India China Face Off, The New Great Game - II

At a time when the whole world is contending with global pandemic of Covid-19, two largest countries, China and India, and their armies that are largest in the world, locked horns with each other in Ladakh. The immediate cause of the face off was the publication of a map in November 2019 by the Government of India after the later dismembered the former State of J&K and reorganized it into two Union Territories (UTs). The map included in the UT of Ladakh such diverse regions as Gilgit-Baltistan in the west and Aksai Chin in the east. The publication of Ladakh map was accompanied by Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s reiteration of his Government’s stand that they meant to liberate Aksai Chin from China and Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan. Traditionally the geographical divisions included in Ladakh were, according to Alexander Cunningham (first modern historian of the place) Nubra, Ladakh proper (i.e. the division around its capital town Leh), Zanskar, Rukchu, Purik, Suru, Dras, Lahul and Spiti (pp. 18 & 328 Lakak). Baltistan remained part of Ladakh Wazarat from 1842 to 1948. Gilgit was a separate Wazarat of the State of J&K from 1846 to 1952, and again from 1860 to 1935, when it was leased to the British for 60 years. Right up to 1834 Ladakh was an independent kingdom in temporal affairs. However, in matters spiritual Ladakh was subordinate to the Dalai Lama of Tibet (p.314 Ladak A. Cunningham). In 1834 Zorawar Singh, Raja Gulab Singh's general, using Kishtwar as a springboard, crossed into Zanskar via Paddar. Here he fought some skirmishes killing 100 people (p.181 A Short History of Jammu Raj S. S. Charak). Next year he marched to Leh. He deposed Tandoop Namgyal, the Gialpo (King).

Dogras referred to the king of Ladakh as Akabat Mehmud Khan. Why they referred to him by a Mussalman name is a different story dating back to 1686 when Mongols had invaded Ladakh and the invaders could be expelled from Ladakh only with the assistance furnished by Mughalshahi Governor of Kashmir. Even a mosque was constructed in Leh in those days. Zorawar installed Gnodup Tunzin in Leh as a feudatory of Jammu. He left behind a Dogra Army contingent at Leh and himself returned to Jammu (p.340 Ladak Alexandar Cunningham). Before returning he beheaded 200 Ladakhis and hung their dead bodies from trees to instill fear among Ladakhi people (p.26 History of Jammu Kashmir Rifles B. K. Singh). In the coming years Ladakhis frequently revolted against Dogra hegemony. Dogra Army suppressed these revolts killing thousands of Ladakhis. Alexandar Cunningham writes:

“During wars from 1834 to the close of 1841, it is said that 15000 Ladakhis perished and about 1000 (who were chiefly Mussalmans) migrated to Balti… about 9000 persons … found refuge in the numerous monasteries of Great Tibet (p. 288 Ladak A. Cunningham). It was common practice with Zorawar to cut off noses and ears of Ladakhis to instil fear among the general population (pp. 288 & 342 Ladak A. Cunningham) In May 1840 Zorawar attacked Baltistan. The Dogra Army killed more than 1000 Baltis. Also, they tortured to death eminent Balti leaders such as Rahim Khan of Chigtan and Hussain Khan of Pushkyun (pp.192-3 A Short History of Jammu Raj S. S. Charak; p. 30. History of Jammu Kashmir Rifles B.K. Singh).  Zorawar took Balti King  Ahmad Shah as prisoner and installed his son Prince Mohammad Shah as a tributary of Jammu.

In May 1841 Zorawar marched into Tibet through Rudok district of Tibet, home to Pongong Lake. He forcibly took along 4000 Ladakhis to work as porters for Dogra Army (p. 288 Ladak A. Cunningham). He went 300 miles deep inside up to Kailash Mansarovar. En route the Dogra Army looted monasteries and erected mud forts. The Tibetans did not resist. They preferred to wait for winter. In November 1842 they finally struck and destroyed two sections of Dogra Army (pp.204 & 208-9 A Short History of Jammu Raj S. S. Charak). On December 14, 1841 the Tibetans again attacked the Dogra garrison, killed most of the troops including Zorawar (pp.204 & 208-9 A Short History of Jammu Raj S. S. Charak). Of the 4000 Ladakhis whom Zorawar had forcibly impressed to carry supplies for his army, nearly the whole lot perished in the snow (p. 288 Ladak A. Cunningham). One of the unfortunate persons to die was the deposed king of Baltistan, Ahmad Shah, whom Zorawar had taken prisoner in 1840. Now he fell into the hands of Tibetans. He died sometime later near Lhasa (p.36 Ladak A. Cunningham) Tibetans destroyed all the mud forts which  Zorawar had erected inside Tibet. Also, they drew plans to proceed towards Leh. Zorawar is held as a hero by India. At the same time, they denounce Ahmad Shah Abdali and Nadir Shah for being killers and marauders although their deeds were no different from Zorawar’s. The news of Zorawar’s defeat and destruction of his troops in Tibet reached Raja Gulab Singh in February 1842 when he was busy in Peshawar rendering assistance to the British on behalf of Lahore  Sikh State against Prince Akbar Khan who had started in November 1841 an insurrection against the puppet regime of Shah Shuja (grandson of Abdali) whom the British had installed as King of Afghanistan  after deposing Amir Dost Khan (father of Akbar Khan). Post-Dogra Army disaster in Tibet, Sikhashahi Prime Minister Raja Dhian Singh (brother of Raja Gulab Singh) immediately rushed from Lahore to Jammu and sent a 6000-strong Dogra force to Kashmir Valley for its onward march to Ladakh via Zojila Pass. By now the Tibetans were in Leh. In June 1842 Raja Gulab Singh came to Srinagar. From here he sent an additional force of 4000 troops to Ladakh. The Sikhashahi Governor of Kashmir, Sheikh Ghulam  Mohiudding, impressed 16000 Kashmiris to serve as porters for Jammu troops. One can imagine what happened to them carrying loads for Dogra troops across Zojila. By August 1842 Dogra troops succeeded in repulsing the Tibetans from Ladakh. A section of Dogra troops commanded by Lakhpat Rai of Kishtwar marched to Baltistan where the Baltis had risen in revolt against Dogra authority. Dogra troops killed Baltis in large numbers and also arrested Balti leader Haider Khan. They took Haider Khan to Jammu where he died after some time (p.42 History of Jammu Kashmir Rifles B. K. Singh). In September 1842 the Tibetans accepted the annexation of Ladakh to Jammu State (which was itself part of Lahore Sikh State) and signed a treaty to that effect on September 15, 1842. Kalan Surkhan signed on behalf of Lhasa. Hari Chand and Mian Ratnu singed on behalf of Jammu (p.234 Gulabnama Kripa Ram). In 1843 Sheikh Ghulam Mohiudddin sent a large Sikh force under Sayyid Nathu Shah against Gilgit and captured it. In the aftermath of the First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845-46, the British East India Company imposed war indemnity of one and a half crore rupees on the Lahore Sikh State. The latter was able to pay only half crore and, therefore, in lieu of the balance payment of one crore the British forced the Sikh State to cede “all forts, territories, rights, and interests, in the hill countries which are situated between rivers Beas and Indus, including the provinces of Cashmere and Hazara (Treaty of Lahore March 9, 1846).” On March 16, 1846 they transferred to Maharaja Gulab Singh “all the hilly or mountainous country, with its dependencies, situated to the eastward of the river Indus, and westward of the river Ravi, including Chamba and excluding Lahol (Treaty of Amritsar).” Lahol was excluded. So was trans-Indus Gilgit. Chamba and Hazara were included. Gulab Singh ceded Chamba and Hazara back to the British in 1846 itself. He became master of Gilgit when Nathu Shah changed allegiance. In 1852 he lost Gilgit to Gaur Rehman of Yasin. His son Maharaja Ranbir Singh brought Gilgit and the principalities situated between Gilgit and Karakoram Mountains under his own sway in 1860s. There was no clear-cut boundary in the north and north-east of Gulab Singh’s Kashmir State.    In 1864 Maharaja Ranbir Singh dispatched a force across Karakoram Pass sixty miles inside to Shahidullah (Xaidulla) located on Leh-Kashgar caravan route (p.203 Maharaja Ranbir Singh Sukhdev Singh Charak). Here they set up a fort on the left bank of river Karakash. It was a time when the Muslims of Eastern Turkistan had staged a rebellion against the Chinese. A British surveyor of the time, W. H. Johnson, showed the north-eastern frontier of Kashmir State on official British Indian maps some hundred miles away into the trans-Karakoram region to cover Shahidullah Dogra garrison. This measure on his part extended Kashmir State by some 21000 square miles of territory including Shaksgam Valley and Aksai Chin wasteland (pp.22-23 Kashmir A Disputed Legacy Alastair Lamb). In 1867, Maharaja Ranbir Singh recalled Shahidullah garrison. Later that year, Kashgaria troops pillaged and destroyed the Shahidullah fort. (p. 89 Cashmere Misgovernment Kashmir Papers Robert Thorp). Maharaja Ranbir Singh rewarded Surveyor Johnson in 1872 when he retired from British service by appointing him Waziri-Wazarat (Governor) of Ladakh which included Baltistan. In 1878 Chinese recaptured Eastern Turkistan. And in 1884 they renamed it Sinkiang meaning New Province. In 1899 the British sent a note to the Chinese proposing a boundary between Sinkiang and Kashmir State which ran along Karakoram watershed and which, according to Alastair Lamb, ran east of Karakoram Pass based on expediency rather than any historical claims or administrative precedents (p.37 Kashmir A Disputed Legacy). The Chinese neither accepted nor rejected it. During the last years of their rule of India, the British official maps showed the boundary between Kashmir State and Sinkiang as “undefined”. On August 15, 1947 British India was succeeded by India and Pakistan; and Jammu and Kashmir State became an independent country ruled by a Maharaja who did little which would be construed as a sign that he preferred independence. For example, he did not apply for UN membership. He waited for an excuse to accede to India. Pakistan furnished him one by allowing tribesmen to invade Kashmir on October 22, 1947. On October 27, 1947 Indian Army landed in Kashmir. Meantime, the Maharaja had deputed Brigadier Ghansara Singh as Waziri-Wazarat to take over the administration of Gilgit Wazarat. Till then Gilgit was administered by the British under a 60-year lease agreement of 1935. The agreement would lapse prematurely on August 15, 1947 under the provisions of May 12, 1946 Cabinet Mission States’ Memorandum which fact prompted deputation of Ghansara Singh to Gilgit. Ghansara Singh arrived there on July 30, 1947 at the head of a few companies of State Forces. However, he found himself unwelcome there. He found that there was no administrative set-up. The only authority that the people of Gilgit recognized was that of the Corps of Gilgit Scouts, a militia of local men raised by Gilgit Agent in 1913. The Scouts and the common people of Gilgit did not want to be part of Maharaja’s Kashmir, or that of an Indian Kashmir. So, when Indian Army landed in Kashmir they decided to act. Openly supported by their British officers, Captain Mathieson and Major Brown, and also by the Poonch Muslim component of State Forces, the Scouts killed the Sikh component of State Forces and forced Ghansara Singh to surrender (p.240 The History of Jammu Kashmir Rifles B. K. Singh). After liberating Gilgit, they headed for Baltistan and Kargil which were parts of Ladakh Wazarat. They fought pitched battles with Dogra Army on May 9 and 10, 1948 at Kargil and Dras and routed them. But Skardo garrison in Baltistan held firmly. After a long campaign they forced the Skardo Dogra garrison on August 12, 1948 to surrender (pp. 251 & 258-59 The History of Jammu Kashmir Rifles B. K. Singh). In November 1948 Indian Army moved up Zojila with tanks and armoured vehicles to which the old-time rifles of Scouts were no match. Had the Scouts been able to hold Kargil against Indian Army, they would have blocked Indian Army’s march to Leh. And in that case, India would lose interest in Kashmir Valley. Ladakh and Gilgit were important factors in Indian foreign policy as visualized by Prime Minister Nehru centred on Central Asia. The 1948 war between India and Pakistan came to an end on the last day of the year. The ceasefire brokered by the UN resulted in the irrational bifurcation of Kashmir State with two mutually hostile countries succeeding as administrators of the boundary, Pakistan in Gilgit-Baltistan and India in Ladakh. In 1949 Chairman Mao declared the birth of Peoples Republic of China. In 1950 Mao’s forces – the Peoples Liberation Army – entered Tibet.   During 1950s China and Pakistan viewed each other with suspicion.   During the same period China had apparently very good relationship with India.  Prime Minister Nehru of India would proudly declare: Hindi Cheeney  bai, bai. As a newly emerged independent country India entered into agreements with Bhutan (1949); with Nepal (1950); with Sikkim (1950); and with North East Frontier Agency, NEFA (1951). Already India had obtained Accession from Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir. In 1954 India entered Panchsheel Agreement of peaceful coexistence with China. This Agreement was to last 8 years. Meantime India had welcomed His Holiness Tenzin Gyatro, Dalai Lama of Tibet, in 1959 when the latter fled from Tibet. Since then Tibetan government in exile has its headquarters in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. At the end of the term (1962) it turned out that the Panchsheel (five virtues or principles) were just an illusion. For Chairman Mao Tibet was China’s right palm and NEFA (which he called South Tibet), Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, and Ladakh were its five fingers; and it was China’s responsibility to liberate these fingers (History, the standoff, and policy worth rereading Suhasini Haider June 18, 2020). In 1962 China invaded India and captured territory west of Aksai Chin in Ladakh. India-China relations remained uneasy since then. In 1963 China entered into a boundary agreement with Pakistan. This event ushered in an era of friendship between Pakistan and China which is cited in the world as the most unique example of international relations. India China Frontier India China frontier, about 3488 km, is called Line of Actual Control (LAC). It is divided into three sectors: Western Sector that falls in Ladakh; Middle Sector that falls in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; and Eastern Sector that falls in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh (former NEFA). LAC is neither delineated on map nor demarcated on ground. China has its own perception of it which it remains changing as is evident from its frequent transgressions which means that the Chinese soldiers cross over to Indian side on almost daily basis. For example, there were 404 transgressions in 2018; 663 in 2019; and 170 in 2020 up to May. In August 2019 India unilaterally effected merger J&K State, dismembered and reorganised it into two UTs, published their new maps showing Pakistan administered and China administered areas inside these UTs and finally capped these measures by declaring to the world at large that they meant to liberate territories of these UTs that are under illegal occupation of China and Pakistan. Pakistan and China were indignant. Moreover, these measures have put a question mark on the validity of 1972 Simla Agreement that defined the basis of Indian’s relations with Pakistan including the management of Line of Control (Ladakh standoff: China, Kashmir and the ghost of August 5 Dr. Happymon Jacob). Clause A (ii) of Simla Agreement provides: “… the two countries are resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them. Pending the final settlement of any of the problems between the two countries, neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation, and both shall prevent the organisation, assistance or encouragement of any acts detrimental to the maintenance of peaceful and harmonious relations.” And Clause C (ii) states: “In Jammu and Kashmir, the Line of Control resulting from the ceasefire of December 17, 1971, shall be respected by both sides without prejudice to the recognized position of either side. Neither side shall seek to alter it unilaterally, irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations. Both sides further undertake to refrain from threat or use of force in violation of this line.” Since August 2019 Pakistan and India are “at war” across Line of Control (former Ceasefire Line). Furthermore, India’s renewed claim on Aksia Chin and Gilgit-Baltistan through the publication of new Ladakh map has raised concerns in China over the security of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Aksai Chin connects Tibet with Sinkiang.  Kashgar, the capital city of Sinkiang, is connected to Indian ocean at Gawadar port via the CPEC. China has all along considered India to be a threat to CPEC. China’s concerns were intensified in August 2019. Soon transgression of the LAC gave way to outright intrusions and occupation of territory on the Indian side of it. By May 2020 they intruded inside Indian controlled territory on a large scale in the Ladakh Sector: Demchok, Pongong Lake, Hot Springs, Gogra, and Galawan Valley; and 0n 24 June 2020 they intruded in Depsang in the vicinity of Karakoram Pass and Daulat Beg Oldi. News of Chinese intrusions came in the first week of May when the Chinese and Indian soldiers came to blows in the Fingers area of Pongong Lake. Pongog Lake is about five km wide and 136 km long body of brackish water that runs from east to west through the whole length of Tibetan district of Rudok to Chushul in Ladakh. The north bank of Pongong Lake (in the vicinity of Chushul) is a continuous ridge line that looks like the palm of a hand and the various spurs that protrude from it are, therefore, identified as fingers, 14 in number. Indian perception of LAC is that it extends here up to Finger 8.

In May 2020  PLA barred the way of Indian patrol party at Finger 4. Now they have established a large camp between Fingers 4 and 5; and have drawn a huge Chinese map on the ground. In this way they captured 8 km stretch from Finger 8 to Finger 4. Likewise, LAC in the Galawan valley, according to Indian perception, is two km from the Galwan river estuary where the river drops its contents into Shyok river. The Chinese dominated all the ridges along Galawan river. Also, they use the Galawan riverbed as a road for earth cutters and military vehicles. On June 15, 2020 the Chinese killed 20 Indian Army personnel, captured 10 and injured 76 when the latter tried to demolish a Chinese Army tent.

Indian Army is now confined to Galawan river estuary. On June 24, 2020 the Chinese intruded about 18 km up to Bottleneck area (also called Y-Junction) in Depsang valley. This has put the DBO sector including the airstrip located near the Karakoram Pass in a compromised position. On July 3, 2020 Prime Minister Modi visited Ladakh. There he denounced vistarvad (expansionism) without naming China. On June 19, 2020 he had given a clean chit to China when he declared that “neither was anyone inside Indian territory nor has been any of our military posts captured.” Such statements only lead to confusion among the people who in turn become sceptical for want of transparency. For example, when the Prime Minister visited injured soldiers at Leh, people in India expressed doubts about the hall in which the PM addressed the injured soldiers being a hospital ward. There was no medical equipment like medicine cabinets, blood transfusion stands, etc. Only beds were placed in rows in the middle of the hall. Also, there is confusion as to what the New Delhi administration is up to. If Home Minister Amit Shah had declared that India meant to take back Aksai Chin from China and Pakistan administered Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir from Pakistan, then why did not New Delhi use Pakistan’s cross LoC shelling and China’s intrusions across the LAC as justifications to launch full scale invasions against these two countries to liberate what was claimed as Indian territory. On the contrary if HM Amit Shah’s statement was mere rhetoric which was not to be taken seriously by the people of the country, then, alternatively, why does not New Delhi administration start a dialogue with Pakistan on Kashmir issue, and  with Nepal on Kalapani-Lepulek-Limpyadura triangle, and with China on the demarcation of LAC before the later proceeds to claim Lahul and Spiti in addition to Ladakh. Postscript In future China and India are likely to get locked into a tussle over the issue of succession of His Holiness Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama is about 85 years old and in a reasonable state of health.  However, the Great Game is hardly about the health and welfare of the noble personage of Dalai Lama. It is about who succeeds this great monk of Buddhism.