Chushul is a village in the

Leh district Leh district is a district in the union territory of Ladakh, India. With an area of 45,110 ''km'2'', it is the second largest district in the country smaller only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by Gilgit-Baltistan's Kharmang and Gha ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is located in the

Durbuk Durbuk or Darbuk, is a village and the headquarters of the eponymous subdivision and block in the Leh district of Ladakh, India.

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, in the area known as "Chushul Valley", south of the

Pangong Lake Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake (; ; hi, text=पैंगोंग झील) is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet situated at an elevation of . It is long and divided into five sublakes, called ''Pangong Tso'', ''Tso ...

and west of the

Spanggur Lake Spanggur Tso, also called Maindong Tso, Mendong Tso, is a saltwater lake in Rutog County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, close to the border with Ladakh. India claims a major portion of the lake as its own territory, as part of Ladakh. ...

. The

Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment o ...

with China runs about 5 miles east of Chushul, across the Chushul Valley. Famous as site for historical battle grounds. In August 1842 the concluding battle of Dogra-Tibetan War with subsequent signing of Treaty of Chushul in September 1842 for border non-proliferation took place at Chushul. On 18 November 1962

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...

, PVC Major

Shaitan Singh Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, PVC (1 December 1924 – 18 November 1962) was an Indian Army officer and recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration. Singh was born in Rajasthan. On completing his graduation, Singh join ...

with his five platoons of 120 men fought to the 'last man, last round' at

Rezang La Rezang La,Not ...

(Chushul), only 6 men survived the Chinese massacre.

Location

Chushul is about 10 miles south of the

. It is in the valley of the Chushul River (or ''Tsaka chu''), which rises near the Tsaka La and flows north for about 30 miles before entering the Pangong Lake on its south bank near

Thakung Phursook Bay () is a bay in the Pangong Tso that is said to have formed the border between Ladakh and Tibet's Rutog County during the British Raj. The present day Line of Actual Control between China and India runs near the same location and rem ...

. Near Chushul, the river flows through a flat plain of some 10 square miles in extent, leading to growth of grass and fuelwood.

Demographics

According to the

2011 census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Chushul has 148 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 61.47%. Most of the people are dependent on the rearing of goat and yak. In the field of agriculture, barley and pea are main crops of the season. During the chilly winter season, Chushul is cut off from main the capital city of

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...

. During the winter season, Ice hockey is the main sport in Chushul. The youth of Chushul has a keen interest in playing ice hockey. The Chushul Ice Hockey team recently participated in the district as well as the CEC cup which was held at Leh at Karzoo and the new ice hockey ring at NDS Ground. In Chushul, various associations have played an important role in developing Chushul's economy, politics and education system. Some of these associations are Women's Alliance Chushul, Student Union of Chushul, Youth Association of Chushul, Gonpa Community of Chushul and Ex. Service Men Association of Chushul. Ms Tsering Dolker is the current elected sarpanch of Chushul village.

Education

In Chushul there are five schools. They are Govt. High school Chushul, Govt. Middle school Buk, Govt Middle School Tailing, Central Institute of Buddhist Studies .

Administration

The Chushul village was the block headquarters of Changthang block of Ladakh district prior to the 1962 war with China.

Airport

The Chushul airstrip became operational since 1954. Chushul

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

, supported military operations during the 1962

. Dakotas and IL 14 from No. 12 Squadron IAF, No. 43 Squadron IAF and No. 42 Squadron IAF made logistical supplies to Chushul as the roads didn't exist. On 25 & 26 October 1962 in

AN-12 The Antonov An-12 ( Russian: Антонов Ан-12; NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10 and has many variants. For more than th ...

transport airplanes of No. 44 Squadron IAF airlifted six

AMX-13 The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and re ...

tanks to armour the gap at

Spanggur Tso Spanggur Tso, also called Maindong Tso, Mendong Tso, is a saltwater lake in Rutog County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, close to the border with Ladakh. India claims a major portion of the lake as its own territory, as part of Ladakh. ...

through makeshift Chushul

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

made of (Perforated Steel Plates) fishplates at a height of 13,000 feet in

. Vir Chakra awardee Flight Lieutenant Virendera Singh Pathania of No. 23 Squadron IAF made sorties on Gnat airplane for photo reconnaissance from Chushul.

Border Personnel Meeting point

Chushul is one of the five officially agreed Border Personnel Meeting points between the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

and the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

for regular consultations and interactions between the two armies to improve relations. Moldo ( zh, 莫爾多) post of the

, coordinate: Spanggur ( zh, 斯潘古爾) post of the

, coordinate:

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

A place called Chushul
himalaya.com, retrieved 21 November 2020. {{Indian Air Force Indian Air Force bases Villages in Durbuk tehsil Borders of Ladakh