A tweet on the occupation of Zorawar Fort in Ladakh by China is all it took to take social media by storm, leading to clash of opinions, ideologies and conflicting expressions among the people of this country, but one things that this episode underlined was how hazy the situation on the Line of Actual Control currently is. Konchok Stanzin is an elected Councillor of the all-powerful Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh from Chushul and has remained an executive councillor in the past. Stanzin posted a picture on the Twitter, he claimed of Zorawar Fort in Demchok, which has been occupied by China in the union territory. Demchok’s Zorawar Fort at that point in time is now converted into a Chinese Observation Point, tweeted the councillor.
Adding on to his tweet in another post, the councillor said that the construction of the Observation Point at Demchok started in 2010 and were completed in 2012. While the councillor in all likelihood wanted to flag the occupation of Zorawar Fort by Chinese Army, but he was met with stern responses from a number of people who lashed out at him for sensationalising, what was essentially an old development. The responses were reflective of the mood of the entire country.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks. The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.
The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area. In the recent times, the confusion has only increased, with reports claiming that India has lost access to almost half of the patrolling points in the area. More recent reports claimed that the Chinese army has demanded the creation of a 15-20 km buffer zone inside India-claimed lines on the strategic Depsang Plains as a precondition for disengagement, refusing India’s offer of a 3-4km demilitarised strip.
The Chinese made the latest demand during the 18th round of corps commander talks last month, and reiterated it during subsequent military talks at lower levels held on May 16. However, the same was strongly rejected by India, which instead agreed to a 3-4km buffer zone, but the Chinese refused to budge.
Earlier this week, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said that the Chinese PLA deployment on the northern borders is not increasing day by day. He reasoned that the Chinese have not gone back since 2020 and their continued deployment was a challenge. External Affairs Minister has also reiterated time and again that the India was indeed facing a difficult situation along the Line of Actual Control but has not divulged any details. However, what irks the countrymen the most is the lack of clarity from the government on the same. The leadership must come out and clear this haze. It is imperative for them to speak the truth to the people of this country and assure them of the situation.
One heartening development to note is Opposition’s support to the government on the matter. Speaking in the USA, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has asserted that India cannot be pushed around by China. That is something that is not going to happen, he said.
