Pangsau Pass or Pan Saung Pass, () in altitude, lies on the crest of the

Patkai The Pat-kai (Pron:pʌtˌkaɪ) or Patkai Bum ( Burmese: ''Patkaing Taungdan'') are a series of mountains on the Indo-Myanmar border falling in the northeastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Upper Burma region of Myanmar. I ...

Hills on the India–Myanmar border. The pass offers one of the easiest routes into Burma from the

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

plains. The pass lies on the famous

Ledo Road The Ledo Road () was an overland connection between British India and China, built during World War II to enable the Western Allies to deliver supplies to China and aid the war effort against Japan. After the Japanese cut off the Burma Ro ...

(Stillwell Road) and named after the closest village on Myanmar's territory, Pangsau, which lies 2 km east of the pass. India's undisputed easternmost point "Chaukan Pass" - east of Vijaynagar in the

Changlang district Changlang district (Pron:/tʃæŋˈlæŋ/) is located in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, located south of Lohit District, Lohit district and north of Tirap District, Tirap district. Naga people reside here . As of 2011 it is the second ...

- lies northeast of Pangsau Pass.

History

Early era

During the 13th century, it was the frequently used route by Ahoms, a Shan tribe, for their arrival and settlement in

in India.

British raj era

The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in the late 19th century looked at the pass as a possible railway route from India to

Myitkyina Myitkyina (, ; Jingpho language, Jinghpaw: ''Myitkyina'', ; , ''Sèna'') is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese language, Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina i ...

in north Burma through the Hukawng Valley, all of which were part of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

at the time, but no railway was built. In the 19th century, British railway builders had surveyed the Pangsau Pass, which is high on the India-Burma border, on the

crest, above Nampong,

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

and Ledo, Tinsukia (part of

). They concluded that a track could be pushed through to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and down the Hukawng Valley. Although the proposal was dropped, the British prospected the

Range for a road from

into northern Burma. British engineers had surveyed the route for a road for the first . During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the pass became famous because of the Stilwell Road (Ledo Road) connecting British India to Nationalist Chinese forces fighting the Japanese in China. The pass was the large initial obstacle encountered by

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell's forces in their effort to build a land route to supplement

The Hump The Hump was the name given by Allies of World War II, Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from British Raj, India to Republic of China (1912- ...

air route (after the other land route, the Burma Road was lost to advancing Japanese forces). The Stilwell Road began at Ledo, Assam, the railhead, and passed through Tirap Gaon, Lekhapani, Tipong, Jagun, Jairampur (the

boundary and beginning of Inner Line), and Nampong before switchbacking steeply upwards through densely forested hills to the pass, away. The distance from Ledo to Pangsau Pass is . Because of the fierce gradients and the mud, which made getting up to the pass difficult, it was nicknamed "Hell Pass" during the war.

Present era

The Pangsau Pass Winter Festival since 2007 is a joint India-Myanmar 3 day annual global village event organized during the 3rd week of January every year in Nampong,

. It showcases diverse cultures of Northeast India and Myanmar including folk songs, folk dances, arts, crafts, ethnic foods, and traditional sports, and culture of Tangsa Naga tribe. Tangsa Rongrand War dance, Lungchang dance, Wancho dance, Bihu Dance, and Bamboo dance performances are held.Pangsau Pass Winter Festival: Going beyond the Frontier
Northeast Now, 7 December 2018.

References

External links