Template:Infobox river Template:Infobox Chinese The Charding Nullah, traditionally known as the Lhari stream and called the Demchok River by China,Template:Efn is a small river that originates near the Charding La pass that is also on the border between the two countries and flows northeast to join the Indus River near a peak called "Lhari Karpo" (white holy peak). There are villages on both sides of the mouth of the river with the same Tibetan name but romanised as Demchok (in India) and Dêmqog (in Tibet). The river serves as the de facto border between China and India in the Demchok sector.Template:Efn
Etymology
The Indian government refers to the river as "Charding Nullah" after its place of origin, the Charding La pass, with nullah meaning a mountain stream.
The Chinese government uses the term "Demchok river" by the location of its mouth, near the Demchok village.Template:Efn
The historical documents name the river as "Lhari stream".Template:Sfnp Lhari,Template:Efn meaning "holy mountain" in Tibetan, is the name used for the white rocky peak (4,865 m) behind the village of Demchok.[1][2] It has also been referred to as "Lari Karpo" ("white lhari") and "Demchok Lari Karpo" in Tibetan documents.Template:SfnpTemplate:Efn "Lhari stream at Demchok" is the phrase used in the 1684 Treaty of Tingmosgang,Template:Sfnp forming the basis for the Indian government's identification of the stream with Charding Nullah.[3]Template:Efn
Description
Sources
The Charding Nullah originates below the Charding La pass, which is on a large spur that divides the Sutlej river basin from the Indus river basin. In this area, the Sutlej river tributaries flow southeast into West Tibet and the Indus river and its tributaries flow northwest, parallel to the Himalayan ranges.
Charding–Nilu Nullah Junction
The Charding Nullah flows northeast along a narrow mountain valley. Halfway down the valley it is joined by another nullah from the left, called Nilu Nullah (or Nilung/Ninglung). The Charding–Nilu Nullah Junction (CNNJ, 4900 m) is recognised by both the Indian and Chinese border troops as a strategic point.[4]
Changthang plateau
Template:Main The entire area surrounding the Charding Nullah is referred to as the Changthang plateau. It consists of rocky mountain heights of Ladakh and Kailas ranges and sandy river valleys which are only good for grazing yaks, sheep and goats (the famous pashmina goats) reared by Changpa nomads.[5] The Indian-controlled northern side of the nullah is close to Hanle, the site of the Hanle Monastery. The Chinese-controlled southern side has the village of Tashigang (Zhaxigang) which also has a monastery, both having been built by the Ladakhi ruler Sengge Namgyal (Template:Reign).[6] At the end of Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War, the Tibetan troops retreated to Tashigang where they fortified themselves.[7] Template:OSM Location map
Mouth
At the bottom of the valley, the Charding Nullah branches into a 2 km-wide delta as it joins the Indus river.[8] During the British colonial period, there were villages on both the sides of the delta, going by the name "Demchok". The southern village appears to have been the main one, frequently referred to by travelers.[9][10] Prior to the Sino-Indian War of 1962, India had established a border post to the south of the delta (the "New Demchok post"). As the war progressed, the post was evacuated and the Chinese forces occupied it.Template:Sfnp[2] The Chinese spelt the name of the village as Dêmqog. Travel writer Romesh Bhattacharji states they expected to set up a trading village, but India never renewed trade after the war. He states that the southern Dêmqog village has only commercial buildings whereas the northern village has security-related buildings.Template:Sfnp
Notes
References
- ↑ Template:Harvp; Template:Harvp
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Claude Arpi, The Case of Demchok, Indian Defence Review, 19 May 2017.
- ↑ Template:Harvp: "There was only one Lhari in the area, and that was the stream joining the Indus near Demchok at Longitude 79° 28' E and Latitude 32° 42' N."
- ↑ Chinese troops cross LAC in Ladakh again, India Today, 16 July 2014.
- ↑ [{{{url}}} The Politics of Pashmina: The Changpas of Eastern Ladakh]. White Horse Press.
- ↑
- Template:Harvp: "Magnificent monasteries were built at Hemis, Theg-mchog (Chemrey), Anle [Hanle] and Tashigong [Tashigang]."
- Ladakh: The Land and the People. Indus Publishing.: "He [Sengge Namgyal] built many monasteries such as Hemis, Chemde, Wanla [Hanle] and Tashigang. He also built the castle of Leh palace."
- Recent Research on Ladakh 8. Aarhus University Press.: "They founded the renowned Hemis Gonpa, Chemre Gonpa and Wanla Gonpa [Hanle]. Sengge Namgyal also had a monastery built at Tashigang in western Tibet."
- ↑
- Template:Harvp
- Template:Harvp
- Template:Harvp: According to Hedin, "Right in front of us the monastery Tashi-gang gradually grows larger. Its walls are erected on the top of an isolated rock of solid porphyrite, which crops up from the bottom of the Indus valley like an island drawn out from north to south. (…) on the short side stand two round free-standing towers, (…). The whole is surrounded by a moat 10 feet deep (…)".
- ↑ Claude Arpi, Demchok and the New Silk Road: China's double standard, Indian Defence Review, 4 April 2015. "View of the nalla" image.
- ↑ Template:Harvp: 'At present officially located in India, the village of Demchok marked the border between Tibet and Ladakh for a long time. Abdul Wahid Radhu, a former representative of the Lopchak caravan, described Demchok in his travel account as "the first location on the Tibetan side of the border".'
- ↑ Template:Harvp: According to a report by the governor of Ladakh in 1904–05, "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."
Bibliography
- Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak. Superintendent of Government Printing.
- Report of the Officials of the Governments of India and the People's Republic of China on the Boundary Question. Government of India Press.
- [{{{url}}} New Light on the Tibet-Ladakh-Mughal War of 1679-84]. Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)(September–December 1968).
- Ladakh: Changing, Yet Unchanged. Rupa Publications.
- [{{{url}}} The Lapchak Mission From Ladakh to Lhasa in British Indian Foreign Policy](Winter 1990).
- The Crimson Chinar: The Kashmir Conflict: A Politico Military Perspective. Lancer Publishers(2015).
- Ladak: Physical, Statistical, Historical. Wm. H. Allen and Co.
- [{{{url}}} Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the IATS, 2003. Volume 9: The Mongolia-Tibet Interface: Opening New Research Terrains in Inner Asia]. BRILL(2007).
- Himalayan Battleground: Sino-Indian Rivalry in Ladakh. Praeger(1963).
- Buddhist Western Himalaya: A Politico-Religious History. Indus Publishing Company.
- [{{{url}}} Art and Architecture in Ladakh: Cross-cultural Transmissions in the Himalayas and Karakoram].
- The China-India border. Oxford University Press.
- Treaties, Maps and the Western Sector of the Sino-Indian Boundary Dispute.
- Tibet, China & India, 1914-1950: a history of imperial diplomacy. Roxford Books.
- [{{{url}}} Revue d'Études Tibétaines,The Spiti Valley Recovering the Past and Exploring the Present](2017).
- India's China War. Pantheon Books.
- The Kingdom of Ladakh, c. 950–1842 A.D.. Instituto Italiano Per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente.
- The India-China Border: A Reappraisal. Asia Publishing House.
- Himalayan Frontiers: A Political Review of British, Chinese, Indian, and Russian Rivalries. Praeger.
External links
- Demchok Eastern Sector on OpenStreetMap (Chinese-controlled)
- Demchok Western Sector on OpenStreetMap (Indian-controlled)