Tribal groups in Arunachal Pradesh staged violent protests demanding that the government make it harder for outsiders to enter their state — a position about as separatist as asking for a stronger door lock. Viral videos of the stone-pelting immediately circulated globally with captions claiming they were protesting to join China and oppose the Indian Army.
The Scheduled Tribe Bachao Andolon Committee (STBAC) called a bandh in Itanagar on May 25 to demand stricter enforcement of the Inner Line Permit, a colonial-era system that restricts non-Arunachalis from entering the state and which tribal groups consider their primary protection against demographic change. The protest turned violent — stone-pelting, highway blockades, tear gas — after demonstrators argued that the 2026 e-ILP digital guidelines were too lax and effectively opened the state to outsiders. Videos of the disturbance then spread across X, Facebook, and WhatsApp with captions reading Arunachal wants to join China and locals are opposing the Indian Army. Fact-checkers at Fact Crescendo and The Quint issued corrections confirming that the protesters were, specifically, demanding more India and stricter national oversight of their borders. The irony of protesters rioting for tighter national controls being reported internationally as separatists appears to have been lost on several verified accounts with large followings.