
05:21sovereign authority to negotiate. India, inheriting British administrative boundaries, recognizes the
05:27McMohan Line as a legitimate international border. China rejects the entire Shimla Convention,
05:33unsurprisingly, claiming the line improperly co-optivate Tibetan territory. Running from eastern
05:39Bhutan to the China-Myanmar border, the McMohan Line places the territory south of it, including Arunachar
05:46Pradesh, within India. China insists this area was historically Tibetan. India has made it clear that
05:52we reject this. Now, as a part of its attempt to create this narrative, China has repeatedly released
06:00lists of renamed places in Arunachar Pradesh. In 2017, they put six standardized Chinese names. In 2021,
06:0815 more names, where they covered mountains, rivers, residential areas. In 2023, another list featuring
06:1511 names. Then in 2024, there was a fourth set, this time the 30 renamed locations. All of this, India's
06:23categorically dismissed, calling them unfounded, calling these renaming exercises meaningless.
06:28Arunachar Pradesh sits on the eastern edge of the Himalayas, offering India crucial strategic vantage points
06:35along the contested frontier. This terrain enables India to position air defense systems effectively against
06:41potential threats. Its geography also allows India to deploy advanced missile systems relatively close
06:47to major Chinese military bases in Tibet. Now, beyond military considerations, there's another aspect
06:53here. Experts have highlighted how China's hardening stance on Arunachar of late may be linked to its
06:58desire to secure Aksai Chin as well, territory that China again has been fighting over. New Delhi has
07:05repeatedly refused to concede this. A wild claim ricocheted across social media on Wednesday after an
07:17Afghanistan outlet reported that former Pakistan Prime Minister PTI founder Imran Khan had been killed
07:23inside Rawalpindi's Adhiala jail. Within minutes, the rumor spiraled leading to frantic posts on X speculating
07:31about this death. The unverified claim surfaced amid allegations from Imran Khan's sisters that they're
07:37not being allowed to meet him. This isn't the first time rumors about Imran Khan's demise have spread on
07:42social media. In May, a document bearing the letterhead of the government of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign
07:49Affairs claiming that Khan had died in judicial custody and that the circumstances of his death were under
07:55the investigation went viral. In July, Imran Khan asked his party members to hold the Pakistan Army Chief
08:07General Asim Munir accountable if anything happened to him in jail after complaining of harsh treatment
08:13during incarceration. Now, what exactly happened? The rupture between Imran Khan and Field Marshal Asim
08:24Munir has long been one of Pakistan's most consequential power feuds. In 2019, just eight months
08:30into his tenure as head of the powerful ISI, Munir was abruptly removed by Prime Minister Imran Khan,
08:36a move that shocked Pakistan's military and political establishment. Rumors soon spread that Munir had
08:43presented Imran Khan with evidence implicating Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan's wife, in alleged corruption and
08:49interference in state affairs. Imran Khan denied the accusation and cast the episode as a personal
08:55vendetta, claiming Munir was pursuing a vindictive campaign against his wife. His dismissal, however,
09:02set in motion a quiet power struggle that would eventually reshape Pakistan's future. The clash
09:08only intensified after Munir became army chief. Imran Khan began publicly describing him as the most
09:14oppressive dictator in Pakistan's history, accusing him of orchestrating a political crackdown, torturing
09:20him and his wife in custody and seeking an illegitimate extension of military rule.
09:30Imran Khan was removed from power in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022
09:35and subsequently faced a whopping 188 cases, including charges of corruption, terrorism, inciting violence
09:42during deadly protests that saw his supporters attack government and military property across the
09:48country. The cricket star turned politician is currently serving a 14 year jail term on charges
09:59that he and his wife were gifted land by a real estate developer during his premiership from 2018 to 2022
10:06in exchange for illegal favours. He was first arrested in May 2023 in this case, accused of
10:12receiving land worth up to 7 billion rupees as a bribe through a trust created in 2018.
10:19His party maintains the land was donated for charitable purposes.
10:23Then there's the Toshakana case. Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi were handed a 14 year sentence
10:29in the Toshakana or state treasury case. The sentence was later suspended by a high court.
10:35The duo were charged with selling state-held gifts worth more than 140 million rupees,
10:41which Khan had received during his 2018 to 2022 premiership. The gifts included diamond jewelry
10:47and seven watches, six of them Rolexes. The most expensive valued at 85 million rupees.
10:54Then the other case. In June, the Islamabad high court overturned Imran Khan's conviction on charges
11:06of leaking state secrets. He had previously been sentenced to 10 years in prison for making public
11:12a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington in 2022 in what is commonly
11:19known as the Cypher case. Khan has said the cable was evidence of a conspiracy by Pakistan's military
11:25and the US government to topple his government in 2022 after he visited Moscow just before Russia's
11:32invasion of Ukraine. Washington and Pakistan's military deny the accusation. Imran Khan's supporters,
11:38however, have reasons to worry given Pakistan's troubling history with its prime ministers.
11:48The rollout of a new feature by Elon Musk's X which reveals an account's location has stirred
11:54controversy. In India, this feature is exposed that several politically active accounts, particularly
12:00those critical of the government, are based outside the country. So what are these features and why is
12:05it stirred political controversy? X's head of product, Nikita Biar, launched the new feature
12:12for user profiles that displays information about the account, including its location, how many times
12:17the account has changed its username, the account's original joining date and how the user downloaded the
12:23X app. This feature was introduced to reduce inauthentic engagement on the platform where bots often
12:30impersonate humans, a problem that could become more difficult to address in the age of AI.
12:35Now, shortly after the launch of the location feature, it exposed a network of foreign operated
12:48accounts that were promoting divisive narratives within India. Many of these accounts, which are
12:53particularly critical of the government and have anti-Hindu content, are being run from countries like
12:58Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Asian nations. For example, consider the X user with the profile,
13:05at Chaturvedi Swat. Her profile features a photo of an Indian woman in a saree with Jai Hind written
13:12in the bio and India listed as a location. She seems to have an opinion on every major political issue
13:18in India, from the red food blast to the Bihar polls. But, according to X's new feature, the account was based
13:24in Pakistan. With over 2000 posts criticizing the Indian government on various issues, including national
13:31security, this purported left-wing account has likely been operated from Pakistan. Similarly, other accounts
13:38operated from West Asia and Saudi Arabia have impersonated users from Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai, posting comments of
13:46political and sensitive religious issues. These accounts appear to use tools to draft perfect
13:52Hindi posts, mimicking Indian internet users.
14:02But, it's not just in India. X's location features also triggered controversy in the United States.
14:09Numerous right-wing personalities and promoters of Trump's MAGA, Make America Great Again campaign,
14:14have been found to have accounts based in Nigeria, Bangladesh or Eastern Europe. For instance,
14:20an account called Ivanka News, which describes itself as a fan account for Trump's daughter,
14:26has accumulated more than 1 million followers and has previously posted about voting for the
14:31president last year. Their account, however, is based in Nigeria and its username has changed 11 times
14:37since 2010, according to X.
14:46But, there's another aspect here. X's new feature has certain technical limitations. Users who frequently
14:52use VPN services to hide their identity may show incorrect country and region data in X's database.
14:59This issue may also arise from the use of proxies by service providers. A notable glitch was observed at the
15:05BJP Gujarat handle, which was initially shown to be based in Ireland before the error was corrected.
15:12On 26th January 1950, India became a democratic republic.
15:22Two and a half years ago, the British Empire passed power into the hands of the Indian people.
15:30We became an independent country and today, by the proclamation of our constitution, made by our own
15:37people in the exercise of the wisdom and the determination and the collective responsibility.
15:43We have set the formal seal to the inauguration of that freedom in the form of a constitution.
15:49It took two years, 11 months and 18 days, however, for our constitution framers to draft a document
15:56strong enough to protect the rights of the people and ensure a free and fair atmosphere where we live.
16:02But did you know that along with protecting people's rights, the makers of our constitution
16:08also worked on preserving our ancient heritage? This responsibility was actually given to one of
16:13the pioneers of modern Indian art, Nandalal Bose, by the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
16:21He illustrated the Indian constitution with 21 images crafted on the first page of each part.
16:27Now, there is no direct relation between the image and the part in the constitution,
16:33but they highlight the illustrator's intention to draw attention to India's glorious historical past.
16:40So, what we're going to do is we're going to break down for you those 22 images and what they symbolize.
16:46The first image is the seal from the Indus Valley civilization. This is on part one,
16:51the union and its territory. It includes a powerful zebu bull with a short,
16:55undeciphered Harappan inscription. The large horns, the humped back, it symbolizes power, strength and
17:02leadership. Part two of the constitution is about citizenship. That's decorated with the image of
17:08a Guru Kulin Rishi's ashram. This resonant illustration depicts ancient India's traditional education
17:15system where students lived with the teacher and learnt values, knowledge and discipline. Part three of the
17:22the constitution is about fundamental rights as we all know. That has an illustration of the Ramayana,
17:27featuring Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, symbolizing the victory of truth and righteousness over evil.
17:34Part four, directive principles of state policy. There's an illustration of the Bhagavad Gita showing
17:39Lord Krishna guiding Arjuna at Kurukshetra. This represents wisdom, duty and moral courage.
17:45The fifth part contains an illustration of Buddha, depicting his first sermon at Sarnath.
17:52Part six, portrays Mahavir Jain, the last Jain Tirthankara, representing non-violence, discipline and
17:59spiritual purity. Then there's an illustration of Samrat Ashoka's Buddhist mission after the Kalinga
18:05war and this symbolizes his efforts to spread peace across Asia. This is part seven. Part eight,
18:12reflects the Gupta age, the golden era of India, known for remarkable advancements in science,
18:18maths, literature and art. We've covered eight parts for you. Part nine opens with the depiction
18:24of the court of King Vikramaditya, symbolizing justice, wisdom and cultural patronage. And part
18:3010 illustrates Nalanda Mahavihara, the global center of learning. For 800 years has attracted students
18:37from across the world. There's a representation also of the artistic splendor of Odisha in part 11,
18:44showcasing the temple architecture, sculpture, dance and cultural creativity.
18:50Now in part 12, there's a feature of Lord Shiva as Nataraja. We've all seen, of course,
18:55that beautiful pose performing his cosmic dance, symbolizing the cycle of creation,
19:00preservation and destruction. Part 13 showcases Mahabalipuram of Tamil Nadu, the architecture,
19:07their extraordinary Pallava artistry and architectural skill. Part 14 begins with a
19:13scene from the court of Emperor Akbar, representing cultural richness, architectural genius and ideals
19:19of religious harmony. Illustrations of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Guru Gobind Singh adorns part 15.
19:25Shivaji, of course, symbolizes bravery and leadership. Guru Gobind Singh represents sacrifice, courage.
19:31Then we get to part 16, Rani Lakshmi Bhai of Jhansi and Tipu Sultan. Rani Jhansi symbolizing fearless
19:38resistance in 1857. Tipu Sultan, the tiger of Mysore, sometimes controversial but representing resistance
19:45to the British. Then 17 and part 18, they pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of peace,
19:52of non-violence, honoring his leadership in India's freedom struggle. And then you have many more of
19:59our heroes represented. Part 19 includes Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, symbolizing revolutionary
20:05spirit of the call for complete independence. Part 20 glorifies the beautiful, majestic Himalayas,
20:12strength, purity, spiritual power. The 21st part depicts the scene of the desert representing
20:19India's geographical diversity by depicting the Thar desert. And finally, part 22. The boats
20:27in part 22 remind us of the endless ocean that make India and Hindustan truly sare jahan se achha,
20:34symbolizing the eternal quest of the people of India to sail beyond limitations.
20:39So the constitution book that we hold has so much of meaning and messaging.
20:45That's all we have time for in this edition of India Today Explains. Thanks very much
20:48for tuning in. I'll see you same time next week.
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