Chumbi Valley | |
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Dromo, Tromo, Jumo | |
Floor elevation | 3,000 m (9,800 ft) |
Long-axis direction | north-south |
Naming | |
Native name | གྲོ་མོ (Standard Tibetan) |
Geography | |
Location | North Eastern Region, India |
Population centers | Phari, Yatung |
Rivers | Amo Chhu |
Chumbi Valley | |||||||
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Chinese | 春 丕 河 谷 | ||||||
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The Chumbi Valley,called Dromo or Tromo in Tibetan, [1] [2] is a valley in the Himalayas that projects southwards from the Tibetan plateau,intervening between Sikkim and Bhutan. [3] It is coextensive with the administrative unit Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. [1] The Chumbi Valley is connected to Sikkim to the southwest via the mountain passes of Nathu La and Jelep La.
The valley is at an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft),and being on the south side of the Himalayas,enjoys a wetter and more temperate climate than most of Tibet. The valley supports some vegetation in the form of the Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests and transitions to the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows in the north. The plant Pedicularis chumbica (春丕马先蒿) is named after the valley.
The 1904 Younghusband Expedition of British India passed through the Chumbi Vally on its way to Lhasa. At the end of the expedition,the British took control of the Chumbi Valley in lieu of a war indemnity. China agreed to pay the indemnity owed by the Tibetans in three installments and the Chumbi Valley was transferred back to Tibet on 8 February 1908. [1] [4]
The Tibetan name of the region is spelt Gromo (Tibetan :་གྲོ་མོ, Wylie : gro mo, THL : dro mo, ZYPY : chomo) and pronounced Dromo or Tromo. [1] [2]
In the Dzongkha language of Bhutan, the name is apparently written Gyumo and pronounced J'umo. J'umbi is said to be its adjective, meaning "of or pertaining to [J'umo]". Linguist George van Driem states that "Chumbi" is a derivative of J'umbi. [5]
The term "Chumbi" to describe the region first appeared in the writings of Joseph Dalton Hooker, the first European to write about the region. [6] Some sources specialising in Tibet translate "Chumbi Valley" as Lho Dromo (Tibetan : ལྷོ་གྲོ་མོ, Wylie : Lho gro mo, THL : lho dro mo), [1] [2] or southern Dromo, implying that the northern part of the valley around Phari is not referred to by the name of Chumbi by the Tibetans. [7] In the English usage, however, "Chumbi Valley" refers to both the parts.
"Chumbi" is also the name of the most prominent town in the southern part of the valley. Some English writers claim that "Chumbi Valley" is named after the town, [8] but there is no such indication in Hooker's writings.
Joseph Dalton Hooker described the Chumbi Valley as a triangular region with the broader opening to the north. It was said to be bounded on the west by the Chola Range upto "Gipmochi", [lower-alpha 1] and the "Kamphee or Chakoong range" on the east, which he believed to be continuous with "Chumulari" (Chomolhari). [9] These names do not appear in later literature, but maps in mid-20th century mark the eastern border as the "Masang Kyungdu Range" (Map 2), with the Khundugang peak ( 27°32′38″N89°06′57″E / 27.5438°N 89.1159°E ) as its second prominent peak (after Chomolhari). [10] [11]
The Chumbi valley, belonging to Tibet (now part of PRC), is sandwiched between two Himalayan states: Sikkim to the west and Bhutan to the east. Sikkim and Bhutan are considered part of the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, with Sikkim now integrated as a state of India.
Scholar Susan Walcott counts China's Chumbi Valley and India's Siliguri Corridor to its south among "strategic mountain chokepoints critical in global power competition". [12] John Garver has called the Chumbi Valley "the single most strategically important piece of real estate in the entire Himalayan region". [13] The Chumbi Valley intervenes between Sikkim and Bhutan south of the high Himalayas, pointing towards India's Siliguri Corridor like a "dagger". The latter is a narrow 24 kilometer-wide corridor between Nepal and Bangladesh in India's West Bengal state, which connects the central parts of India with the northeastern states including the contested state of Arunachal Pradesh. Often referred to as the "chicken's neck", the Siliguri Corridor represents a strategic vulnerability for India. It is also of key strategic significance to Bhutan, containing the main supply routes into the country. [14] [15] [16] [17]
Historically, both Siliguri and Chumbi Valley were part of a highway of trade between India and Tibet. In the 19th century, the British Indian government sought to open up the route to British trade, leading to their suzerainty over Sikkim with its strategic Nathu La and Jelep La passes into the Chumbi Valley. Following the Anglo-Chinese treaty of 1890 and Younghusband expedition, the British established trading posts at Yatung and Lhasa, along with military detachments to protect them. These trade relations continued till 1959, when the Chinese government terminated them. [18] [19] [20]
Indian intelligence officials state that China had been carrying out a steady military build-up in the Chumbi Valley, building many garrisons and converting the valley into a strong military base. [21] In 1967, border clashes occurred at Nathu La and Cho La passes, when the Chinese contested the Indian demarcations of the border on the Dongkya range. In the ensuing artillery fire, states scholar Taylor Fravel, many Chinese fortifications were destroyed as the Indians controlled the high ground. [22] In fact, the Chinese military is believed to be in a weak position in the Chumbi Valley because the Indian and Bhutanese forces control the heights surrounding the valley. [23] [24]
The desire for heights is thought to bring China to the Doklam plateau at the southern border of the Chumbi Valley. [25] Indian security experts mention three strategic benefits to China from a control of the Doklam plateau. First, it gives it a commanding view of the Chumbi valley itself. Second, it outflanks the Indian defences in Sikkim which are currently oriented northeast towards the Dongkya range. Third, it overlooks the strategic Siliguri Corridor to the south. A claim to the Mount Gipmochi and the Zompelri ridge would bring the Chinese to the very edge of the Himalayas, from where the slopes descend into the southern foothills of Bhutan and India. From here, the Chinese would be able to monitor the Indian troop movements in the plains or launch an attack on the vital Siliguri corridor in the event of a war. To New Delhi, this represents a "strategic redline". [23] [26] [27] Scholar Caroline Brassard states, "its strategic significance for the Indian military is obvious." [28]
There is telltale evidence of the Chumbi Valley being used as a trade route between Tibet and India in the first millennium CE. A lotsawa named Yontendrak (Yon tan grags, b. 973) is said to have been given control over the road to India by an Indian teacher "Aryadeva".
The mention of this fact occurs in texts from the 14th century. [29] A more graphic development is stated under the name of a Sakya governor Phakpa Balzang ('Phags-pa-dpal-bzang) in the mid-14th century, who is said to have invited 150 chiefs and teachers from Paro, Haa and other places for a feast in Phari and have them all killed. After this, these regions came under his control and he is said to have constructed a dzong and trade marts at Phari, appointing his younger brother Phakpa Rinchen (’Phags-pa-rin-chen) as the first district governor. [30] There is no further mention of control over western Bhutan after this, but the Phari trade mart has persisted well into the 18th century. [31]
In 1206 A.D, Bakhtiyar Khilji led an invasion of Tibet through the Chumbi Valley where he was defeated by the Tibetans and forced to retreat. [32]
According to the Sikkimese tradition, when the Kingdom of Sikkim was founded in 1642, it included the Chumbi Valley, the Haa Valley to the east as well as the Darjeeling and Kalimpong areas to the south. During the 18th century, Sikkim faced repeated raids from Bhutan and these areas often changed hands. After a Bhutanese attack in 1780, a settlement was reached, which resulted in the transfer of the Haa valley and the Kalimpong area to Bhutan. The Doklam plateau sandwiched between these regions is likely to have been part of these territories. The Chumbi Valley was still said to have been under the control of Sikkim at this point. [19] [33]
Historians qualify this narrative, Saul Mullard states that the early kingdom of Sikkim was very much limited to the western part of modern Sikkim. The eastern part was under the control of independent chiefs, who did face border conflicts with the Bhutanese, losing the Kalimpong area. [34] The possession of the Chumbi Valley by the Sikkimese is uncertain, but the Tibetans are known to have fended off Bhutanese incursions there. [35]
After the unification of Nepal under the Gorkhas in 1756, Nepal and Bhutan had coordinated their attacks on Sikkim. Bhutan was eliminated from the contest by an Anglo-Bhutanese treaty in 1774. [36] Tibet enforced a settlement between Sikkim and Nepal, which is said to have irked Nepal. Following this, by 1788, Nepal occupied all of the Sikkim areas to the west of the Teesta river as well as four provinces of Tibet. [37] Tibet eventually sought the help of China, resulting in the Sino-Nepalese War of 1792. This proved to be a decisive entry of China into the Himalayan politics. The victorious Chinese General ordered a land survey, in the process of which the Chumbi valley was declared as part of Tibet. [38] The Sikkimese resented the losses forced on them in the aftermath of the war. [39]
In the following decades, Sikkim established relations with the British East India Company and regained some of its lost territory after an Anglo-Nepalese War. However, the relations with the British remained rocky and the Sikkimese retained loyalties to Tibet. The British attempted to enforce their suzerainty via the Treaty of Tumlong in 1861. In 1890, they sought to exclude the Tibetans from Sikkim by establishing a treaty with the Chinese, who were presumed to be exercising suzerainty over Tibet. The Anglo-Chinese treaty recognised Sikkim as a British protectorate and defined the border between Sikkim and Tibet as the northern watershed of the Teesta River (on the Dongkya range), starting at "Mount Gipmochi". In 1904, the British signed another treaty with Tibet, which confirmed the terms of the Anglo-Chinese treaty. The boundary established between Sikkim and Tibet in the treaty still survives today, according to scholar John Prescott. [40] [41] [42] [43]
Sikkim is a state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siliguri Corridor, which borders Bangladesh. Sikkim is the least populous and second-smallest among the Indian states. Situated in the Eastern Himalaya, Sikkim is notable for its biodiversity, including alpine and subtropical climates, as well as being a host to Kangchenjunga, the highest peak in India and third-highest on Earth. Sikkim's capital and largest city is Gangtok. Almost 35% of the state is covered by Khangchendzonga National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Jelep La elevation 14,390 feet (4,390 m), is a high mountain pass between Sikkim, India and Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is on a route that connects Lhasa to India. The pass is about 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Nathu La and is slightly higher. It was frequently used for trade between Tibet and India during the British Raj, with Kalimpong serving as the contact point. The Menmecho Lake lies below the Jelep La.
The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, is a stretch of land around the city of Siliguri in West Bengal, India. 20–22 kilometres (12–14 mi) at the narrowest section, this geo-political and geo-economical corridor connects the seven states of northeast India to the rest of the Indian Republic. The countries of Nepal and Bangladesh lie on each side of the corridor and the Kingdom of Bhutan lies at the northern end of the corridor. The Kingdom of Sikkim formerly lay on the northern side of the corridor, until its merging with India in 1975.
The history of Sikkim begins with the indigenous Lepcha's contact with early Tibetan settlers. Historically, Sikkim was a sovereign Monarchical State in the eastern Himalayas. Later a protectorate of India followed by a merger with India and official recognition as a state of India. Lepchas were the main inhabitants as well as the Ruler of the land up to 1641. Lepchas are generally considered to be the first people, indigenous to Sikkim also includes Darjeeling.
Khye Bumsa is named in the Sikkimese migration narratives as a 13th-century prince from the Minyak House in Kham in Eastern Tibet. His father migrated to the Chumbi Valley along with his family and established a kingdom. Khye Bumsa expanded it further by establishing an alliance with the Lepchas in present-day Sikkim. The Chogyal rulers of Sikkim are said to be the descendants of Khye Bumsa.
Yatung or Yadong, also known as Shasima , is the principal town in the Chumbi Valley or Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is also its administrative headquarters.
The Kingdom of Sikkim, officially Dremoshong until the 1800s, was a hereditary monarchy in the Eastern Himalayas which existed from 1642 to 16 May 1975, when it was annexed by India. It was ruled by Chogyals of the Namgyal dynasty.
Sangbay or Sangbaykha Gewog is a gewog of Haa District, Bhutan. It is one of the western gewogs of the Haa district sharing borders with the Samtse District, India's Sikkim state and China's Chumbi Valley. The latter border has been contested by China, which claims the Doklam region as its territory. In recent years, China has begun to build villages in its claimed area.
The Sikkim expedition was an 1888 British military expedition to expel Tibetan forces from Sikkim. The roots of the conflict lay in British–Tibetan competition for suzerainty over Sikkim.
The Bhutan–China border is the international boundary between Bhutan and Tibet, China, running for 477 km (296 mi) through the Himalayas between the two tripoints with India.
The Treaty of Tumlong was a March 1861 treaty between the British Empire and the Kingdom of Sikkim in present-day north-east India. Signed by Sir Ashley Eden on behalf of the British and by the Sikkimese Chogyal, Sidkeong Namgyal when his father Tsugphud Namgyal refused to return from Tibet, the treaty secured protection for travellers to Sikkim and guaranteed free trade, thereby making the state a de facto British protectorate.
Cho La or Cho-la is a mountain pass in the Chola range of the Himalayas. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region. It is situated around four miles to the north-west of Nathu La.
Gipmochi is a mountain in the Lower Himalayas in south central Asia. Rising to a height of 14,523 feet (4,427 m), the mountain sits on the border between the northern Indian state of Sikkim and Bhutan. China claims Gipmochi as the China–India–Bhutan tri-junction point. Bhutan and India, however, claim that the tri-junction is 6.5 km to the north, at Batang La.
Doklam, called Donglang by China, is an area in Bhutan with a high plateau and a valley, lying between China's Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan's Ha District to the east and India's Sikkim state to the west. It has been depicted as part of Bhutan in the Bhutanese maps since 1961, but it is also claimed by China. The dispute has not been resolved despite several rounds of border negotiations between Bhutan and China. The area is of strategic importance to all three countries.
The 2017 China–India border standoff or Doklam standoff was a military border standoff between the Indian Armed Forces and the People's Liberation Army of China over Chinese construction of a road in Doklam, near a trijunction border area known in Chinese as Donglang, or Donglang Caochang . On 16 June 2017 Chinese troops with construction vehicles and road-building equipment began extending an existing road southward in Doklam, a territory that is claimed by both China and India's ally Bhutan.
Chumbi is a historic village in the Chumbi Valley or the Yadong County of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is in the valley of the Amo Chu River, where the route from Sikkim's Cho La Pass meets the Amo Chu Valley. The "Chumbi Valley" of the European nomenclature derives its name from the village of Chumbi. It was the administrative center of the lower Chumbi Valley until the Chinese take-over of Tibet in 1950, after which Yatung became its headquarters. Chumbi is also associated with the Sikkim's royal family, which had a summer palace in the village.
The Five Fingers of Tibet was a Chinese territorial claim to the Himalayan region bordering India attributed to Mao Zedong. It considers Tibet to be China's right hand palm, with five fingers on its periphery: Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and North-East Frontier Agency that are considered China's responsibility to "liberate". The policy however has never been discussed in official Chinese public statements and is now dormant, but concerns have often been raised over its possible continued existence or revival.
Rinchengang (Tibetan: རིན་ཆེན་སྒང, Wylie: rin chen sgang, THL: rin chen gang, ZYPY: Rinqêngang) or Renqinggang (Chinese: 仁青岗村; pinyin: Rén qīng gǎng cūn) is a town in the Chumbi Valley and the headquarters of the Xia Yadong Township of Yadong County, Tibet region of China. It is in the valley of Amo Chu where the route from Sikkim's Jelep La pass meets Amo Chu. It is also close to the Bhutan–China border, which is currently in dispute. In December 2018, Rinchengang village had a population of around 550 people. The inhabitants are engaged in animal grazing or work as forest rangers. Some also carry supplies to Chinese border troops.
Xiayadong Township, known in Tibetan as Dromo Mechü is a township in the Chumbi Valley in Yadong County, Shigatse, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Much of the township's area comprises disputed territory: the township spans an area of 204.7 square kilometres (79.0 sq mi), excluding disputed territory, and 650.88 square kilometres (251.31 sq mi) including it. Xiayadong Township's population totaled 897 as of 2018.
Gaeboo Achyok or Gyalpo Ajok was a Lepcha chieftain of a principality based at Damsang, presently in the Kalimpong district of West Bengal, India.