A memorandum of agreement (MoA) was signed between the Arunachal Pradesh government and the Indian Army for the maintenance and upkeep of the Major Ralengnao Bob Khathing Museum of Valour in Tawang district.
With this agreement, signed by Tawang Deputy Commissioner Kangki Darang and Brigadier VS Rajput of the 190 Mountain Brigade on Wednesday in the presence of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, the museum will be effectively managed solely by the Indian Army, an official statement said.
On the occasion, Khandu paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first home minister of India, under whose directives Major Bob Khathing travelled to Tawang and established administrative control over the region in 1951, which was held by the Tibetan administration.
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"If not for Sardar Patel, Major Bob Khathing and the then Governor of Assam Daulat Ram, who knows we Monpas and the Tawang region today would have been under China-controlled Tibet region," the statement quoted Khandu as saying.
CM Khandu thanked the Indian Army, particularly, the190 Mountain Brigade, for allocating defence land to establish the museum and accepting management of it, and assured that whenever the government's intervention is required in the maintenance and management of the museum, it will cooperate without hesitation.