Daulat Beg Oldi | |
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Military Base | |
![]() Indian Air Force Antonov An-32 taking off from Daulat Beg Oldi ALG | |
Coordinates: 35°23′24″N77°55′30″E / 35.390°N 77.925°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Union Territory | Ladakh |
District | Leh |
Elevation | 5,100 m (16,700 ft) |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
Daulat Beg Oldi (also Oldie, DBO) is a traditional campsite and current military base located in the midst of the Karakoram Range in northern Ladakh, India. It is on the historic trade route between Ladakh and the Tarim Basin, and is the last campsite before the Karakoram Pass. It is said to be named after Sultan Said Khan ("Daulat Beg" [The Statesman]) of the Yarkent Khanate, who died here on his return journey from an invasion of Ladakh and Kashmir. Chip Chap River, the main headwater of the Shyok River, flows just to the south. The Line of Actual Control with Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin is five miles to the east.
An Indian border outpost was established here in the summer of 1960. [1] An Advance Landing Ground was also constructed here, one of the world's highest airstrips. DBO now has a road link, the 235 km-long Darbuk-Shyok-DBO Road, completed by the Border Roads Organization in 2019 on a new improved alignment. [2]
Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) lies at the northeastern corner of the Karakoram Range, at the northern edge of Depsang Plains at an elevation of 5,100 metres (16,700 ft). The international border with China is 8 km to the north and the Line of Actual Control with Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin is 9 km to the east. Other than Siachen Glacier military bases, DBO is India's northernmost settlement. The nearest civilian town is Murgo to the south, which has a small population of Baltis. [4]
The temperature plummets as low as -55 C in the winters. The weather deteriorates frequently with strong icy winds lashing much of DBO. DBO has very little if any vegetation or wildlife. Communication is possible only through INMARSAT (satellite) phones.
Daulat Beg Oldi literally means "spot where the great and rich man died" [5] in Turki. [6] There are various folklore about whom this refers to—such as the tale about this place being the location where a large caravan was destroyed, [7] or the tale about this place being the burial site of a rich man and his treasure. [8]
According to British colonial-era surgeon Henry Walter Bellew, [9] [10] Daulat Baig Oldi means "the lord of the state died here", and the "lord" was early 16th-century Sultan Said Khan of the Yarkent Khanate. [9] Said Khan purportedly died at this place while returning to Yarkent from a campaign in Ladakh. [11] [12] [13] He is sometimes given the title of Ghaza for his military expeditions. [13]
The account of this military expedition was recorded by his general, Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, who was the Sultan's first cousin, in the history titled Tarikh-i-Rashidi (تاریخ رشیدی) (History of Rashid). [10]
In autumn 1531 (Safar 938 AH), Sultan Said Khan left Yarkand with Haidar and a few thousand men. On first crossing the Karakorum, the Sultan fell ill with severe altitude sickness, but managed to recover. In the course of a few months of campaigning, they were able to devastate Nubra Valley. As winter approached, they split forces. The Sultan left for Baltistan; Haidar left for Kashmir. In Baltistan, the Sultan encountered a population of friendly Muslims, but he turned on them, killing and enslaving them, possibly because they were Shiites which orthodox Yarkandi Sunnis considered heretic. On the way to Kashmir, Haider defeated the Dras near Zoji La. In Kashmir, he and his troops were hosted by the king of Srinagar. In the spring, the two parties met up again in Maryul, and the Sultan decided to return to Yarkand, but instructed Haider to conquer Tibet for Islam before his departure. [9] [14]
On his way back to Yarkand in the summer of 1533 (end of 939 AH), the Sultan once again suffered severe altitude sickness. This time he succumbed near Karakoram Pass. Bellew argues that the location of his death was at Daulat Beg Oldi. News of the sultan's death led to a bloody struggle for the succession, ending in the ascension of Abdurashid Khan. Abdurashid Khan recalled the forces in Tibet and exiled Haidar. By then, Haidar had had some successes against the Changpa Tibetans of Baryang, but his forces suffered greatly from the altitude and elements. By the time the army returned to Yarkand, of the original several thousands, fewer than a dozen were left. The exiled Haidar took refuge with his maternal aunt in Badakhshan. He eventually joined the ranks of the Mughal Empire, where he wrote the Tarikh-i-Rashidi. [9] [14] [15]
The trade route via the Karakoram Pass was used by caravans traveling between Leh and the Tarim Basin. Daulat Beg Oldi was a halting point for the caravans. Filippo de Filippi, who explored the area in 1913–1914, described: [16]
But on the other hand the caravans come and go incessantly, in the summer, in astonishing numbers. The first one of the season passed on June 28th, coming from Sanju on the Yarkand road; then more and larger ones came; in July there were four in one day, almost all travelling from Central Asia toward Leh—the Ladakhis usually do their trading at home. The caravans were of all sizes, from small groups of 3 or 4 men with 5 or 6 animals to large parties with 40 or more pack-animals; the men on foot or riding asses, the better-to-do merchants on caparisoned horses ...
Filippi also wrote that the experienced caravaners passed through the Depsang Plains without stopping, travelling a distance of 31 miles between Daulat Beg Oldi and Murgo in a single day. [16] Others stopped, either at Qizil Langar to the south of Depsang La, or at Burtsa further south.
The trading caravans declined during the 1940s during tensions in Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan) and completely stopped in the 1950s. [17] In 1953, the Indian consulate in Kashgar was closed down. Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru told the Parliament that the Chinese wished to treat Xinjiang as a "closed area". Subsequently, China built the Xinjiang–Tibet Highway through Aksai Chin. [18]
The Republic of China (1912–1949), having faced a revolution in Tibet in 1911, apparently made secret plans to acquire Aksai Chin plateau in order to create a road link between Xinjiang and Tibet. These plans began to get manifested in public maps only towards the end of its rule. [19]
While the Republic of China claims included the Aksai Chin proper, they stopped well behind the Karakoram mountains, leaving all the rivers that flow into the Shyok River within India, including the Chip Chap River. (See map.) Communist China also published the "Big Map of the People's Republic of China" in 1956 with a similar boundary, now called the 1956 claim line. [20] [21]
However, in 1960 China advanced its claim line further west, dissecting the Chip Chap River. [21] The Chinese said little by way of justification for this advancement other than to claim that it was their "traditional customary boundary" which was allegedly formed through a "long historical process". They claimed that the line was altered in the recent past only due to "British imperialism". [lower-alpha 5] [22] [23] [24]
Meanwhile, India continued to claim the entire Aksai Chin plateau.
A border post was established at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) in 1960 under the supervision of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). By September 1961, the Chinese had established a post in the Chip Chap Valley about 4 miles east of the DBO post as well as roads leading to it. [1] [25] The Indian Army then set up posts at Burtsa, Qizil Langar, at a 'track junction' in the Depsang Plains and at Sultan Chushku. These were intended to block any further extension of Chinese roads. The Intelligence Bureau post at DBO was also reinforced with an Army unit. [25]
The DBO post was fired upon by Chinese forces during the Sino-Indian War on 21 July and 4 August 1962. [26]
In April 2013, a platoon-sized contingent of the People's Liberation Army established a campsite 30 km southeast of DBO, [27] a location in the Indian military's "DBO sector." In reference to their own perception of the LAC's location, India initially claimed that the Chinese camp was 10 km on their side, later revising this to a 19 km claim, [28] and claimed that Chinese military helicopters had violated Indian airspace during the incident. [29] In early May, both sides withdrew their units further back.
Daulat Beg Oldi Advanced Landing Ground ![]() | |
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Summary | |
Airport type | Military |
Operator | Indian Airforce |
Location | Ladakh, India |
Elevation AMSL | 16,730 ft / 5,099 m |
The Indian Army maintains helipads and a gravel airstrip here, the highest airstrip in the world. Routine sorties are carried out using An-32 aircraft to provide relief and supplies to the troops stationed nearby. [30] The base was established during the Sino-Indian conflict in 1962, with the first landing by Squadron Leader C.K.S Raje who set a record for the world's highest aircraft landing at the time. It was operated with American-supplied Fairchild Packets from 1962 to 1966, when it had to be closed down suddenly when an earthquake caused loosening of the surface soil, making the area unsuitable for fixed-wing aircraft. [31] Work was undertaken to make the airfield operational again, and was marked on 31 May 2008, when an Indian Air Force An-32 landed. [32]
The Indian Air Force first landed transports here between 1962 and 1965 and then after a gap for 43 years, the IAF started landing at DBO in 2008. In a significant demonstration of its capabilities, the Indian Air Force landed a C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft in Daulat Beg Oldi on 20 August 2013, thirty kilometers from where the 2013 Daulat Beg Oldi Incident took place in April 2013. This landing could qualify as a world record for a medium-lift aircraft landing at this altitude. [33] [34] [35]
In 2001, the Indian government decided to construct a motorable road from Leh to Daulat Beg Oldi. The road was completed in 2019. The 255-km is Darbuk-Shyok-DBO Road (DS-DBO Road) runs at elevations between 4,000 and 5,000 metres (13,000–16,000 ft). It follows the old winter caravan route via the Shyok River valley going via Murgo, Burtsa Nala and Depsang Plains. The travel time is said to be six hours. [36]
Daulat Beg Oldi – Tianwendian is the highest of the five officially agreed Border Personnel Meeting points between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army of China for regular consultations and interactions between the two armies, which helps in defusing stand-offs. [37] The first meeting at this location was held on August 1, 2015 (PLA Day). The events included a Chinese cultural programme and other ceremonies meant to improve relations. Later in the month, India hosted a delegation from the PLA on the occasion of Indian Independence Day and celebrated with traditional songs and dances from Indian culture, Gatka martial arts, and motorcycle acrobatics performed by the Indian Army Corps of Signals. [38] The first ceremonial BPM ever held on New Year's Day was here in 2016. [37]
A meeting hut was constructed approximately a year after the meeting point was opened. [39]
Aksai Chin is a region administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC) partly in Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and partly in Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and the PRC as well as the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan since 1959. It is claimed by India as part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory and by the ROC as part of the Mainland area.
The Karakoram Pass is a 5,540 m or 18,176 ft mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. 'Karakoram' literally means 'Black Gravel' in Mongolic.
Ladakh is an administrative territory of India that has been under its control since 1947. The geographical region of Ladakh union territory is the highest altitude plateau region in India, incorporating parts of the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges and the upper Indus River and valley.
The Ladakh Range is a mountain range in central Ladakh in India with its northern tip extending into Baltistan in Pakistan. It lies between the Indus and Shyok river valleys, stretching to 230 miles (370 km). Leh, the capital city of Ladakh, is on the foot of Ladakh Range in the Indus river valley.
Sultan Said Khan ruled the Yarkent Khanate from September 1514 to July 1533. He was born in the late 15th century in Moghulistan, and he was a direct descendant of the first Moghul Khan, Tughlugh Timur, who had founded the state of Moghulistan in 1348 and ruled until 1363. The Moghuls were turkicized Mongols who had converted to Islam.
The Depsang Plains, a high-altitude gravelly plain in the northwest portion of the disputed Aksai Chin region of Kashmir, divided into Indian and Chinese administered portions by a Line of Actual Control. India controls the western portion of the plains as part of Ladakh, while the eastern portion is controlled by China and claimed by India. The Line of Control with Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan is 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of the Depsang Plains, with the Siachen Glacier in-between. Ladakh's traditional trade route to Central Asia passed through the Depsang Plains, with the Karakoram Pass lying directly to its north.
The Yarkent Khanate, also known as the Yarkand Khanate and the Kashghar Khanate, was a Sunni Muslim Turkic state ruled by the Mongol descendants of Chagatai Khan. It was founded by Sultan Said Khan in 1514 as a western offshoot of Moghulistan, itself an eastern offshoot of the Chagatai Khanate. It was eventually conquered by the Dzungar Khanate in 1705.
The 2013 Depsang standoff, also called 2013 Depsang incursion, or 2013 Daulat Beg Oldi incident, was an incursion and sit-in by a platoon-sized contingent of the Chinese PLA in the dry river bed of Raki Nala, in the Depsang Bulge area, 30 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the disputed Aksai Chin region.
The Galwan River flows from the disputed Aksai Chin area administered by China to the Union Territory of Ladakh, India. It originates near the caravan campsite Samzungling on the eastern side of the Karakoram range and flows west to join the Shyok River. The point of confluence is 102 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi. Shyok River itself is a tributary of the Indus River, making Galwan a part of the Indus River system.
The Chip Chap River is a tributary of the Shyok River that flows from the disputed Aksai Chin region administered by China to Ladakh in India. It originates at the eastern edge of the Depsang Plains and flows west, skirting around the Depsang Plains in the north. It discharges into the Shyok River, forming one of the upstream tributaries of the Indus River.
Murgo, on "Murgo Nala" near Murgo Hotspring, is a small hilly village which lies near the Line of Actual Control in Leh district of the union territory of Ladakh in India, close to Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin. It is one of the northernmost villages of India. The Murgo Gompa is a large Buddhist monastery at Murgo. Murgo lies on the Darbuk–Shyok–DBO Road and Sasser Brangsa-Murgo Road fork of Sasoma–Sasser La-Saser Brangsa-Gapsam-Daulat Beg Oldi Road, both of which connect Leh to Daulat Beg Oldi. The village is inhabited by a small civilian population of Baltis, who make a living by apricot farming and yak rearing. The temperature plummets as low as -30 C in the winters. The weather deteriorates frequently with strong icy winds lashing much of Murgo. Murgo has very little vegetation or wildlife. Telecommunication at Murgo is only available through INMARSAT satellite phones. The Indian Armed Forces have significant presence in the area.
Durbuk or Darbuk, is a village and the headquarters of the eponymous subdivision and block in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, and falls between Chang La mountain pass and Tangste village on the way to Pangong Tso Lake.
Tianwendian is the name of a border outpost and a military defence area of China in the northern Aksai Chin region under its administration. The region is roughly equivalent to the portion of Depsang Plains under Chinese control. Its headquarters, the Tianwendian outpost, is in the Chip Chap River valley close to China's Line of Actual Control with India.
Heweitan is the location of a Chinese border outpost in the region of Aksai Chin that is controlled by China but disputed by India. According to the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, it is the highest border outpost in the country.
The Darbuk–Shyok–DBO Road, also called the Sub-Sector North Road, is a strategic all-weather road in eastern Ladakh in India, close to the Line of Actual Control with China. It connects Ladakh's capital city Leh, via the villages of Darbuk and Shyok at southern Shyok River Valley, with the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) post near the northern border. The 220-km long section between Shyok and DBO was constructed between 2000 and 2019 by India's Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The DS-DBO Road has reduced the travel time between Leh to DBO from 2 days to 6 hours. In January 2023, BRO announced that it is constructing the DSDBO tunnel on this route.
Sasoma–Sasser La-Saser Brangsa-Gapsam-Daulat Beg Oldi Road 131 km long road through 17,800 feet (5,400 m) high Saser La, and its 18-km-long northwest-to-southeast fork the Sasser Brangsa-Murgo Road, are 30-ft-wide black-topped heavy-military-vehicle-grade motorable road between Nubra Valley and Depsang Plains in Ladakh in India. The sections of SSSG-DBO Road are the 47 km long "Sasoma - Saser La section", 27 km long "Saser La-Saser Brangsa section", 42 km long "Saser Brangsa-Gapsam section" along the upstream of Shyok River which goes northeast of Saser Brangsa, and 10 km long "Gapsam-DBO section". Just after the Saser Brangsa, after crossing the 345 m long bridge over the Shyok River, the SSSG-DBO Road forks into two: 18 km long "Saser Brangsa-Murgo Road" along the downstream of Shyok River which goes southeast of Saser Brangsa, and 52 km long Saser Brangsa-Gapsam-DBO route along the upstream of Shyok River which goes northeast of Saser Brangsa. These forks connect to the Darbuk–Shyok–DBO Road at two places: at Daulat Beg Oldi in northeast and at Murgo in southeast. This strategically important road provides a much shorter alternative access from Nubra Valley to DBO as compared to the longer 230 km route via "DS-DBO Road", reducing the travel time between Nubra valley and DBO from 2 days to mere 6 hours. In September 2023, several sections of the road are already complete, the whole blacktopped route will be completed by October 2024. To provide the all-weather connectivity, the DPR for 7 km long Saser La tunnel under the Saser La till Saser Brangsa was being prepared in June 2023, the tunnel construction will commence in 2025 and will be completed by 2028.
Shyok or Shayok is a village on the bank of the Shyok River in Durbuk tehsil of Leh district in Ladakh, India. It is located at the southern tip of the V-shaped course of the Shyok River, where the Tangtse river joins it from the left. Historically, the winter caravan route from Leh to Yarkand passed through the village. In modern times, India's strategic road to its border post at Daulat Beg Oldi uses the same route.
The Depsang Bulge or Burtsa Bulge is a 900-square-kilometre area of mountain terrain in the disputed Aksai Chin region, which was conceded to India by China in 1960, but has remained under Chinese occupation since the 1962 Sino-Indian War. The area is immediately to the south of the Depsang Plains and encloses the basin of the Burtsa Nala, a stream originating in the Aksai Chin region and flowing west to merge with the Depsang Nala near the village of Burtsa in Ladakh, eventually draining into the Shyok River. The area is perceived to be of strategic importance to both the countries, sandwiched by strategic roads linking border outposts. Since 2013, China has made attempts to push the Line of Actual Control further west into Indian territory, threatening India's strategic road.
The Jeong Nala, also called Jiwan Nala and Nacho Chu, and called Xidagou by China, a tributary of the Shyok River, flows from the disputed Aksai Chin region administered by China to Ladakh in India. It originates at the eastern edge of the Karakoram Range and flows west. It finally confluences in the Indian administered area with the Burtsa Nala on Darbuk–Shyok–DBO Road, and Burtsa Nala itself falls into Shyok River after flowing 7 km south. After the confluence of Jeong Nala with Burtsa Nala, the entire course of river flows along the DSDBO Road to Shyok village.
Shenxianwan is the location of a battalion military post of China to the north of the Karakoram Pass. It is in the valley of the Wahab Jilga river, a tributary of the Yarkand River, along the traditional Central Asian caravan route.
The nearest inhabited town is Murgo to the south, which has a small population of Baltis who primarily depend on apricot farming and yak rearing.
Daulat Beg Oldi, the spot where the great and rich man died
Daulat Beguldi (Turki for "Daulat Beg died", an appropriate name for so desolate a spot)
Daulat Beg and his large caravan was entirely destroyed about eighteen miles from the Karakoram pass on the Indian side.
It was believed that the rich man, Daulat Beg was buried here with his treasure.
According to H.W. Bellew, he was no ordinary traveller but a great warrior, a partisan of Babur, the conqueror of Ferghana and the king of Yarkand and Kashgar.
(p66) Daulat Beg Uild ... "The lord of the State died" ... (p67) Hydar ... wrote the Tarikhi Rashidi from which these details are derived
Daulat Bak Oldi (the royal prince died here), close to the Karakorum pass, is so called because Sultan Said Khan of Kashgar, on his return from a successful campaign against West Tibet, died here from mountain sickness (Plate 50)
Some 400 years earlier, in ad 1527, a Yarkandi invader, Sultan Saiad Khan Ghazi (also known as Daulat Beg) of Yarkand, briefly conquered Kashmir after fighting a battle along this pass. He died in 1531 at Daulat Beg Oldi (meaning, where Daulat Beg died) at the foot of the Karakoram pass, after he was returning from an unsuccessful attempt to invade Tibet.
On the 16th dhu-l-hiddjja 939/July 9th, 1533, on the way back from campaign in Minor Tibet (Ladakh) the founder of the Moghuliyya-Chaghataid state in Eastern Turkestan, Sultan Said-khan died.