01/08/2024
NATHU LA PASS
Nathu La (Tibetan: རྣ་ཐོས་ལ་, Wylie: Rna thos la, THL: Na tö la, Chinese: 乃堆拉山口) is a mountain pass in the Dongkya Range of the Himalayas between China's Yadong County in Tibet, and the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal in Bengal, South Asia. The pass, at 4,310 m (14,140 ft), connects the towns of Kalimpong and Gangtok to the villages and towns of the lower Chumbi Valley.
The pass was surveyed by J. W. Edgar in 1873, who described the pass as being used for trade by Tibetans. Francis Younghusband used the pass in 1903-1904, a diplomatic British delegation to Lhasa in 1936-37, and Ernst Schäfer in 1938–1939. In the 1950s, trade in the Kingdom of Sikkim utilized this pass. Diplomatically sealed by China and India after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the pass saw skirmishes between the two countries in coming years, including the clashes in 1967 which resulted in fatalities on both sides. Nathu La has often been compared to Jelep La, a mountain pass situated at a distance of 3 miles (4.8 km).
The next few decades saw an improvement in ties leading to the re-opening of Nathu La in 2006. The opening of the pass provides an alternative route to the pilgrimage of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, and was expected to bolster the economy of the region by playing a key role in the growing Sino-Indian trade. However, while trade has had a net positive impact, it under-performed, and is limited to specific types of goods and to specific days of the week. Weather conditions including heavy snowfall restricts border trade to around 7 to 8 months.
Roads to the pass have been improved on both sides. Rail routes have been brought closer. It is part of the domestic tourist circuit in south-east Sikkim. Soldiers from both sides posted at Nathu La are among the closest along the entire Sino-India border. It is also one of the five Border Personnel Meeting points between the two armies of both countries. 2020 border tensions and the coronavirus pandemic has affected tourism and movement across the pass.
The name "Nathu La" is traditionally interpreted as "the whistling pass", or more commonly as the "listening ears pass". The Chinese government explains it as "a place where snow is deepest and the wind strongest". According to G. S. Bajpai, it means "flat ground from where the hill features gradually rise to right and left". Lepcha people who are native to the region call it ma-tho hlo/na tho lo; which may have possibly evolved to the present usage of the word.
Nathu La is a mountain pass on the Dongkya Range that separates Sikkim and the Chumbi Valley at an elevation of 14,250 feet (4,340 m).The pass is 52–54 kilometres (32–34 mi) east of Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, and 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Yatung Shasima, the headquarters of the Yadong County (or the Chumbi Valley).
Nathu La is one of the three frequently-used passes between Sikkim and the Chumbi Valley, the other two being Cho La and Jelep La. Historically, Nathu La served Gangtok, while Cho La served the former Sikkim capital Tumlong and Jelep La served Kalimpong in West Bengal. Nathu La is mere 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Jelep La, as the crow flies, but the travel distance could be as much as 10 miles (16 km). On the Tibetan side, the Chola route led to Chumbi, the Nathu La route led to a village called Chema and the Jelep La route led to Rinchengang, all in the lower Chumbi Valley.
Even today, heavy snowfall causes the closure of the pass, with temperatures as low as −25 °C (−13 °F) and strong winds.
2006 re-opening
In 2003, with the thawing of Sino-Indian relations, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to China led to the resumption of talks on opening the border. The border agreements signed in 2003 were pursuant to the "Memorandum on the Resumption of Border Trade" signed in December 1991, and "Protocol on Entry and Exit Procedures for Border Trade" signed in July 1992. The 2003 "Memorandum on Expanding Border Trade" made applicable and expanded the provisions of the 1991 and 1992 agreements to Nathu La.
In August 2003, the Chief Minister of Sikkim Pawan Chamling shook hands with a PLA soldier along the border and followed it up by giving his wristwatch. The PLA soldier in return gave the Chief Minister a packet of ci******es. This signaled the return of trade to Nathu La. The formal opening was postponed a number of times between mid-2004 to mid-2006. Finally, after remaining sealed for decades, Nathu La was officially opened on 6 July 2006, becoming one of the three open trading border posts between China and India at the time, the other two being Shipki La and Lipulekh pass. The reopening, which was a part of a number of political moves by China and India with regard to the formal recognition of Tibet and Sikkim as part of either country respectively, coincided with the birthday of the reigning Dalai Lama.
The opening of the pass was marked by a ceremony on the Indian side that was attended by officials from both countries. A delegation of 100 traders from each side crossed the border to respective trading towns. Despite heavy rain and chilly winds, the ceremony was marked by the attendance of many officials, locals, and international and local media. The barbed wire fence between India and China was replaced by a 10 m (30 ft) wide stone-walled passageway. 2006 was also marked as the year of Sino-Indian friendship. It has been postulated that the reasons for opening the pass on both sides included economic and strategic ones, including that of stabilizing the borderlands.
The narrative surrounding the reopening of the pass highlighted border trade, the ancient silk road, and the ancient linkages between the two "civilisations". Anthropologist Tina Harris explains that this state-based narrative diverged from the regional narrative. While silk had been one of the commodities traded, this region saw a much larger trade of wool. A trader told Harris that the route should have been called the "wool route". Harris explains that this narrative of Nathu La rather highlighted the "contemporary global discourse"— that of a globalising and inter-connected Asia finding its place in the world, of which Sikkim and Chumbi Valley were a part.
Nathu La is one of the five officially agreed Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) points between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army of China for regular consultations and interactions between the two armies. During the 2008 Tibetan unrest, hundreds of Tibetans in India marched to and protested at Nathu La. In 2009, Narendra Modi, as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, visited the pass. In 2010, the Queen's Baton Relay for the Commonwealth Games that year also stopped at main trade gate at the pass. In 2015, Nathu La opened for tourists and pilgrims going to Kailash Mansarovar.
Amidst the 2017 China–India border standoff centered around Doklam, the pilgrimage via Nathu La was cancelled. The border tensions also affected trade through the pass. The standoff officially ended at the end of August 2017; and in October India's Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a goodwill visit to Nathu La, also briefly interacting with Chinese soldiers at the pass. In 2018, a "Special Border Personnel meeting" took place at the pass to mark the foundation day of the PLA. On Yoga Day in 2019, Chinese soldiers and civilians participated in joint yoga exercises at Nathu La.
In 2019 road conditions impacted movement across the pass. In April 2020, following the coronavirus pandemic, the Sikkim government closed the pass. The Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage through Nathu La would also remain shut. Further, fresh political and border tensions and skirmishes in 2020 also affected trade. This coronavirus pandemic–border tension situation continued into 2021, impacting movement across the pass.
In 1910 Scottish botanist W. W. Smith visited the area. Vegetation he listed included species of Caltha scaposa, Cochlearia, Potentilla, Saussurea, Rhododendron, Cassiope, Primula, Corydalis, Arenaria, Saxifraga, Chrysosplenium, Pimpinella, Cyananthus, Campanula, Androsace, Eritrichium, Lagotis and Salvia. Rhododendrons nobile and marmots have been seen on the ascent of the pass.
Because of the steep elevation increase around the pass, the vegetation graduates from sub-tropical forest at its base, to a temperate region, to a wet and dry alpine climate, and finally to cold tundra desert devoid of vegetation. Around Nathu La and the Tibetan side, the region has little vegetation besides scattered shrubs. Major species found in the region include dwarf rhododendrons (Rhododendron anthopogon, R. setosum) and junipers. The meadows include the genera Poa, Meconopsis, Pedicularis, Primula, and Aconitum. The region has a four-month growing season during which grasses, sedges, and medicinal herbs grow abundantly and support a host of insects, wild and domestic herbivores, larks, and finches. The nearby Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary has rare, endangered ground orchida and rhododendrons interspersed among tall junipers and silver firs.
There are no permanent human settlements in the region, though it has a large number of defence personnel who man the borders on both sides. A small number of nomadic Tibetan graziers or Dokpas herd yak, sheep and pashmina-type goats in the region. There has been intense grazing pressure due to domestic and wild herbivores on the land. Yaks are found in these parts, and in many hamlets they serve as beasts of burden.[96] The region around Nathu La contains many endangered species, including Tibetan gazelle, snow leopard, Tibetan wolf, Tibetan snowcock, lammergeier, raven, golden eagle, and ruddy shelduck. Feral dogs are considered a major hazard in this region. The presence of landmines in the area causes casualties among yak, nayan, kiang, and Tibetan wolf.
The avifauna consists of various types of laughing thrushes, which live in shrubs and on the forest floor. The blue whistling-thrush, redstarts, and forktails are found near waterfalls and hill-streams. The mixed hunting species present in the region include warblers, tit-babblers, treecreepers, white-eyes, wrens, and rose finches. Raptors such as black eagle, black-winged kite and kestrels; and pheasants such as monals and blood pheasant are also found.
Blood pheasant - Wikipedia
Ithaginis cruentatus
By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri Whatsapp +919868022228 Stroller Swami Bikash Giri Parvat Sumeru www.youtube.com/