Click to play videoTawang: The ‘Sela’ gateway to Tawang town is on a height of 13,700 feet and is that part of India that China claims to be its own.
China's claim is based on history, as Tawang (belonged to Tibet originally) is the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama.
However, many in India say China's claim has no credibility. Tibet never claimed sovereignty over Tawang and enjoyed similar relations with many monasteries in the Himalayas.
“Now it's possible however that from time to time Tibetans exercised influence in this area but it's not been translated into large-scale living of Tibetan populations in this area,” says Senior Fellow, IDSA, Sujit Dutta.
As for the people of Arunachal, they are not all ethnic Tibetans and many are quite happy being a part of India.
"I feel and I think that people of Arunachal are all with the rest of the Indians,” says a resident of Tawang, Dr Jiyeta.
Meanwhile, experts say what matters is that both sides have agreed to a package settlement which takes into account their respective positions on the dispute.
“So it's best left unstated - these kind of old, very prehistoric arguments as the basis for today's settlements, which I said must be based on realities on the ground, on population centers, their interests, citizenship rights,” Dutta says.
However, what is relevant is that India and China have agreed that any settlement on Arunachal should not hurt the sentiments of those settled there and any settlement for the boundary dispute will have to be based on ground reality.
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