The McMahon Line Dispute and Infrastructure Politics: How India's Development Projects Shape Territorial Claims in Arunachal Pradesh

Abstract

The McMahon Line, demarcating the boundary between India and China, remains one of Asia's most contentious territorial disputes. This paper examines how India's strategic infrastructure development in Arunachal Pradesh functions as a mechanism of territorial assertion and sovereignty consolidation. Through spatial analysis and policy evaluation, this research demonstrates that infrastructure projects serve dual purposes: development and geopolitical signalling. Analysing data from 2010-2023, we find that infrastructure investment correlates with disputed border zones, suggesting deliberate strategic positioning. The study employs mixed methods, combining quantitative analysis of project distribution with qualitative assessment of policy documents. Results indicate that India's infrastructure politics in Arunachal Pradesh represent "development as defence," where roads, bridges, and connectivity projects materialise abstract sovereignty claims into physical territorial control. This research contributes to understanding how nation-states utilise development projects as instruments of territorial assertion in contested borderlands.