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Demchok, Ngari Prefecture

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For the historical village, see Demchok (historical village). For the Indian-administered village, see Demchok, Ladakh. Village in Tibet, China
Demchok བདེ་མཆོག, 典角村Dêmqog
Village
Demchok is located in TibetDemchokDemchokShow map of TibetDemchok is located in ChinaDemchokDemchokShow map of China
Coordinates: 32°41′40″N 79°27′45″E / 32.69444°N 79.46250°E / 32.69444; 79.46250
CountryChina
RegionTibet
PrefectureNgari Prefecture
CountyGar County
TownshipZhaxigang
Elevation4,240 m (13,920 ft)
Population
 • Total171
Demchok
Chinese name
Chinese典角村
Hanyu PinyinDiǎnjiǎocūn
Literal meaning"Demchok Village"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDiǎnjiǎocūn
Tibetan name
Tibetanབདེ་མཆོག
Transcriptions
Wyliebde mchog
THLdem chok
Tibetan Pinyindêmqog

Demchok (Tibetan: བདེ་མཆོག, Wylie: bde mchog, THL: dem chok, ZYPY: dêmqog), is a Chinese-administered village in the Zhaxigang Township, Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. India disputes the status and claims it as part of the Demchok sector that it regards as part of Ladakh.

Geography

About OpenStreetMapsMaps: terms of use 8km
5milesChisumle ChisumleUmling La Umling LaUmling LaJara La Jara La
(Zhaxigang)Charding La Charding LaKoyul Lungpa river KoyulKoyul Lungpa riverNilung Nullah Nilung
NullahCharding Nullah Lhari stream /
Charding NullahCharding NullahIndus River Indus RiverDemchok Lhari peak Demchok
Lhari peakDemchok Lhari peak Demchok–Tibet Demchok–Tibet Demchok–Ladakh Demchok–LadakhDemchok–Ladakh  Demchok and vicinity

Demchok is located on the west bank of the Indus, roughly 30 km from Tashigang (Zhaxigang), at an elevation of over 4,000m. It is at the mouth of the Demchok River (also called "Charding Nullah" and "Lhari stream"), based in its alluvial plain.

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) passes along the northwest side of the village, following the Demchok River upstream till its source Charding La. The Indian-administered village of Demchok, Ladakh is roughly 600m away, across the stream. The Indian-claimed border extends 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Demchok, while the Chinese-claimed border extends 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Demchok.

History

17th to 19th centuries

Further information: Demchok (historical village)

The village of Demchok was mentioned in the Chronicles of Ladakh as the boundary point between Tibet and Ladakh demarcated in the 1684 Treaty of Tingmosgang.

When Henry Strachey visited the area in 1847, he described Demchok as a single hamlet with settlements on both the sides of the Lhari stream and the stream as the prevailing border between Ladakh and Tibet. A governor (wazir-e-wazarat) of Ladakh visited the area in 1904–05 and found the Tibetan Demchok village housing 8 to 9 huts of zamindars (landholders) while the Ladakhi Demchok village had only two zamindars. When Sven Hedin visited the area in the November 1907, he described Demchok as four or five huts lying on the southeastern bank of the Lhari stream in Tibet, with the Ladakhi side of the Lhari stream only containing the pyramidal Lhari peak and the ruins of two or three houses.

1950s and 1960s

In 1951, the People's Republic of China brought Tibet under its control. In 1954, India and China held negotiations for adjusting the trade relations between India and Tibet in the light of the new political context. During the negotiations, China offered Demchok as the location for a trade mart. India objected, claiming that Demchok was within Indian territory. The Chinese negotiator replied, "there can be no doubt about actual physical possession, which can be verified on spot, but to avoid any dispute we may omit mention of Demchok". The final agreement carried the wording, "the customary route leading to Tashigong along the valley of the Indus River may continue to be traversed."

Later in 1954, India published maps of its territory with defined borders, in which Demchok was claimed as Indian territory, border being set 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Demchok. In contrast, China has held that the border was some 10 miles west along the Indus Valley in line with the old British maps. In October 1955, China established a Border Working Group in the Demchok village.

The year 1959 witnessed an uprising in Lhasa and the Dalai Lama went into exile in India. China launched an "Anti-Rebellion Campaign" following this, subjecting Tibetans to forceful reforms and causing those living in border regions to flee to India. By the time the "turmoil" ended, there were only three households left in Demchok.

In the wake of rising border tensions in 1962, India established border outposts in its claimed territory. There was a post called "High Ground" above the Demchok village in the Charding Nullah valley, and another called "International Border Post" at India's claimed border point in the Indus Valley. Once the war began in October 1962, these posts were either overrun by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) or they were quickly withdrawn. The PLA advanced to China's claim line before withdrawing to their original locations. The Line of Actual Control resulting from the war runs along the Charding Nullah to the west of Demchok village.

1980 onwards

In 1984, committees from the Tibet Autonomous Region, Ngari Prefecture, and Gar County governments selected 24 people from 5 households to move to Demchok from the Jiamu Village, 100 km away in the Shiquanhe township. After a year, two households returned to Jiamu because they found it hard to endure the border lifestyle. In 1990, 9 more households were selected from Jiamu Village to move to Demchok, and there were a total of 15 households in Demchok divided into two working groups. The residents that moved to Demchok were communist party members, who were committed to guarding the border.

With 15 households, Demchok was administratively established as a village in 1990. Between 1999 and 2008, an international border trade market operated here, perhaps unofficially. Chinese daily necessities were exchanged for Indian handicrafts. This seems to have come to an end with the entry of PLA to the region. Indian explorer Romesh Bhattacharji, who visited the area sometime after this, noticed a yellow windowless building, which was "optimistically" built by China to serve as a border market but was not operational.

In 2008, the PLA established a post at Demchok on the grounds of security for Beijing Olympics. Soon after this, border intrusions were reported on the Indian side, along with a serious incident where the PLA is said to have assumed firing positions to chase away the Indian Intelligence Bureau personnel from the Charding–Nilung Nullah Junction (on the Indian side of the border). Border incidents at Demchok have become endemic ever since.

From 2011 to 2018, the Gar County government invested more than CN¥42 million on facilities and rebuilding the local residences. The construction of the two-storey single-family villas, which replaced the previous low-rise adobe houses, was completed in 2018.

In 2017, Demchok was named a National Civilized Village [zh] by the Central Guidance Commission on Building Spiritual Civilization.

Demographics

In 2019, there were 171 people living in 51 households in Demchok. In 2015, the per capita income was CN¥8,234. The primary and secondary school enrollment rate for school-age children was 98%.

Economy

The local economy of Demchok is largely based on cattle and sheep grazing. Residents of Demchok receive government subsidies for living in a border region and for living in grasslands.

Before 2011, Demchok lacked electricity and running water. By 2017, the village was completely electrified by two photovoltaic power stations and had water pumped from two newly drilled wells. The village also has full cellular network coverage, contains 2 public toilets, and has a landfill.

See also

Notes

  1. Variant spellings include Demchog, Demjok, and Dechhog.
  2. China refused the traditional trade routes between Ladakh and Rudok, but it was happy to allow trade along the Tashigong route.

References

  1. ^ "典角村"五代房":见证阿里"边境第一村"变迁" ["Five-generation house" in Dianjiao Village: Witness the changes of Ngari's "No. 1 Border Village"] (in Chinese). China Tibet Network [zh]. 11 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020.
  2. Lange, Decoding Mid-19th Century Maps (2017), p. 353: '... 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”.'
  3. Bray, John (Winter 1990), "The Lapchak Mission From Ladakh to Lhasa in British Indian Foreign Policy", The Tibet Journal, 15 (4): 77, JSTOR 43300375
  4. Henry Osmaston; Nawang Tsering, eds. (1997), Recent Research on Ladakh 6: Proceedings of the Sixth International Colloquium on Ladakh, Leh 1993, International Association for Ladakh Studies / Motilal Banarsidass Publ., p. 299, ISBN 978-81-208-1432-5
  5. Cunningham, Alexander (1854), Ladak: Physical, Statistical, Historical, London: Wm. H. Allen and Co, p. 328 – via archive.org
  6. Tibet Autonomous Region (China): Ngari Prefecture, KNAB Place Name Databse, retrieved 27 July 2021.
  7. Francke, Antiquities of Indian Tibet, Part 2 (1926), pp. 115–116.
  8. ^ Liu, Ying (18 September 2014). "《追梦喜马拉雅》之典角村的幸福生活" (in Chinese). China Tibet Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020.
  9. ^ Zhao, Chunjiang; Gao, Baojun (May 2020). Lei, Dongjun (ed.). 西藏典角村，前方距印度碉堡仅600米 [Dianjiao Village in Tibet, only 600 meters away from the Indian Bunker in front]. Chinese National Geography. Retrieved 19 July 2020. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  10. "Ladakhis deplore Krishna's remark on Demchok road". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
  11. Lamb, Alastair (1965). "Treaties, Maps and the Western Sector of the Sino-Indian Boundary Dispute" (PDF). The Australian Year Book of International Law. 1 (1): 37–52. doi:10.1163/26660229-001-01-900000005.
  12. Lamb, Treaties, Maps and the Western Sector (1965), p. 38.
  13. Lamb, The China-India border (1964), p. 68.
  14. Report of the Officials, Indian Report, Part 3 (1962), pp. 3–4: "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."
  15. Lange, Decoding Mid-19th Century Maps (2017), pp. 353–354, 357 'Hedin described the place as follows: "Rolled stones play an important part in the country which we have now reached. The whole of Demchok, the last village on the Tibetan side, is built of them. It consists, however, of only four or five huts with brushwood roofs."'
  16. Hedin, Southern Tibet (1922), p. 194: "A short distance N. W. of Demchok, the road passes a partly frozen brook coming from Demchok-pu, a tributary valley from the left. ... At the left side of the mouth of this little valley, are the ruins of two or three houses, which were said to have belonged to Hemi-gompa. A pyramidal peak at the same.. side of the valley is called La-ri and said to be sacred. The valley, Demchok-pu, itself is regarded as the boundary between Tibet and Ladak."
  17. Arpi, Claude (December 2016) , The Case of Demchok (PDF)
  18. Sandhu, Shankar, Dwivedi (2015), p. 12.
  19. Lamb, Treaties, Maps and the Western Sector (1965), p. 48.
  20. Lamb, Treaties, Maps and the Western Sector (1965), p. 50.
  21. ^ Zhōng yìn biānjìng diǎn jiǎo cūn: Shìwàitáoyuán de shuǐshēnhuǒrè 中印边境典角村：世外桃源的水深火热 [Dianjiao Village on the Sino-Indian Border: The Dire Waters of Xanadu], 163.com, 10 January 2018, archived from the original on 11 June 2021
  22. Shakya, Tsering (1999), Dragon in the Land of Snows: The History of Modern Tibet since 1947, Pimlico, pp. 249–250, ISBN 9780712665339, In nomadic communities in western Tibet the revolt in Lhasa made no impact and the people had not been in any way involved in the uprising, yet they were still subjected to the Anti-Rebellion campaign.... Most Tibetans who fled to India, particularly those in the border regions in western Tibet, did so after the Chinese campaign.
  23. Johri, Sitaram (1969), Chinese Invasion of Ladakh, Himalaya Publications, pp. 144, 147
  24. ^ Demchok people protest on China border, Daily Excelsior, 14 April 2016.
  25. ^ Demchok people protest on China border, Ladakh Sargyur, 30 April 2016, via issuu.com.
  26. Bhattacharji, Romesh (2012). "Chapter 9: "Changthang: The High Plateau". Ladakh: Changing, Yet Unchanged. New Delhi: Rupa Publications – via Academia.edu.
  27. Saurabh Shukla (23 June 2008), "Beijing games", India Today, ProQuest 198650562
  28. Ben Arnoldy, Growing number of China incursions into India lead to a strategy change, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 September 2009. ProQuest 405572474
  29. China retreats, shepherds back, The Hindustan Times, 16 January 2010. ProQuest 471257077
  30. Chinese 'transgressions' continue, says army commander, The Hindustan Times, 11 May 2010. ProQuest 275720221
  31. Chinese troops enter Indian territory again; stop dev work, The Hindustan Times, 9 Jan 2011. ProQuest 840382132
  32. Tarun Upadhyay, Chinese intrusion stops dev work, McClatchy-Tribune Business News, Washington, 9 January 2011. ProQuest 822932558
  33. "（受权发布）第五届全国文明城市、文明村镇、文明单位和第一届全国文明校园名单" (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  34. ^ 中印边境示范村——典角新颜 (in Chinese). China Tibet Broadcasting. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2020.

Bibliography

Ngari Prefecture, Tibet
County-level divisions Location of Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region
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