Syed Junaid Hashmi JAMMU, Jan 11: With both centre and state maintaining complete silence, China has begun enforcing its writ over landlocked region of Leh-Ladakh by claiming this part of Jammu and Kashmir as its territory and refusing to accept that it is a disputed area.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been using tactics of threatening locals in villages deep inside the Indian territory on India-China border and at times, even forcing them to vacate land belonging to the Indian side.
PLA control is so strong that even collecting bushy firewood difficult for locals of Ladakh villages bordering China is risk oriented and dangerous.
This is what Deputy Commissioner Leh-Ladakh Ajeet Kumar Sahu wrote on January 9, 2009 in an official communiqué no.DCL/PS/MISC/09 to the then Divisional Commissioner Kashmir about Chinese control over Indian land in Ladakh.
The picture is spine chilling.
Sahu in this official communiqué says that on December 28, 2008 three PLA personnel appeared at Village Dokbug in Leh and warned nomads to vacate the area claiming the land in their territory.
The Deputy Commissioner maintains that the PLA personnel threatened the villagers and asked them to vacate the land by the evening of December 28 or face the consequences.
They even told them that the land upto Heena post belongs to them.
After warning by the PLA personnel, all the seven families of Koyul at Dokbug vacated the area in the evening on December 29 along with their livestock and other belongings including tents and shifted them to Doley Tango.
Thereafter, on December 25, 2008 (i.e.
an year ago) five girls aged 18 to 19 years who had gone to collect bushy firewood locally named as ‘Tama’ about half kilometer towards eastwards of Dokbuk in Ladakh were stopped by PLA personnel who had come there in a vehicle.
PLA personnel set the firewood ablaze and returned the ropes to the girls, warning them not to come to the site again.
Deputy Commissioner further writes that on December 31, 7 nomads after getting the support of villagers again went to Koyul at Dokbug to graze their livestock and pitched two tents at the same place where they had already pitched the tents and were living there for about a month.
Sahu maintains that the report is an eyewitness account put in writing by SDM Nyoma whom he (Sahu) instructed to enquire the issue.
In his official communiqué to Divisional Commissioner Kashmir (A copy of which is with Kashmir Times), Sahu says that villagers told SDM Nyoma about strategic land occupation being carried out by Chinese army.
According to Sahu’s letter, villagers informed SDM Nyoma that Nang-Tsang area, which falls opposite to the presently constructed Phuktse Air Field, was under Indian occupation upto 1984 and later Chinese occupied it in bits and pieces over a period of time.
Another area, Nagkung was also under Indian occupation till 1991 but by the end of December 1991, PLA occupied this part of Ladakh also, says the letter.
Besides, Lungma was under India till 1992 and thereafter, it has been under the control of china.
Sahu further writes that Villagers lament that the incidents of Dokbug is a repeat of the incidents as quoted in cases of Nang-Tsangs, Nag-Kung and Lungma kung.
Chinese have been using this modus-operandi to occupy more and more Indian land.
The Deputy Commissioner says that Chinese army first asks the shepherds to vacate the land and thereafter, when the shepherds out of fear abandon the area, it becomes no-man’s land for quite some time and thereafter Chinese army in a designed way occupies it to put it in their territory.
“People of the area are fearful that their pasture land will again be snatched by Chinese army in the same way as has been done in Nang-Tsangs, Nagkung and Lungma-Serding,” concludes the Deputy Commissioner.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief minister Omar Abdullah has already said that it is matter of serious concern and that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has to taken it up.
Abdullah recently said, “This is something that the Government of India needs to take up with the Chinese government and they need to find a solution to it.” About us | Advertise | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Weather | Letters | Send Mail Disclaimer: Information is being made available at this site purely as a measure of public facilitation.
While every effort has been made to ensure Sthat the information hosted on this website is accurate CHAIRMAN: VED BHASIN Kashmir Times Group of Publications Edited, printed and published by Prabodh Jamwal Editor-in-Chief, The Kashmir Times, Residency Road, Jammu, J&K, INDIA.
Executive Editor: Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal E-Mail: vbhasin@sancharnet.in, jmt_prabodh@sancharnet.in
