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Skakjung or Kokzhung is 45–kilometer long pasture land in
There have been several incursions by the China in this area. India has
Traditionally, it was a grazing area. The Indus valley here is about four miles wide, and sandy with a thin layer of grass. That, coupled with the fact that there is no snow here in winter, makes it a most important winter grazing area for the
Skakjung or Kokzhung is 45–kilometer long pasture land in Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...
valley in Southern Ladakh. It is traditionally used by nomad
Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
s of nearby villages such as Chushul
Chushul is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, in the area known as "Chushul Valley", south of the Pangong Lake and west of the Spanggur Lake. The Line of Actual Control with China runs about 5 ...
and Nyoma
Nyoma is a principal village of southern Ladakh in India, the headquarters of an eponymous subdivision, tehsil, community development block and Indian Air Force Base in the Leh district.Rupshu
Rupshu is a high elevation plateau and valley and an eponymous community development block in southeast Ladakh. It is between the Startsapuk Tso and Tso Moriri, and west of Mahe.
The Salt Valley and the Puga Valley to its north are also part o ...
. The Skakung pasture land can be used year-round because it rarely snows in the Indus Valley.
India-China border dispute
There have been several incursions by the China in this area. India has Patrol Point
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 of ...
s (PP) 35, 36 & 37 in this area, and China tries to block access to these. Due to the different perception of the border India and China and continuing Chinese incursions in Chushul
Chushul is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, in the area known as "Chushul Valley", south of the Pangong Lake and west of the Spanggur Lake. The Line of Actual Control with China runs about 5 ...
, Chumur
Chumar or Chumur () is a village located in south-eastern region of Ladakh, Ladakh, India and the centre of nomadic grazing. It is in Rupshu block, south of the Tso Moriri lake, on the bank of the Parang River (or ''Pare Chu''), close to Ladakh's ...
, Dungti, Phobrang
Phobrang is a settlement in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is near Lukung on the way the Indo-China border at the Hot Springs. It is the last village of Ladakh in this direction, at an elevation of .
Phobrang is in the Leh distric ...
, and Demchok has adversely affected the life of local Changpa nomadic herders. In January 2024, the Chinese troops tried to stop and pushed out the local Indian herders who were grazing their livestock in their traditional grazing area. The Indian herders challenged the Chinese petrol in the Tibetan language Tibetan language may refer to:
* Lhasa Tibetan or Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect
* Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
* Any of the other Tibetic languages
See also
* Ol ...
, ''"Why have you come here? Why have you brought your vehicles here. This is our ancestral land. We graze our livestock here"''.
Chushul Councillor Konchok Stanzin said, ''"Livelihoods of locals have been taken away in the name of buffer zones and patrolling points. Our nomads are struggling for their land"''. According to Ladakhi Indian diplomat Phunchok Stobdan, Skakjung went from being an Indian-administered area until the mid-1980s to a completely Chinese-administered area by 2008. India's opposition party Congress claims that the Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
-ruled government of India is covering up ''"territorial setbacks"'' in this area, while the ruling government has denied the charges as ''"politically motivated"''.
Geography
Traditionally, it was a grazing area. The Indus valley here is about four miles wide, and sandy with a thin layer of grass. That, coupled with the fact that there is no snow here in winter, makes it a most important winter grazing area for the Changpa
The Changpa, or Champa, are a semi-nomadic Tibetan people found mainly in the Changtang in Ladakh, India. A smaller number resides in the western regions of the Tibet Autonomous Region and were partially relocated for the establishment of t ...
nomads.: "This is where the Changpa hangpasof Rupshu spend the winter.... At Dora falls hardly any snow. This is why the place is chosen for winter quarters, the sheep and the cattle being thus able to graze on the extensive though thin pasture found on the flat."
See also
*Demchok sector
The Demchok sector is a disputed area named after the villages of Demchok, Ladakh, Demchok in Ladakh and Demchok, Ngari Prefecture, Demchok in Tibet, situated near the confluence of the Charding Nullah and Indus River. It is a part of the gr ...
* Indo-China Border Roads
Notes
References
Bibliography
* * * Territorial disputes of India {{Ladakh-geo-stub