Demchok (),
KNAB Place Name Database, retrieved 27 July 2021.
previously called New Demchok,
and called Parigas () by the Chinese,
is a village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
and military encampment in the Indian-administered Demchok sector
The Demchok sector is a disputed area named after the villages of Demchok, Ladakh, Demchok in Ladakh and Demchok, Ngari Prefecture, Demchok in Tibet, situated near the confluence of the Charding Nullah and Indus River. It is a part of the gr ...
, that is disputed between India and China. It is administered as part of the Nyoma tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...
in the Leh district
Leh district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Dispute, disputed Kashmir-region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:T ...
of Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...
by India, and claimed by China as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
.
The Line of Actual Control (LAC) passes along the southeast side of the village, along the Charding Nullah (also called Demchok River and Lhari stream) which joins the Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...
near the village. Across the stream, less than a kilometre away, is a Chinese-administered Demchok village.
Etymology
The village of Demchok was apparently named after ''Demchok Karpo'' (also "Demchok Lhari Karpo"), the rocky white peak behind the present Ladakhi village of Demchok. However, prior to 1947, the main Demchok village was on the Tibetan side of the border.[ The Ladakhi side of the settlement was still referred to as "Demchok".
Chinese officials use the name "Demchok" only for the Tibetan side of the settlement and refer to the Ladakhi side as "Parigas" (also spelt "Barrigas").][
During border discussions in the 1960s, the Chinese government called the Indian village "Parigas" and the Chinese village "Demchok":
* . Chinese officials state: "Parigas was part of the Demchok area. West of Demchok, after crossing the Chopu river, one arrived at Parigas."
* : "In fact, it was Indian troops who on September 18, intruded into the vicinity of the Demchok village on the Chinese side of the 'line of actual control' after crossing the Demchok River from Parigas..."
]
This is apparently derived from a Tibetan name Palichasi (),[Tibet Autonomous Region (China): Ngari Prefecture](_blank)
KNAB Place Name Database, retrieved 27 July 2021. Coordinates . of a pastoral ground known to Ladakhis as Silungle, roughly halfway downstream to Lagankhel.[Tibet Autonomous Region (China): Ngari Prefecture](_blank)
KNAB Place Name Database, retrieved 27 July 2021. Coordinates .
Geography
Demchok is at an elevation of , on a stony plain at the foot of a pyramidal white peak called Demchok Lhari Karpo. A stream called Charding Nullah (or Lhari stream) flows down on the southeast side of Demchok joining the Indus River. The alluvial
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
deposits from the stream form small plots for grazing and farming. Around the corner of the Demchok Lhari Karpo peak is a hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...
near Demchok, whose water is believed to have medicinal qualities.
The Line of Actual Control (LAC) with Tibet runs on the southeast side of the village along the Charding Nullah. Across the stream, 600 metres away, is the Tibetan Demchok village. After reaching the Indus River, the LAC follows its right bank, according to Indian explorer Romesh Bhattacharji. leaving the left bank of Indus under Indian control. The Chinese still retain a claim to the Indian part of the disputed Demchok sector
The Demchok sector is a disputed area named after the villages of Demchok, Ladakh, Demchok in Ladakh and Demchok, Ngari Prefecture, Demchok in Tibet, situated near the confluence of the Charding Nullah and Indus River. It is a part of the gr ...
and object to any construction there.
Along the left bank of the Indus River, numerous streams flow down from the ridge line in the west to the Indus, providing grazing grounds and campsites to the Changpa nomads. The largest of these is the site of Lagankhel (''La Ganskyil''), which is historically regarded as a village with permanent settlement. Some of these locations are now said to host posts of Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a Central Armed Police Forces, central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding Border guard, India’s border with ...
as does the Demchok village itself.
An old travel route from Ladakh to Tibet, leading to Kailas– Manasarowar, runs along the left bank of the Indus River. The route has been closed since the emergence of Sino-Indian border disputes. There have been persistent demands from the local population to reopen it.
History
Demchok is a historic area of Ladakh, having been part of the kingdom from its inception in the 10th century. The description of the kingdom in the '' Ladakh Chronicles'' mentions Demchok Karpo, also called ''Demchok Lhari Karpo'' or ''Lhari Karpo'', as part of the original kingdom. This is a possible reference to the rocky white peak behind the present-day Demchok village.[
; ;
]
The Lhari peak is held sacred by Buddhists. Demchok (Sanskrit: ) is the name of a Buddhist Tantric deity, who is believed to reside on the Mount Kailas, and whose imagery parallels that of Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
in Hinduism.
The Lhari peak is also referred to as "Chota Kailas" (mini Kailas) and attracts both Hindu and Buddhists pilgrims.
Tibetologist Nirmal C. Sinha states that Demchok is part of the Hemis complex.
Ruined houses belonging to the Hemis monastery were noticed by Sven Hedin in 1907,[ and the monastery continues to own land in Demchok.][
P.Stobdan]
Ladakh concern overrides LAC dispute
The Tribune, 28 May 2020.
The stream that flows beside the Lhari peak, referred to as the Lhari stream in historical documents ("Charding Nullah" or "Demchok River" in modern times), was set as the boundary between Ladakh and Tibet at the end of the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War in the 17th century.
Dogra rule
In 1834, the Dogra
__NOTOC__
Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India.
Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to:
* Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir
* Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...
general Zorawar Singh conquered Ladakh and made it a tributary of the Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...
. Zorawar Singh is said to have built a fort on a hill next to the Tibetan side of Demchok. He also launched an invasion of Tibet via three wings, one of which passed through Demchok. The invasion was eventually repulsed. The two sides agreed to retain the borders as they were before.
The Dogras came under the suzerainty of British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
in 1846, as the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Henry Strachey visited the Demchok area in 1847, as part of a British boundary commission. He described Demchok as a "hamlet divided by a rivulet he Lhari stream, with settlements on both the sides of the stream. The stream was the prevailing border between Ladakh and Tibet.
The Tibetans did not allow Strachey to proceed beyond the stream.
The hamlet on the Ladakhi side of the Lhari stream appears to have been minimal. Strachey's own map published in the '' JRGS'' showed a village only on the Tibetan side of the stream. The map drawn by a Tibetan lama from the same period showed the same.
Sven Hedin, travelling through the area in 1907, noticed only ruins of houses on the Ladakhi side, formerly belonging to the Hemis monastery.[
: "A short distance N. W. of Demchok, the road passes a partly frozen brook hari streamcoming from ''Demchok-pu'', a tributary valley from the left. ... At the left side adakhi sideof the mouth of this little valley, are the ruins of two or three houses, which were said to have belonged to ''Hemi-gompa''. A pyramidal peak at the same.. side of the valley is called ''La-ri'' and said to be sacred. The valley, ''Demchok-pu'', itself is regarded as the boundary between Tibet and Ladak."
]
According to the governor of Ladakh (''wazir-e-wazarat''), who visited the area in 1904–05, there were two 'zaminders' (landholders) on the Ladakhi side, viz., the representatives of the Hemis monastery and the former kardar (tax collector) of Rupshu.[
: "I visited Demchok on the boundary with Lhasa. ... A nullah falls into the Indus river from the south-west and it (Demchok) is situated at the junction of the river. Across is the boundary of Lhasa, where there are 8 to 9 huts of the Lhasa zamindars. On this side there are only two zamindars. The one is the agent of the Gopa ompaand the other is the agent of the previous Kardar of Rokshu."
]
The two appear to have lived in Demchok from around 1921, in a single building.
According to the Indian government, the Ladakhi Demchok village was used for seasonal cultivation by nomadic farmers.
Independent India
The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to independent India on 26–27 October 1947.
In 1950, Tibet was annexed by China. The Indian government developed concerns of security and decided not to allow the entry of Tibetans into Ladakh. A border police post was established at Demchok (presumably on the Ladakhi side), with a police contingent headed by an inspector and equipped with wireless communication. In Chinese perception, this amounted to the Indian Army "invading" Demchok.
During the negotiations for the 1954 Trade Agreement, India asked for Ladakh's trade relations with Rudok and Rawang to be reinstated. China did not agree. However, it was happy to allow trade via "Demchok" and Tashigang. In fact, it offered to provide a "trade mart" in Demchok, which was not agreeable to India because India regarded Demchok as its own territory. The final agreement carried the wording, "the customary route leading to Tashigong along the valley of the Indus River may continue to be traversed."
In 1954, India defined its borders with respect to Tibet, which ran five miles southeast of Ladakhi Demchok. This made the Tibetan Demchok village part of Indian-claimed territory. In October 1955, the Chinese established a "Border Working Group" in the Tibetan Demchok village.
During the 1962 Sino-Indian War
The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...
, the Chinese forces reclaimed the areas southeast of the Lhari stream. The Line of Actual Control resulting from the war runs along the Lhari stream.
Demographics
According to the 2011 Census of India, Demchok had 31 households and a population of 78. The majority of the inhabitants are Changpa nomadic pastoralist. The effective literacy rate is 42.47%.
There is persistent talk of the nomads losing their customary grazing lands to Chinese occupation and their livelihoods being lost. The population is seen to be reducing as a result.
Sino-Indian disputes
As of 2005, the route from Demchok to Lake Manasarovar
Lake Manasarovar also called Mapam Yumtso (; ) locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is located at an elevation of , near the western trijunction ...
in Tibet was closed and local trade with China was prohibited, although local residents admit that clandestine trade with China had been ongoing for decades.
In April 2016, the ''Daily Excelsior
The ''Daily Excelsior'' is an English-language newspaper published in Jammu, a city in the Indian union territory
Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Govern ...
'' reported that local discontent over Chinese army objections near the border resulted in demands for resettlement from Demchok. Later in 2016, the Nubra constituency MLA Deldan Namgyal reported that the Chinese military suggested to the sarpanch of Demchok "to join China rather than itwith India" due to the infrastructural differences across the border. Demchok residents protested after the Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
refused permission for the local residents to build irrigation canals, to avoid a reaction from Chinese army.
In 2019, the sarpanch of Demchok said that residents of Demchok were moving to the town of Leh
Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...
due to a lack of infrastructure and jobs.
Infrastructure
Transportation
''"Chushul-Dungti-Fukche-Demchok Highway"'' (CDFD Road), once a dirt track along the southern bank of the Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...
, is scheduled to be converted to a single-lane national highway by 2025.[BRO starts process for 135-km road near LAC from Chushul to Demchok]
News18, 24 Jan 2023. This has been a traditional route between Demchok and Chushul, which connects Demchok to Koyul, Dungti, Chushul and beyond to Durbuk and Leh. The road was in poor condition in 2017 and attempts to improve the road met with objections from China in 2009. After repeated incursions by China since 2013, in March 2016 the Government of Jammu and Kashmir
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir is the principal administrative authority responsible for the governance of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Established on 5 March 1948 as the Government of Princely state of Jammu and Ka ...
approved the upgrade of this road. Since the road passes through the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, the subsequent approval by India's National Board for Wildlife
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
in March 2017 paved the way for the upgrade of this road.[
''"Chismule-Koyul-Umling La-Demchok Road"'' (CKUD Road): A new 86 km long road from Chismule in the Koyul Lungpa valley to Demchok was constructed by the ]Border Roads Organisation
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries. This include ...
in 2017, via the Umling La
Umling La or Umlung La is the highest paved road and mountain pass in the world, located in Ladakh, India, on the ridgeline between Koyul Lungpa and the Indus River near Demchok. At an elevation of , it forms the source for the Umlung stream t ...
pass () at a height of . This road connects Demchok to Koyul, Hanle and other places in Ladakh. The Border Roads Organisation claims it is the "world's highest motorable road", a title earlier, incorrectly, accorded to Khardung La road at 17,600 ft.
''"Hanle-Fukche-Koyul-Demchok Road"'' (HFKD Road) was constructed by BRO, which runs via Koyul.
Mobile and internet connectivity
In June 2020, it was announced that Demchok is among 54 villages in the Ladakh region to receive mobile phone and internet connectivity via satellite under the Universal Service Obligation Funding. The service is to be operated by Jio
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (d/b/a Jio) is an Indian telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, headquartered in Navi Mumbai. It operates a national LTE (telecommunication), LTE network with coverage across all 22 telecom ...
.
See also
* Fukche
* India-China Border Roads
Chinese Indian or Indian Chinese may refer to:
* China–India relations
China and India maintained peaceful relations for thousands of years, but their relationship has varied since the Chinese Communist Party's victory in the Chinese Civil ...
* Chumar
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
** Indian Report: ; ; ;
** Chinese report: ; ; ;
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Further reading
* R. N. Ravi
Indifferent India allows Chinese land grab on the border
Rediff, 20 December 2013.
External links
Demchok Western Sector
(Chinese claim), OpenStreetMap
Demchok Eastern Sector
(Indian claim), OpenStreetMap
{{Leh district
Villages in Nyoma tehsil
Divided cities
Military installations of India
Demchok sector