Chinese soldiers ask Ladakh shepherds not to graze cattle near LAC, councillor says nomads stood firm

“See how our local people are showing their bravery in front of the PLA… the area is our nomad’s grazing land. PLA stopping our nomads from grazing in our territory. Seems it is a never-ending process due to different perceptions. But I salute our nomads, who always stand to protect our land and stand as the second guardian force of the nation,” Chushul councillor Stanzin posted on X along with the video.

See how our local people are showing their bravery in front of the PLA claiming that the area they are stopping is our nomad’s grazing land. PLA stopping our nomads from grazing in our territory. Seems it is never a never-ending process due to different lines of perceptions. But…

— Konchok Stanzin (@kstanzinladakh) January 30, 2024

Speaking to The Indian Express, Stanzin said, “It happened on January 2 and the issue has been resolved since. What I wanted to convey is how our nomads are safeguarding our borders.”

Stanzin claimed the Chinese soldiers had come about a kilometre inside the Indian territory at the time.

Meanwhile, the Congress launched a sharp attack on the Centre and argued that it “once again exposes the hollowness of the Modi government’s claims of stability at the Line of Actual Control” in eastern Ladakh.

“Shot in January 2024, the video shows People’s Liberation Army troops accompanied by an armoured vehicle harassing and blocking shepherds’ access to grazing areas near Patrolling Points 35 and 36 in the Chushul sector that lie well within India’s claim line. Indian authorities have reportedly asked the shepherds not to return to the area,” Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh said in a statement on Wednesday.

For four years, he said, the Modi government has tried to “cover up the worst territorial setback in six decades for India with its “deny, distract, lie and justify approach.”

“Chinese troops continue to deny Indian patrols access to the strategic Depsang Plains, Demchok and other areas in eastern Ladakh. China continues to deny us access to 2,000 square kilometres despite 18 rounds of military talks. This video is only the latest example of Ladakhi sources on the ground puncturing the Modi government’s false narrative,” he said.

Ramesh said reports had come out earlier saying that the Indian troops have lost access to 26 out of the 65 patrolling points and that the Modi government has agreed to buffer zones in which India cedes further territory.

“Prime Minister Modi has not only failed to restore the status quo in Ladakh in four years. He has also stood by as China increases its stranglehold on Bhutanese territory in the past six years, despite hollow claims of an Indian victory in Doklam in 2017, which poses a major threat to India’s Siliguri Corridor, also referred to as the Chicken’s Neck,” he said.

China, he said, continues to make inroads into Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives, to which India is responding with social media campaigns and the banning of Chinese apps.

“All of this was enabled by the PM’s 19 June 2020 clean chit to China – when he said ‘Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai’, a profound insult to our fallen soldiers in Galwan. This insult has been compounded by schemes like Agnipath that weaken soldiers’ welfare and morale through discriminatory treatment,” he said.

The Congress asked the Prime Minister to take the people of India into confidence and explain how and when the status quo will be restored. “And if he is unable to do so, the next government will have to take on this challenge,” he said.

The Line of Actual Control in Ladakh has seen frequent intrusions by the Chinese army. In 2020, a violent clash took place between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, resulting in several casualties.