Amidst an anti-Chinese chorus in India, the Uttar Pradesh police Special Task Force (STF) has asked all its personnel to uninstall Chinese-origin mobile applications from their handsets, following the deaths of 20 Indian Army troops by Chinese forces in the Ladakh region.
The order by the UP STF chief cited an advisory by the federal Home Ministry for the removal of 52 Chinese mobile apps, saying it could lead to data theft and therefore insecurity.
The list of Chinese-origin mobile applications includes Tik Tok, Helo, UC News, UC Browser, Xender, Club Factory, Selfie City, etc.
Several groups have held protests in various parts of India, including New Delhi, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh to express their anger over the killing of Indian soldiers in violent skirmishes with their Chinese counterparts.
The violent clashes, the worst in several decades between the two Asian giants, occurred even as both sides were in the process of “de-escalation” in the Galwan Valley after more than a month-long standoff at several points along the de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
New Delhi has told Beijing that the “unprecedented development will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship.”
Beijing, for its part, said the incident happened because “India’s frontline troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocations when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing".
India and China share a border from Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast to Sikkim in the centre to Ladakh in the northern region. While it is mainly a land border in most regions, in Pangong Tso in Eastern Ladakh, it passes through a lake.
India controls the western portion of the 45-km lake, while the rest is under Chinese control. The majority of the clashes between the Indian and Chinese armies have taken place near the disputed portion of the lake.