__NOTOC__ Minsar: "Minsar (Missar) – Ladakhi enclave in West Tibet close to Lake Manasarowar; during the Dogra-Tibet War (1841-2), the Dogras stored their supplies here." or Moincêr () is a village and the centre of a township in the

Ngari Prefecture Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture () is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe. History Nga ...

of the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

region of China.Moincêr Township
OpenStreetMap, retrieved 16 August 2022. It is legally an enclave of India in Tibet, occupied by China since 1959.Claude Arpi
China celebrates its Republic day in Minsar, the Indian village in Tibet
Indian Defence Review, 6 October 2019. Minsar is located south-west of Mount

Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...

(Mount Ti-se). It is close to the Tirthapuri Monastery on the bank of the Sutlej River. The Chines National Highway

G219 China National Highway 219 (G219; Chinese: '' Guódào219'') is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian ethnic township in Xinjiang to Dongxing in Guangxi. ...

passes by Minsar.

History

Prior to the

Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War The Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War of 1679–1684 was fought between the Central Tibetan Ganden Phodrang government, with the assistance of Mongol khanates, and the Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh with assistance from the Mughal Empire in Kashmir. Back ...

(1679–1984), the Kingdom of Ladakh controlled the whole of the

Ngari Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture () is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe. History Ngar ...

region (present day western Tibet). Central Tibet, consolidated by the

Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...

, conquered and occupied Ngari, but was driven back from Ladakh proper by the forces of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

from Kashmir. Lhasa sent the sixth Drukchen from Bhutan, Gyalwang Mipham Wangpo to negotiate truce terms with Ladakh. In the resulting

Treaty of Tingmosgang The ''Ladakh Chronicles'', or ''La-dvags-rgyal-rabs'' (), is a historical work that covers the history of Ladakh from the beginnings of the first Tibetan dynasty of Ladakh until the end of the Namgyal dynasty. The chronicles were compiled by the ...

, Ladakh agreed to cede the whole of western Tibet to Lhasa retaining only a tract around Minsar for supporting the worship at Mount

Kailas Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...

. Minsar appears to have been used for porterage for the Ladakhi trade caravans to Tibet.

Economy

Minsar depends on its small

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

-mining industry; from which it once produced large amounts of

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...

from its nearby mines. The village is small and its villagers live depending heavily on yaks for agriculture and trade.

Gallery

File:Sheet-62-manasarowar-1925.jpg, Map including Minsar ("Menze or Missar") and Tirthapuri Gompa File:Moincer, Tibet.jpg, A side street of Moincêr File:Milrepa in Thirtapuri.png, Statue of Milarepa in Tirthapuri Gompa

Notes

References

Bibliography