Revision as of 06:36, 6 December 2020

History

Rohan Dua, July 4, 2020: The Times of India

The cover of Ladakhi explorer and adventurer Ghulam Rasul Galwan’s autobiographical account
From: Rohan Dua, July 4, 2020: The Times of India

Inside pages of Ghulam Rasul Galwan’s autobiographical account
From: Rohan Dua, July 4, 2020: The Times of India

Source: Rasul Bailay, great-grandson of Ghulam Rasul Galwan in economictimes.com

Days after the India-China face-off in Galwan river valley, the family of Ladhakhi writer and explorer Ghulam Rasul Galwan — from whom the valley gets its name — recalled another brutal encounter on the same land, this one a century ago, that their ancestor had with Chinese soldiers during an expedition in the 1900s.

“It pains us that more than 100 years on, Chinese transgressions have continued. Galwan valley is named after my great-grandfather who bravely fought the Chinese and lived to tell the tale,” Manzoor, the author’s great-grandson, told TOI from his home in Leh’s Yourtung.

Galwan’s grandson, Amin, a 65-year-old retired government servant, recalled the Chinese attack mentioned in his grandfather’s autobiography ‘Servant of Sahibs: Asakal of Leh’. He said: “My grandfather had taken along sahibs (as British were called then) for an expedition near the valley in the early 1900s when there were several instances of Chinese soldiers beating them up. One day, there was news of another attack and armed with sticks my grandfather and a few others ran after four Chinese soldiers riding horses. When they were on their way back to camp, some Chinese men attacked them brutally. They managed to flee and hide in a house for some time but when they came out, the Chinese encircled them. It was only when my grandfather feigned death that they left.”

Galwan lay there until some British men came to his rescue several hours later. It's his tales of exploration and courage that are often cited in the region. Galwan’s journey from a porter to an ‘aksakal’ or assistant to the then British joint commissioner at Leh is recorded in gazetteers.

Amin said his grandfather was born in 1878 in Leh and worked as a guide for the British in Tibet, the mountains of central Asia — especially the Karakoram Range — when he was barely 12. It was a time when the British were anxious about Russian expansion with an eye on Tibet. Galwan guided troops through the hostile territory and gathered intelligence about Russian plans that could compromise British interests in India.

Renowned Ladakhi historian Abdul Ghani Sheikh said that it was during an expedition with Lord Dunmore that bad weather led their caravan astray. Galwan then went in search of a route they could use and reached a river. He found one and the explorers escape certain death. Grateful, Dunmore named the valley and the river after Galwan. “He was the first man from Ladakh to write a book in English.”

“I have never heard of an instance of naming of major geographical feature after a native explorer. British names have been given but never heard of one being named after a local,” says Harish Kapadia, mountaineer, author and long-time editor of the Himalayan Journal.

Many independent ecologists and historians in Ladakh share old records of how Galwan undertook treks with iconic global travellers of that era including 7th Earl of Dunmore, Charles Murray, English geologist Godwin Austen, Sir Francis Younghusband and Italian zoologist Fillipo de Fillipo.

Tahir, another one of his great-grandsons, dreams of opening a memorial in Galwan valley as a tribute to his great-grandfather. But he has concerns. “A lot of Chinese goods, such as electronics and apparel, reach Ladakh via Nepal. It’s time that we boycott such products and give a strong push to Indian brands,” the alumnus of Delhi University said, adding, “The Galwan valley will always remain ours.”

LIFE AND TIMES OF GHULAM RASUL GALWAN

Born in 1878, Galwan either led or was part of numerous expeditions into Tibet, Yarkand (now in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China), the Karakoram range, the Pamirs and other Central Asian regions — mostly through inhospitable geographies with altitudes ranging from 5,000 m to 7,000 m above the sea level and where temperature plunged to -30 degree Celsius in the winter.

Galwan was forced to go on risky, long-distance expeditions at a young age, to supplement the income of his single mother, a winnower. But the path he chose due to compulsion, became a passion and he never looked back. Starting out as a porter and pony man, he rose through the ranks to eventually become the 'aksakal' or the chief assistant of the British joint commissioner at Leh.

He died at 47, in 1925 and appears to have been travelling nearly all of his relatively short life, with the legendary names of those times.

Attacks by China

Early 1900s

Rohan Dua, June 19, 2020: The Times of India

The attack is mentioned in Ghulam Rasul Galwan’s ‘Servant of Sahibs- Asakal of Leh’
From: Rohan Dua, June 19, 2020: The Times of India

Days after the India-China face-off in Galwan river valley, the family of Ladhakhi writer and explorer Ghulam Rasul Galwan — from whom the valley gets its name — recalled another brutal encounter on the same land, this one a century ago, that their ancestor had with Chinese soldiers during an expedition in the 1900s.

“It pains us that more than 100 years on, Chinese transgressions have continued. Galwan Valley is named after my great-grandfather who bravely fought the Chinese and lived to tell the tale,” Manzoor, the author’s great-grandson, told TOI from his home in Leh’s Yourtung on Thursday. Galwan’s grandson, Amin, a 65-year-old retired government servant, recalled the Chinese attack mentioned in his grandfather’s autobiography ‘Servant of Sahibs: Asakal of Leh’. He said: “My grandfather had taken along sahibs (as British were called then) for an expedition near the valley in the early 1900s when there were several instances of Chinese soldiers beating them up. One day, there was news of another attack and armed with sticks my grandfather and a few others ran after four Chinese soldiers on horses. When they were on their way back to camp, some Chinese men attacked them brutally. They managed to flee and hide in a house for some time but when they came out, the Chinese encircled them. It was only when my grandfather feigned death that they left.” Galwan lay there until some British men came to his rescue several hours later. It’s his tales of exploration and courage that are often cited in the region. Galwan’s journey from a porter to an ‘aksakal’ or assistant to the then British joint commissioner at Leh is recorded in gazetteers.

Amin said his grandfather was born in 1878 in Leh and worked as a guide for the British in Tibet, the mountains of central Asia — especially the Karakoram Range — when he was barely 12. It was a time when the British were anxious about Russian expansion with an eye on Tibet. Galwan guided troops through the hostile territory and gathered intelligence about Russian plans that could compromise British interests in India. Tahir, another one of his greatgrandsons, said “It’s time that we give a strong push to Indian brands. The Galwan valley will always remain ours.”

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) by Indian troops

India-China stand-off: Past pacts prevented pulling the trigger, June 19, 2020: The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Indian soldiers patrolling in the forward areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China do carry assault rifles and firearms but when a team goes ahead to confront or talk to PLA troops, they are usually unarmed or have their weapons concealed or slung on their backs.

This, in short, is the standard operating procedure (SOP) followed by Indian troops, who are also under strict instructions to never open fire in accordance with the flurry of border management agreements inked with China over the years. The 1996 agreement, for instance, lays down that “neither side shall open fire or conduct blast operations within 2 km of the LAC”.

The brutal killing of 20 Indian soldiers, including the commanding officer of 16 Bihar Colonel B Santosh Babu, by troops of the People’s Liberation Army armed with nail-studded rods and stones in the Galwan Valley region of eastern Ladakh on Monday night has already led the Indian defence establishment to rethink existing SOPs and protocols, as was reported by TOI.

It triggered a huge controversy, with many questioning why the Indian soldiers did not draw their weapons on being faced with a brutal assault. Foreign minister S Jaishankar said troops carried arms but did not use them because of agreements between the two sides not to open fire.

Many military veterans strongly opposed him.

Former Northern Army commander Lt General H S Panag (retd) tweeted: “These agreements (with China) apply to border management and not while dealing with a tactical military situation. Lastly, when lives of soldiers or security of post/territory threatened, the commander on the spot can use all weapons at his disposal, including artillery.”

Brigadier Sandeep Thapar (retd) said, “If your colonel gets killed in front of you, all rules will be flung out of the window. If the enemy has violated the protocols and carried out offensive action, why should rules of conduct apply?

2020

China planned Galwan clashes: US panel

December 3, 2020: The Times of India

China planned Galwan clashes, says US panel

‘Possibility Of Fatalities Also Factored In’

New Delhi:

Accusing China of ramping up its coercion campaign against neighbours, a top US commission has said in its report to Congress that the Chinese government had “planned” the Galwan Valley clash in June, potentially including the “possibility for fatalities”. While 20 Indian soldiers died in the LAC clashes on June 15, the Chinese had suffered casualties too. The United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), in its report, also said Beijing had ramped up its “multi-year” coercion campaign against its neighbours, provoking military or paramilitary stand-offs with countries from Japan to India and much of Southeast Asia. The US body said there was “some evidence” to suggest that Galwan was planned and executed by the Chinese.

‘China minister called for use of force weeks before Galwan’

For instance, several weeks prior to the clash, defence minister Wei made his statement encouraging Beijing to ‘use fighting to promote stability’,” the USCC report said. “Shortly after China’s defence minister urged Beijing to use military force to stabilise its periphery, a violent clash on the China-India border in June led to the first loss of life between the two countries since 1975,” it said.

“Just over two weeks before the incident, an editorial in China’s state-owned tabloid Global Times warned that India would suffer a ‘devastating blow’ to its trade and economic ties with China if it got ‘involved in the US-China rivalry’. Satellite images depicted a large Chinese build-up in the Galwan Valley, including potentially 1,000 PLA soldiers, the week before the skirmish,” it added. The USCC is said to have the legislative mandate to monitor, probe and submit to the US Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the US and China, and to provide recommendations for legislative and administrative action.

The report said in the aftermath of the clash, Beijing asserted sovereignty over the entire Galwan Valley in what was a new claim and “significant change to the territorial status quo”.

China sends martial artists to India border

June 28, 2020: The Times of India

China sent martial artists to India border before deadly clash: State media

BEIJING: China reinforced its troops near the Indian border with mountain climbers and martial arts fighters shortly before a deadly clash this month, state media reported.

Tensions are common between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in the mountainous border terrain, but this month's fighting was their deadliest encounter in over 50 years.

Five new militia divisions including former members of a Mount Everest Olympic torch relay team and fighters from a mixed martial arts club presented themselves for inspection at Lhasa on June 15, official military newspaper China National Defense News reported.

State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of hundreds of new troops lining up in the Tibetan capital.

Tibet commander Wang Haijiang said the Enbo Fight Club recruits would "greatly raise the organization and mobilization strength" of troops and their "rapid response and support ability," China National Defense News reported, although he did not explicitly confirm their deployment was linked to ongoing border tensions.

Chinese and Indian troops clashed later that day in the most violent confrontation between the two powers in decades, in the Ladakh region 1,300 kilometres away.

India says 20 of its own soldiers were killed in brutal hand-to-hand combat that day, while China suffered an unknown number of casualties.

Both sides have blamed each other for the battle, which was fought with rocks and batons without any shots fired.

India said Thursday that it had reinforced troops in the contested Himalayan border region, saying it was matching a similar buildup by China.

Chinese state media have in recent weeks highlighted military activity including high-altitude anti-aircraft drills in the Tibet region bordering India.

The new troops were recruited with the aim of "strengthening the border and stabilizing Tibet," China National Defense News said.

India claims Chinese troops ambushed Indian soldiers and forced them down a ridge where they had gone to remove a Chinese "encroachment".

A bilateral accord prevents the use of guns, but the fighting was still fierce, with rudimentary weapons.

China has in turn accused Indian soldiers of twice crossing the Line of Actual Control, the unofficial boundary, provoking its troops.

The two countries fought a war over the border in 1962. There is an understanding between the nuclear-armed neighbours that their troops in the inhospitable region will not use firearms.

Territorial clash

Beginning of the clash

China ordered attack on Indian troops in Galwan River Valley: US Intel, June 23, 2020: The Times of India

WASHINGTON: A senior Chinese general authorised his forces to attack Indian troops in the Galwan River valley, resulting in a brutal skirmish that killed dozens and dramatically escalated tensions between the two Asian powerhouses, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment.

Gen. Zhao Zongqi, head of the Western Theater Command and among the few combat veterans still serving in the People's Liberation Army, approved the operation along the contested border region of northern India and southwestern China, a source familiar with the assessment says on the condition of anonymity. According to U.S. News, Zhao, who has overseen prior standoffs with India, has previously expressed concerns that China must not appear weak to avoid exploitation by the United States and its allies, including in New Delhi, the source says, and saw the faceoff last week as a way to "teach India a lesson."

The assessment contradicts China's subsequent assertions about what happened on June 15.

And it indicates the deadly and contentious incident - in which at least 20 Indian and 35 Chinese troops died, and reportedly a handful on each side were captured and subsequently released - was not the result of a tense circumstance that spiralled out of control, as has happened before, but rather a purposeful decision by Beijing to send a message of strength to India.

Yet that plan appears to have backfired, as the incident sparked widespread outrage in India that continues a week later. And Beijing's attempts to make India more amenable to future negotiations, including about contested territory, instead appear to have pushed the economic giant closer to the U.S.

Much is at stake, far beyond territorial control. The U.S. has pressured India for months to back away from employing Chinese tech company Huawei to help build its 5G infrastructure. In the aftermath of June 15 incident Indians were reportedly deleting Chinese social media app TikTok and destroying phones made in China.

"It does the very opposite of what China wanted," the source says, adding that "this is not a victory for China's military."

It remains unclear the extent to which Chinese President Xi Jinping was involved in the decisions that led to the bloody encounter, though analysts familiar with Chinese military decision making say he would have almost certainly known about the orders.

Troops had massed on both sides of the border in recent months in the northern India region of Ladakh and the southwestern Chinese region of Aksai Chin, causing global concerns of a potential escalation between the two.

Private geo-intelligence firm Hawkeye 360 recently reported that satellite imagery from late May showed a buildup on the Chinese side of what appeared to be armed personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery.

Lack of clarity

Rajat Pandit, June 21, 2020: The Times of India

The Line of Actual Control at Pangong Tso
From: Rajat Pandit, June 21, 2020: The Times of India

There is still lack of clarity about the exact ground situation in the Galwan Valley region of eastern Ladakh. But sources in the Army say Chinese soldiers have built — since early May — dozens of new fortifications and bunkers after physically occupying an almost 8km stretch in what India considers to be its territory along Pangong Tso.

These sources acknowledge that Chinese troops have also taken control of the heights to dominate the ‘Finger-4 to 8’ (mountainous spurs) area on the north bank of Pangong Tso, adroitly utilising the time when bilateral military talks were underway on troop confrontations at Patrolling Points 14, 15 and 17 in the Galwan Valley and Gogra-Hot Springs areas. Senior officials on Saturday said the Indian Army is now “holding” the area near Patrolling Point-14 in the Galwan Valley region, which was the location of the bloody clash that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and 76 injured on June 15. “The two rival armies are more or less on their own sides of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan region. But there is no disengagement, with military buildups on both sides,” said an official source.

The troop confrontation on the north bank of Pangong Tso, located at an altitude of 13,900 feet across the Changla Pass, is much more serious. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), after a clash with Indian troops there on May 5-6, has been consistently blocking all Indian patrols going west to east from Finger-4 to 8 area, as TOI has reported since last month. “All Indian Army maps show the LAC runs north to south at Finger-8. With an ITBP post between Finger-3 and Finger-4, our patrols have been going up to Finger-8 for years. But the PLA has been refusing to discuss its occupation from Finger-4 to 8 since early last month,” said a senior officer.

In 1999, while India’s attention was diverted during the Kargil conflict with Pakistan, China had surreptitiously built a dirt track reaching up to Finger-4 area from its rear bases to the east at Sirijap-1 and 2. Subsequently, the PLA also black-topped it.

“PLA troops, often in vehicles from their post at Finger-8 and Sirijap, used to patrol in the area. But they had never physically occupied the area even though they claimed it till Finger-2,” said the officer. “But now, they have built a series of defences from Finger-4 to 8, while also occupying the heights. It will be difficult to dislodge them from there,” he added. India obviously wants a return to status quo ante, with the PLA’s pulling back from the “Finger 4” area and demolishing all its fortifications there, but that might take some doing.

Damage to China

Death of Chinese officers

China confirms death of 2 officers, including CO, June 23, 2020: The Times of India

China has confirmed that the commanding officer and another officer of the PLA battalion that instigated a bloody confrontation with Indian troops on the night of June 15 in Galwan Valley were killed in the clashes.

The Chinese side had informed the Indians soon afterwards about the deaths of their officers, but this has come to light only now. TOI had in its edition of June 18 reported the deaths in the PLA ranks (see screenshot) on the basis of intelligence sources.

A confirmation by China is significant. This is perhaps the first time since the clash with Vietnam in 1979—a military disaster for China—that PLA has suffered battle fatalities. The Chinese foreign ministry has refrained from acknowledging the losses suffered by PLA. Chinese media reports on the first day acknowledged PLA had lost an unspecified number of men.