The Kongka Pass or Kongka La (
) is a low
mountain pass on the
Line of Actual Control
The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...
between India and China in eastern
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...
. It lies on a spur of the
Karakoram range that intrudes into the
Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...
region. China claimed the location as its border in a 1956 map, and attacked an Indian patrol party in 1959 killing ten policemen and apprehending ten others. Known as the Kongka Pass incident, the event was a milestone in the escalation of the border dispute between the two countries.
Name
In the Ladakhi language, Kongka () means a "low pass or ridge, high point or rise of a plateau". In the first reference we have of this pass, it was called "Salmu Kongka" and explained as a "small pass".
[
: Describing the route from ]Leh
Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...
to Keriya: "Leaving hangchenmo valleyshortly after the Shahidulla road turns off to the left, it ascends to the plateau by a small pass (the Salmu Kongka); descending again into the valley and crossing the Changchenmo stream. Another ascent leads up the Lanak-la Pass, and the route now lies in ''independent Tibet''."
A Tibetan name for the pass is now in circulation, as "Kongka La" (), which can be interpreted as a "wintertime pass".
[
]
Geography
The Chang Chenmo Valley lies in a depression between the Karakoram Range
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
in the north and the Changchenmo Range in the south.
Immediately to the north of the Chang Chenmo Valley, the Karakoram Range splits into multiple branches, with one of the branches (called "Karakoram-I" by some authors) forming a dividing ridge between the Kugrang River in the west and the Changlung
This is an alphabetical list of all populated places, including cities, towns and villages, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of western China.
A
*Alamdo
*Alhar
*Arza
*Asog
B
* Baga
*Bagar
* Baidi
*Baima
* Baimai
*Baixoi
*Bamda
*Banag
*Banb ...
and Kyapsang rivers in the east. A spur of this branch extends into the Chang Chenmo Valley for some distance, forcing the Changchenmo river to bend around it. On this spur lies the low pass of Kongka Pass, essentially forming a part of the general depression that is the Chang Chenmo valley.
To all appearances, the Kongka Pass was an unimportant saddle point, while the normal travel route followed the course of the Changchenmo river. (Maps 2 and 3) However, it was also possible to travel east by ascending the pass, especially in wintertime when the river area might be icy. Arthur Douglas Carey and Andrew Delgleish used the pass in 1885 in travelling from Ladakh to Keriya.
Since 1959, the Kongka Pass formed part of the dividing line between India and China, China having extended its claims till this point. (Map 4) Kongka Pass is also on the dividing line between China's Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
and Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
autonomous regions. The Chang Chenmo Valley to the east of here is part of Tibet; the Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...
region to the north is part of Xinjiang. China has a large military base at the bottom of the Kyapsang river valley, called the Kongka Shankou base near a saddle point called Mobdo La. (Map 3)
In the Indian-controlled territory immediately to the west of Kongka Pass lie the notable Hot Springs (at a location called Kyam). This location is roughly the point where the bend in the Changchenmo river ends, and river flows due west. To the northwest of here extends the Kugrang river valley, with the campsite of Gogra
Ghaghara, also called Karnali, is a perennial trans-boundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. The Karnali cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form th ...
at short distance above. At Gogra, the Changlung river flows down and joins the Kugrang river.
To the south of the Kongka Pass, three tributaries, all called "Silung", flow down from the Changchenmo Range to join Changchenmo. From the west to east, they are referred to as ''Silung Yokma'', ''Silung Barma'' and ''Silung Kongma'' (the lower, middle and upper Silungs). Further east is another tributary called ''Stathrao''. On a tributary of Silung Kongma called Nyingri lies the route to the Pangong Lake
Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake (;
; hi, text=पैंगोंग झील) is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet situated at an elevation of . It is long and divided into five sublakes, called ''Pangong Tso'', ''Tso N ...
region, via Kyungang La, which was once regarded as the boundary between Ladakh and Tibet. (Map 3) At present, Silung Yokma lies in the Indian-controlled territory and the rest lie in Chinese-controlled territory.
Sino-Indian border dispute
Colonial-era British sources state that the traditional boundary between Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...
and Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
, accepted by both sides, was at Lanak La, where the Changchenmo River originates. Chinese maps had recognised Lanak La as the boundary at least till 1951.
In 1952, Indian patrol teams had reached till Lanak La without encountering any Chinese presence. When enquired in 1954 and again in 1956 about demarcating boundaries in the sector, Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...
replied that the PRC
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
government was still printing Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
maps and had not had the time to prepare their own maps. While maintaining this position, the Chinese would lay the Sianking–Tibet road (now G219
China National Highway 219 (G219; Chinese: '' Guódào219'') is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian ethnic township in Xinjiang to Dongxing in Guangxi. ...
) through Aksai Chin to Indian objections and even imprison a two-men strong patrol party.
In 1956, a map was published that marked Kongka Pass as the boundary in the Chang Chenmo Valley; three years hence, Zhou would note this particular map to be an accurate representation of Chinese position and claim Kongka Pass to be the "traditional customary boundary" of China. Leo E. Rose and Wim van Eekelen find such claims to be inconsistent with the available evidence.
Kongka Pass incident
In October 1959, an Indian police party was sent to set up posts in three locations — Tsogtsalu, Hot Springs and Shamal Lungpa — which were in undisputed Indian territory per the recent Chinese maps. The party was led by an Intelligence Bureau officer of the rank of Deputy Superindent, Karam Singh, who was an experienced patroller in Ladakh. As late as June 1958, Singh had led patrols to Lanak La without incidents. Singh states that they had established a post at Hot Springs and were about to head to Shamal Lungpa when, on 20 October, two men sent out for reconnaissance went missing.[
] According to the Chinese version of the events these two men had crossed the "traditional border at Kongka Pass", leading to their detention. Later information reveals that the location was on the bank of the Chang Chenmo River, somewhere between the mouth of Silung Barma and that of Silung Kongma.
The same evening, Singh dispatched a 10-men-strong party to investigate the disappearance, who returned late night and reported extensive hoof-marks in the region suggesting the presence of Chinese cavalry. On the morning of 21 October, a forward search party of 20 men set out on ponies under Singh; the rest was ordered to follow on foot under another commander called Tyagi. Singh chose to follow the hoof-marks near Kongka Pass and lost contact with Tyagi's men. Singh encountered Chinese soldiers on top of a hill, who belonged to the 6th Cavalry Regiment and were well-entrenched in their position. A firefight ensued after negotiations failed. Nine Indian policemen were killed during the engagement, one died later of his injuries, and seven were taken prisoner. One Chinese soldier of the rank of "Deputy Squadron Leader" was killed too.
It appears that Tyagi's men were informed of the firefight by one of Singh's constables but they were under simultaneous attack and failed to be of any help; however, his team incurred no fatalities despite injuries on several men. On 22 October, Tyagi retreated to Tsogtsalu and four severely injured men were evacuated by air.
After release, Karam Singh reported that the detained personnel were put in a storage pit for four days under severe climatic conditions without water, refused medical attention, interrogated in 12 hour stretches for further several days, induced to sign false confessions about them being responsible for the episode, window-dressed for photographs, and finally returned to India on 14 November. The bodies of the dead soldiers were returned a day earlier at the new border of Kongka Pass and China rejected payment of any compensation. Scholar John Rowland states that, through these means, China obtained the "evidence" it needed to claim that it was India that broke the Panchsheel (peace agreement between the two countries) unprovoked. China however rejected Singh's testimony and charged Indian Government of promoting Sinophobic sentiments.
Indian Army castigated the Intelligence Bureau for causing mindless provocations at the frontiers without bringing them in confidence and from 1 November, took charge of manning all border-posts in the sector. Throughout the time of the detention, China claimed that Kongka Pass was patrolled by their troops ever since liberation of Tibet and that the episode happened only due to unprovoked aggression by Indian side; threats were made to infiltrate NEFA if Indian patrols were to disregard Chinese claims in the Ladakh sector. Public protests called for resignation of defence minister Krishna Menon
Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first list of Prime Ministers of In ...
and abandonment of non-alignment as a strategic policy. Indian media described the event as a "brutal massacre of an Indian police party" with The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
carrying an editorial about how Nehru had ignored the "menace of Han expansionism and Communist Imperialism." The incident contributed to the heightening of tensions that led to the Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
in 1962.[
]
Military posts and infrastructure
The Indian border post is located to the west of Kongka Pass at Hot Springs. A war-memorial is situated at the place.
The Chinese border outpost
A border outpost, border out post, border observation post or BOPChina National Highway 219
China National Highway 219 (G219; Chinese: '' Guódào219'') is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian ethnic township in Xinjiang to Dongxing in Guangxi. ...
(G219) via two highways.
* The Konghong Highway (, S519), or Kongka–Hongshan Highway, runs along the Chang-Chenmo Valley via Lanak La, and meets G219 near the Sumzhi and Longmu
In Chinese mythology, Longmu (), transliterated as Lung Mo in Cantonese, was a Chinese woman who was deified as a goddess after raising five infant dragons. Longmu and her dragons developed a strong bond for each other and have thus become an e ...
lakes.[Konghong Highway]
(China, S519) an
Kongka Shankou Highway
mapped on OpenStreetMap, retrieved 22 October 2020.
** A new road called Kongka Shankou Highway () has been laid along the continuation of the same depression as the Changchenmo Valley on the other side of G219. It meets the China National Highway 216
China National Highway 216 (G216) is a highway in Xinjiang and Tibet, China. With the 2013 National Highway Network Plan, the route was extended north to Hongzhanzui in Fuhai County on the border with Mongolia, and extended south to the bounda ...
(G216) near the Yueya Lake.
* The Banying Highway (, S520) goes south from the Kongka Shankou base to the Khurnak Plain
The Khurnak Fort () is a ruined fort on the northern shore of the Pangong Lake that spans eastern Ladakh in India and Rutog County in the Tibet region of China. The area of the Khurnak Fort is disputed by India and China, and has been under C ...
and runs along the northern shore of the Pangong Lake
Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake (;
; hi, text=पैंगोंग झील) is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet situated at an elevation of . It is long and divided into five sublakes, called ''Pangong Tso'', ''Tso N ...
till it reaches the G219 highway.
The Indian government has noted that the original versions of these roads were built during 1959–1962.
In addition to these, a Tiankong Highway () or Tianwendian–Kongka Highway, appears to have been constructed between 2013 and 2020. It passes through territory marked as being on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control by the US Office of the Geographer in 2013.[Detailed World Polygons (LSIB), Asia and Russia, 2013]
EarthWorks, Stanford University
It is a mountain road that runs till the Tianwendian post in the Depsang Plains
The Depsang Plains represent a high-altitude gravelly plain at the northwest portion of the disputed Aksai Chin region of Kashmir, divided into Indian and Chinese administered portions across a Line of Actual Control.
India controls the we ...
. It runs parallel to the Line of Actual Control and passes through Nischu and Heweitan. It also connects to the ''Wenjia Road'' (), which leads to the Galwan Valley.[Tiankong Xian]
an
Wen Jia Road
mapped on OpenStreetMap, retrieved 22 October 2020.
See also
* List of locations in Aksai Chin
This is a list of basins, camping grounds, lakes, mountains, mountain passes, outposts, plains, rivers, ruins, settlements, streams, valleys, villages, and other geographical features located in (or partially included in) the sparsely populated Ak ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
Konghong Highway
(China, S519) an
Kongka Shankou Highway
mapped on OpenStreetMap
Bangying Highway
(China, S520) mapped on OpenStreetMap
Tiankong Xian
connecting Tianwendian and Kongka La, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Route to Hot Springs
(India), mapped on OpenStreetMap
{{Ladakh
Mountain passes of Xinjiang
Mountain passes of China
Mountain passes of Ladakh
Mountain passes of India
Borders of Ladakh
Chang Chenmo Valley
Aksai Chin