Onliporno: general fix intro and improved wording

2026-02-15T08:19:07Z

general fix intro and improved wording

>Kautilya3: Expanding the lead

2021-06-30T01:23:50Z

Expanding the lead

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{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Dumchele
|other_name =
|native_name = 都木契列 
|nickname =
|settlement_type = Village
|motto =

|dot_x = |dot_y =
|pushpin_map = China Tibet#India Ladakh
|pushpin_label_position = 
|pushpin_map_caption =
|pushpin_mapsize =

|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = [[People's Republic of China|China]] (disputed by India)
|subdivision_type1 = Region
|subdivision_name1 = [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China|Prefecture]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Ngari Prefecture|Ngari]]
|subdivision_type3 = [[Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#County level|County]]
|subdivision_name3 = [[Rutog County|Rutog]]

| population_footnotes =
| population_total =
| population_as_of =

|timezone =
|utc_offset =
|timezone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST =
|coordinates = {{coord|33.0762|79.1688 |region:CN|display=inline,title|format=dms}}

|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 4100
|elevation_ft =

|postal_code_type =
|postal_code =
|area_code =

|website =
}}
'''Dumchele'''{{efn|Variations of the spelling include '''Dumchule''',<ref>
Claude Arpi, [https://www.dailyo.in/politics/india-to-stand-up-to-china-over-ladakh-wang-yi-panchsheel-tibet-aksai-chin-pakistan/story/1/12342.html China must come clean on whether it considers Ladakh a 'disputed territory'], Daily O, 13 August 2016.
</ref>
'''Dumchulle''',<ref>
{{harvp|Bhattacharji, Ladakh|2012|at=Chapter 1}}: "Like in '''Dumchulle''' on the right bank of the Indus across from Dungti on the Nyoma–Demchog road, where it is about 16 km in Indian territory."
</ref>
'''Doom Cheley''',<ref>
[https://scroll.in/latest/964313/ladakh-mp-claims-china-occupied-indian-territory-under-congress-rule-hits-out-at-rahul-gandhi Ladakh MP claims China occupied Indian territory under Congress rule, hits out at Rahul Gandhi], Scroll.in, 10 June 2020.
</ref>
and '''Dhumtsele'''.<ref>
P.Stobdan, [https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/ladakh-concern-overrides-lac-dispute-90880 Ladakh concern overrides LAC dispute], The Tribune, 28 May 2020.
</ref>
The original appears to have been '''Dumche La'''.<ref>
{{citation |title=Report on the External Land Trade of the Punjab |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-Y_AQAAMAAJ |publisher=Punjab (India). Land Records Department |year=1906 |page=1}}: "The Lahaulis going to the south turn off at Dongtchi [Dungti] and go by the '''Dumche La''' to Chakang and by Demchok to Tashigong."
</ref>}}
({{zh|t=都木契列|p=Dōu mù qì liè}})
is a village and a [[grazing|grazing area]] near the [[Line of Actual Control]] between [[Ladakh]] and [[Tibet]], administered by China since October 1962 but claimed by India. The locale is in the disputed [[Demchok sector]], about 50 kilometers northwest from [[Demchok, Ladakh|Demchok]] and 50 kilometers southeast of [[Chushul]].<ref name="Wahid"/><ref name="US India"/> It lies on a historic trade route between Ladakh and [[Rutog Town|Rutog]], with a border pass at '''Chang La''' or '''Xingong La''' ({{zh|t=新贡拉|p=Xīn gòng lā}}) to the southeast of Dumchele.

A river flows below the Chang La pass, collecting mountain streams from the north. A rich grazing ground is formed near the pass, called '''Kigunaru''',{{efn|Alternative spellings include '''Keegunaru''',<ref>
{{harvp|Report of the Officials, Indian Report, Part 2|1962|p=12–13}}: "The pastures in the Spanggur area have been the close preserve of the inhabitants of Chushul; and the pastures of '''Keegunaru''' valley were utilised by the Koyul people."
</ref>
'''Kegu Naro'''<ref name=Stobdan/> and '''Gegu Naruo''' (in Chinese sources).}}
and the river itself is called Kigunaru river ({{zh|t=基古纳鲁河|p=Jī gǔ nà lǔ hé}}). It is also called Xingong Lungpa.

Until 1962 India maintained a 'forward' post at Chang La, a days march from Dumchele.<ref>
{{citation |last=Cheema |first=Brig Amar |title=The Crimson Chinar: The Kashmir Conflict: A Politico Military Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qc25BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA188 |date=2015 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |ISBN=978-81-7062-301-4 |pp=188–189}}
</ref><ref name="Stobdan"/> In the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War|war]], China attacked Chang La and forced India to withdraw from the entire Kigunaru river basin. At the present time, China maintains a trading post at Dumchele and a military post nearby.<ref name="Wahid" />

== History ==
[[File:Demchok-sector-map.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The disputed Demchok sector between China and India: the Chinese claim line on the west, the Indian claim line on the east and the [[Line of Actual Control]] in the middle.]]
[[File:Demchok-sector-north-US-Army-map-1954.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The northern part of Demchok sector drawn by US Army Map Service, 1954]]
[[File:1874 map of Demchok area by Frederic Drew.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Frederec Drew's map of the Demchok sector, 1875]]

The Dumchele valley-plain lies along a 17th trade route between Ladakh and Tibet.<ref name="Wahid">
Siddiq Wahid (February 2014) [http://ris.org.in/images/RIS_images/pdf/DP%20Dr%20Siddiq%20Wahid.pdf The Changthang Borderlands of Ladakh: A Preliminary Inquiry (Discussion Paper # 187)]. Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries. Retrieved on 31 October 2020.
</ref>

=== British Raj ===
{{See also|Demchok sector}}
[[William Moorcroft (explorer)|Moorcroft]]'s associate, [[George Trebeck]], visited the area in early 19th century, travelling south on the right bank of Indus. He stayed at a place called Chibra very near Dumchele.{{efn|The coordinates of Chibra given in the ''Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladakh'', {{coord|79|10|N|83|5|E}}, are virtually the same as those of Dumchele.<ref>
{{citation |title=Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.43256/page/n7 |publisher=Superintendent of Government Printing |location=Calcutta |year=1890 |page=268}}
</ref>}} The area was studded with small ponds and lakes, and a rivulet crossed the Indus bed (Xingong Lungpa), getting divided by an island.{{efn|The rivulet coming down from the Chang La pass is called "Xingong Lungpa" on Chinese maps. It is obtained by the merger of two further streams coming down from mountain heights. On the Indus bed, the rivulet divides, with a large strand flowing into the Dumchele lake.}} He described the Indus river bed as consisting of loose sand, with a form of sand-grass called ''Long-ma'' growing on it. It provided winter grazing for the Ladakhis, apparently the only winter grazing available in the whole of [[Rupshu]].{{sfnp|Moorcroft & Trebeck, Travels in the Himalayan Provinces, Vol. 1|1841|p=440}} He also noticed a trading party belonging to the Kalon of Ladakh return from Rudok, carrying fifty-six sheep loads of shawl wool (''[[pashm]]'') and further loads of coarse wool.{{sfnp|Moorcroft & Trebeck, Travels in the Himalayan Provinces, Vol. 1|1841|p=444}}<ref>
{{citation |first=Nicky |last=Grist |chapter=Moorcroft & Ladakh Studies |editor1=Henry Osmaston |editor2=Philip Denwood |title=Recent Research on Ladakh 4 & 5: Proceedings of the Fourth and Fifth International Colloquia on Ladakh |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mCy2mBVNqSoC&pg=PA332 |year=1995 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-1404-2 |pages=332–333}}
</ref>

The border of Ladakh was described to Trebeck as running from "the angle of a hill about five miles to the east" (which would be near Chang La) to the low pass of ''La Ganskiel'' (the "Lagankhel" of later maps).<ref>
{{harvp|Moorcroft & Trebeck, Travels in the Himalayan Provinces, Vol. 1|1841|p=440}}: "... the boundary of Ladakh was pointed out to us as extending from the angle of a hill about five miles to the east, to the low pass of La Ganskiel on the road to Gardokh, about fourteen miles distant to the southward."
</ref>

Scholar Janet Rizvi confirms that traders often travelled with donkeys via Chang La to Rudok and returned with salt and wool. Ladakhi monks that went to Tibet for education and training also used the route, travelling with traders.<ref>{{citation |first=Sonam |last=Joldan |title=Relationship between Ladakh and Buddhist Tibet: Pilgrimage and trade |journal=The Tibet Journal |volume=31 |number=3 |date=Autumn 2006 |pages=44–45 |jstor=43300982}}</ref>

In 1847, [[Henry Strachey (explorer)|Henry Strachey]] visited the left bank of Indus, as part of a British boundary commission for Kashmir. He discovered that the Tibetans regarded the [[Charding Nullah|rivulet]] flowing into the Indus next to the [[Demchok, Ladakh|Demchok]] village of Ladakh as the border on Indus.{{sfnp|Lamb, The China-India border|1964|p=68}}{{efn|Demchok extended to the southern side of the rivulet in Strachey's view, which was under the control of Tibet. The Chinese call this village [[Dêmqog, Ngari Prefecture|Dêmqog]], which is the Tibetan pinyin spelling of Demchok.}}

Between 1855 and 1865, a Kashmir Survey was conducted by the [[Great Trigonometrical Survey]] of India. At the end of it, the British government defined a new border, which inexplicably excluded both the Demchok village and the Chang La pass from Ladakhi territory.{{sfnp|Lamb, The China-India border|1964|pp=72–73}} The new border ran along the Indus River between Lagankhel and the confluence with the Xingong Lungpa stream. North of this, it headed to the eastern watershed of the Indus River. This border still left Dumchele in Ladakhi territory. (See the map by the US [[Army Map Service]].)

Kashmir's geologist [[Frederic Drew]] created a map in connection with his book, ''The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories'', in 1875. His border, professedly based on the territories actually used by the Ladakhis and Tibetans for grazing, placed the Chang La ("Chang Pass") and the entire watershed of the Xingong Lungpa stream within Ladakh.<ref>{{harvp|Drew, The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories|1875|pp=316, 496}}: "About north-north-east from Dora the northern mountain-ridge changes in point of composition from granite to a more or less altered shale; the line of it is more to the east than before, while in the line of its original direction are some more hills which are joined to the other ridge by a neck called on the Survey Map "Chang Pass"; this Pass is practically the boundary of Chinese Tibet in that direction; in the Indus Valley the boundary will be a day or two's march beyond Dora."</ref>

Despite the various British efforts at border definition, the situation on the ground was essentially unchanged. The state of [[Kashmir]] was ruled by a native Maharaja who enjoyed considerable autonomy. The traditional borders appear to have continued until the time of India's independence in 1947.<ref>{{citation |first=R. C. F. |last=Schomberg |title=Expeditionts: The Tso Morari to the Tibetan Frontier at Demchok |journal=The Himalayan Journal |volume=XVI |number=1 |year=1950 |pages=100–105}} Available from http://pahar.in/journals/</ref>

=== 1962 war and aftermath ===
In October 1962, during the [[Sino-Indian War]], the Chinese occupied the Dumchele area from Indiaa, along with roughly half of the Demchok sector.<ref>{{harvp|Bhattacharji, Ladakh|2012|loc=Chapter 6}}: "In the Chinese bazaar of Dumchulle, in the territory occupied from India in 1962, [...]"</ref> The Line of Actual Control resulting from the war runs between Dumchele and the smaller lake of Tso Skur to the west.

During and following the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|Indo-Pakistan war of 1965]], the Dumchele area saw some action mainly in the form of the Indian and Chinese governments exchanging notes blaming each other for intruding into ''their'' territory.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0RxeDNzTKKoC&q=Dumchele&pg=RA7-PA5|title=Daily Report, Foreign Radio Broadcasts, Issues 181-185|date=1965|publisher=United States Central Intelligence Agency|year=1965|language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://web.stanford.edu/group/tomzgroup/pmwiki/uploads/0623-whitepaper13-a-RRW.pdf Notes, Memoranda and Letters Exchanged between the Governments of India and China (February 1966–February 1967) White Paper No XIII]. ''Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India''. Accessed on 31 October 2020.</ref> At Tso Skur, {{Convert|2.5|mi|km|abbr=}} south est of Dumchele, three Indian armed personnel were killed by PLA troops on 19 September 1965.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2015-11-30|title=From the archives - dated November 30, 1965|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/archives/from-the-archives-dated-november-30-1965/article7930344.ece|access-date=2020-11-05|issn=0971-751X|quote=India has demanded from China "full compensation" for the damage to Indian life and property by intruding Chinese troops near Tsaskur in Ladakh on September 19 last. The demand was made in a note handed to the Chinese Embassy here [New Delhi] on November 26 and made public to-day [November 29].}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2 October 2020|others=IANS|title=Indian Army celebrates Cho La Day to commemorate 1967 action against PLA|url=https://southasiamonitor.org/china-watch/indian-army-celebrates-cho-la-day-commemorate-1967-action-against-pla|access-date=2020-11-05|website=South Asia Monitor|language=en}}</ref> Also in September 1965, according to the Chinese, India's border provocation at Dumchele was the worst provocation since 1962.<ref name="US India">
{{Cite book |last1=Chaudhry |first1=Praveen K. |last2=Vanduzer-Snow |first2=Marta |title=The United States and India: A History Through Archives: The Later Years: Volume 2 |date=2011 |publisher=SAGE Publications India |isbn=978-81-321-0678-4 |pages=202 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNiGAwAAQBAJ&q=Dumchele&pg=PA202}}
</ref>

=== Trading post ===
There is a Chinese trading post at Dumchele.<ref name="Wahid" /> The PLA military post near Dumchele supports the trade between both sides of the LAC. For a few days during winter the trade intensifies. A 2014 study by Siddiq Wahid for the Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, a New Delhi based think-tank, reports trade (smuggling) of "tiger bones, tiger skins, rhino horns and sandalwood".<ref name="Wahid" /> Items exchanged also include rice, wheat and cooking oil, and in exchange [[Pashmina Shawl|Pashmina shawls]] and Chinese crockery and electronics are traded.<ref>
{{Cite news |author=PTI |title=Smuggling rampant along LAC in Ladakh |newspaper=Deccan Herald |date=2009-09-21 |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/26455/smuggling-rampant-along-lac-ladakh.html }}
</ref> In 2016, the smuggling occurring here, which was reportedly worth many crores, was stopped by Indian authorities.<ref>
{{Cite web |last=Arpi |first=Claude |author-link=Claude Arpi |date=23 August 2019 |title=Is there a way forward for India-China in Ladakh? |url=http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/is-there-a-way-forward-for-india-china-in-ladakh/ |website=Indian Defence Review }}
</ref>

== Locations ==
Tsaskur, alternately spelled as ''Tsoskur,'' is an Indian administered campsite located {{Convert|2.5|mi|km|abbr=}} south west of Dumchele.<ref>[http://www.claudearpi.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/WhitePaper12NEW.pdf Notes, Memoranda and Letters Exchanged between the Governments of India and China (January 1965–February 1966) White Paper No XII]. ''Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India''. Accessed on 5 November 2020.</ref> Areas between Dumchele and Demchok such as Nagtsang, Nakung, and Lungma-Serding, [[Skakjung]] are China administered territories.<ref>
{{Cite news |last=Gangadharan |first=Surya |title=As China 'Inches' In, India Cannot Afford To Yield Ground In Ladakh |newspaper=StratNewsGlobal |date=29 May 2020 |url=https://stratnewsglobal.com/as-china-inches-in-india-cannot-afford-to-yield-ground-in-ladakh/}}
</ref> Kegu Naro is a day's march from Dumchele.<ref name="Stobdan">
{{Cite news |last=Stobdan |first=Phunchok |author-link=Phunchok Stobdan |title=The Ladakh drift |newspaper=Indian Express |date=26 April 2013 |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/the-ladakh-drift/1107668/2}}: "Until the mid-1980s, the boundary lay at '''Kegu Naro''' — a day-long march from Dumchele, where India had maintained a forward post till 1962."
</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{citation |title=Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.43256/page/n7 |publisher=Superintendent of Government Printing |location=Calcutta |year=1890 |ref={{sfnref|Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak|1890}}}}
* {{citation |editor=India, Ministry of External Affairs |title=Report of the Officials of the Governments of India and the People's Republic of China on the Boundary Question |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AP4ruQEACAAJ |year=1962 |publisher=Government of India Press}}
** Indian Report: {{citation |title=Part 1 |url=http://www.archieve.claudearpi.net/maintenance/uploaded_pics/OR_Part_1.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Report of the Officials, Indian Report, Part 1|1962}}}}; {{citation |title=Part 2 |url=http://www.archieve.claudearpi.net/maintenance/uploaded_pics/OR_Part_2.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Report of the Officials, Indian Report, Part 2|1962}}}}; {{citation |title=Part 3 |url=http://www.archieve.claudearpi.net/maintenance/uploaded_pics/OR_Part_3.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Report of the Officials, Indian Report, Part 3|1962}}}}; {{citation |title=Part 4 |url=http://www.archieve.claudearpi.net/maintenance/uploaded_pics/OR_Part_4.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Report of the Officials, Indian Report, Part 4|1962}}}}
** Chinese report: {{citation |title=Part 1 |url=http://www.archieve.claudearpi.net/maintenance/uploaded_pics/ORC_01-32_Part1.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Report of the Officials, Chinese Report, Part 1|1962}}}}; {{citation |title=Part 2 |url=http://www.archieve.claudearpi.net/maintenance/uploaded_pics/ORC_01-32_Part2.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Report of the Officials, Chinese Report, Part 2|1962}}}}; {{citation |title=Part 3 |url=http://www.archieve.claudearpi.net/maintenance/uploaded_pics/ORC_01-32_Part3.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Report of the Officials, Chinese Report, Part 3|1962}}}};
* {{citation |first=Romesh |last=Bhattacharji |title=Ladakh: Changing, Yet Unchanged |publisher=Rupa Publications |location=New Delhi |year=2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/3575075 |via=Academia.edu |ref={{sfnref|Bhattacharji, Ladakh|2012}}}}
* {{citation |last=Drew |first=Frederic |title=The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories: A Geographical Account |url=https://archive.org/details/jummooandkashmi00drewgoog/page/n5 |year=1875 |publisher=E. Stanford |via=archive.org |ref={{sfnref|Drew, The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories|1875}}}}
* {{citation |last=Lamb |first=Alastair |title=The China-India border |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GfgNAQAAMAAJ |year=1964 |publisher=Oxford University Press |ref={{sfnref|Lamb, The China-India border|1964}}}}
* {{citation |last=Lamb |first=Alastair |title=Tibet, China & India, 1914-1950: a history of imperial diplomacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nm5wAAAAMAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=Roxford Books |isbn=9780907129035 |ref={{sfnref|Lamb, Tibet, China & India|1989}}}}
* {{citation |last1=Moorcroft |first1=William |last2=Trebeck |first2=George |title=Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Punjab in Ladakh and Kashmir: In Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz and Bokhara from 1819 to 1825, Volume 1 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.284643 |via=archive.org |year=2004 |orig-year=1841 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |isbn=978-81-206-0497-1 |ref={{sfnref|Moorcroft & Trebeck, Travels in the Himalayan Provinces, Vol. 1|1841}}}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/j-k/lack-of-infra-forcing-people-to-migrate-from-frontier-803101 Lack of infra forcing people to migrate from frontier], The Tribune, 17 July 2019. Contains a photograph of the Dumchele village.

[[Category:China–India border]]

Dumchele - Revision history

Onliporno: general fix intro and improved wording

>Kautilya3: Expanding the lead