Siachen Glacier: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 04:18, 31 January 2008
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| Type | Mountain glacier |
|---|---|
| Location | Ladakh, Kashmir, India/Pakistan |
| Length | 70 km (43 Mi) |
| Status | Disputed |
The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India-Pakistan border at approximately 35°30′N 77°00′E / 35.5°N 77.0°E. It is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second longest in the world's non-polar areas.[1] It ranges from an altitude of 5,753 m (18,875 ft) above sea level at its source at Indira Col (pass) on the China border to its snout at 3,620 m (11,875 ft)
The Siachen Glacier lies south of the great watershed that separates China from the Indian subcontinent in the extensively glaciated portion of the Karakoram that is sometimes called the "Third Pole." The 70 km (43.5 mile) long Siachen glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge line immediately to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east. The Saltoro Ridge originates in the north from the Sia Kangri peak on the China border in the Karakoram range. The crest of the Saltoro Ridge's altitudes range from 5,450 to 7,720 m (17,880 to 25,330 feet). The major passes on this ridge are, from north to south, Sia La at 5,589 m (18,336 ft), Bilafond La at 5,450 m (17,880 ft), and Gyong La at 5,689 m (18,665 ft.) The average winter snowfall is 10.5 m (35 ft.) and temperatures can dip to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit).
Conflict Zone
In spite of the severe climate, the word 'Siachen' ironically means 'the place of wild roses', a reference some people attribute to the abundance of Himalayan wildflowers found in the valleys below the glacier, but which specifically refers to the thorny wild plants which grow on the rocky outcrops. The naming of the glacier, or at least its currency, is due to Tom Longstaff. The glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 13, 1984. Both countries maintain permanent military personnel in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres. The site is a prime example of mountain warfare. The glacier's melting waters are the main source of the Nubra River, which drains into the Shyok River. The Shyok in turn joins the Indus River. The glacier's melting waters are a major source of the river Indus, a vital water source. Global warming has had one of its worst impacts here in the Himalayas with the glaciers melting at an unprecedented rate and monsoon rains now appearing north of the mountains. The volume of the glacier has been reduced by 35 percent over the last twenty years and military activity since 1984 has also been blamed for much of the degradation of the glacier.[2]
The conflict in Siachen stems from the confusion in the improperly demarcated territory on the map beyond the map coordinate known as NJ9842. The 1949 Karachi Agreement and the 1972 Simla Agreement did not clearly mention who controlled the glacier, merely stating that from the NJ9842 location the boundary would proceed "thence north to the glaciers." In 1957 Pakistan permitted a British expedition under Eric Shipton to approach the Siachen through the Bilafond La, and recce Saltoro Kangri.[3] Five years later a Japanese-Pakistani expedition put two Japanese and a Pakistani Army climber on top of Saltoro Kangri.[4] These were early moves in this particular game of oropolitics.
The United States Defense Mapping Agency (now National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) began in about 1967 to show, with no legal or treaty-derived justification or any boundary documentation, an international boundary on their Tactical Pilotage Charts available to the public and pilots as proceeding from NJ9842 east-northeast to the Karakoram Pass at 5,534 m (18,136 ft.) on the China border. [5] Numerous governmental and private cartographers and atlas producers followed suit. This cartographic aggression resulted in the US cartographically "awarding" the entire 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) of the Siachen-Saltoro area to Pakistan. Indian government and military took note. Prior to 1984 neither India nor Pakistan had any permanent presence in the area.
Fighting
In the 1970s and early 1980s several mountaineering expeditions applied to Pakistan to climb high peaks in the Siachen area as U.S army maps deliberately showed it on Pakistani side of the Line of Control, and Pakistan granted them. This in turn reinforced the Pakistani claim on the area, as these expeditions arrived on the glacier with a permit obtained from the Government of Pakistan. Teram Kangri I (7465 m.) and Teram Kangri II (7406 m.) were climbed in 1975 by a Japanese expedition led by H. Katayama, which approached through Pakistan via the Bilafond La.[6] Once having become aware of this and the errant US military maps, Colonel N. Kumar of the Indian Army , then commanding the Army's High-Altitude Warfare School, mounted an Army expedition to the Siachen area as a counter-exercise. In 1978 this expedition climbed Teram Kangri II, claiming it as a first ascent in a typical 'oropolitical' riposte. Unusually for the normally secretive Indian Army, the news and photographs of this expedition were published in 'The Illustrated Weekly of India', a widely-circulated popular magazine.[7]
The first public mention of a possible conflict situation in the Siachen was an abbreviated article titled "High Politics in the Karakoram" by Joydeep Sircar in The Telegraph newspaper of Calcutta in 1982[8]. The full text was printed as "Oropolitics" in the Alpine Journal, London, in 1984.[9]
India launched Operation Meghdoot (named after the divine cloud messenger in a Sanskrit play by Kalidasa) on 13 April, 1984 when the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force went into the glacier region. Pakistan quickly responded with troop deployments and what followed was literally a race to the top. Within a few days, the Indians were in control over most of the area, as Pakistan was beaten to most of the Saltoro Ridge high ground by about a week. The two northern passes - Sia La and Bilafond La - were quickly secured by India. In his memoirs, current Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharraf states that Pakistan lost almost 2,331 km² (900 mi²) of territory.[10] TIME states that the Indian advance captured nearly 1,000 mi² of territory claimed by Pakistan.[11] Since then Pakistan has launched several attempts to displace the Indian forces, but with little success. The most well known was in 1987, when an attempt was made by Pakistan to dislodge India from the area. The attack was masterminded by Pervez Musharraf (later President of Pakistan) heading a newly raised elite SSG commando unit raised with United States Special Operations Forces help in the area.[12] A special garrison with eight thousand troops was built at Khapalu. The immediate aim was to capture Bilafond La but after bitter fighting that included hand to hand combat, the Pakistanis were thrown back and the positions remained the same. The only Param Vir Chakra - India's highest gallantry award - to be awarded for combat in the Siachen area went to Naib Subedar Bana Singh (retired as Subedar Major/Honorary Captain), who in a daring daylight raid assaulted and captured a Pakistani post atop a 22,000 foot (6,700 m) peak, now named Bana Post.[13] In 1989 more than 50 Indian soldiers were killed in an operation launched by the Pakistan army in Chumik sector.[14] Further attempts to reclaim positions were launched by Pakistan in 1990, 1995, 1996 and even in early 1999, just prior to the Lahore Summit. The 1995 attack by Pakistan SSG was significant as it resulted in 40 casualties for Pakistan troops without any changes in the positions. An Indian IAF MI-17 helicopter was shot down in 1996. Prior to the 2003 cease fire, on average, one Pakistani soldier died every fourth day, while one Indian soldier died every second day.[15]
Current situation
The Indian army controls all of the 70-km long Siachen Glacier as well as all of its tributary glaciers as well as the three main passes of the Saltoro Ridge immediately west of the glacier, Sia La, Bilafond La, and Gyong La, thus holding onto the tactical advantage of high ground.[16]. [17] Gyong La (Pass) itself is at 35-10-29N, 77-04-15 E; that high point is controlled by India. The Pakistanis control the glacial valley just five kilometers southwest of Gyong La. The line where Indian and Pakistani troops are presently holding onto their respective posts is being increasingly referred to as the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL).[18][19]
The Pakistanis have been unable get up to the crest of the Saltoro Ridge, while the Indians cannot come down and abandon their strategic high posts. A cease fire went into effect in 2003. Even before then, every year more soldiers were killed because of severe weather than enemy firing. The two sides have lost an estimated 2,000 personnel primarily due to frostbite, avalanches and other complications. Both nations have 150 manned outposts along the glacier, with some 3,000 troops each. Official figures for maintaining these outposts are put at ~$300 and ~$200 million for India and Pakistan respectively. India has built the world's highest helipad on this glacier at a place called Sonam, which is at 21,000 feet (6,400 m) above the sea level, to serve the area. India also installed the world's highest telephone booth on the glacier.[20] One of the factors behind the Kargil War in 1999 when Pakistan sent infiltrators to occupy vacated Indian posts across the Line of Control was their belief that India would be forced to withdraw from Siachen in return for Pakistan pulling back from Kargil. Both sides have been wishing to disengage from the costly military outposts but after the Kargil War India has backed off from withdrawing in Siachen, wary that the Kargil scenario could play out again if they vacate their Siachen Glacier posts without any official confirmation of their positions.
During her tenure as Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ms Benazir Bhutto, visited the area west of Gyong La, making her the first premier from either side to get to the Siachen region. On June 12, 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the area, calling for a peaceful resolution of the problem. In the previous year, the President of India, Abdul Kalam became the first head of state to visit the area. India based Jet Airways plans to open a chartered service to the glacier's nearest airlink, the Thoise airbase, mainly for military purposes. Pakistan's PIA flies tourists and trekkers daily to Skardu, which is the jumping off point for K2, the world's second highest point just 33 kilometers (20.5 miles) northwest of the Siachen area, although bad weather frequently grounds these scheduled flights.
Since September 2007, India has opened up mountaineering and trekking expeditions to the forbidding glacial heights. The expeditions are also meant to show to the international audience that Indian troops hold "almost all dominating heights" on the important Saltoro Ridge and, to show that Pakistani troops are not within 15 miles of the 70 km-long Siachen Glacier.[21] Despite protests from Pakistan, India maintains that it doesn't need Pakistan's approval to send trekkers to Siachen, in what it says is essentially an Indian territory.[22]
Notes
- ^ Siachen Glacier is 70 km long; Tajikistan's Fedchenko Glacier is 77 km long. The second longest in the Karakoram Mountains is the Biafo Glacier at 63 km. Measurements are from recent imagery, supplemented with Russian 1:200,000 scale topographic mapping as well as the 1990 "Orographic Sketch Map: Karakoram: Sheet 2", Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Himalayan Journal Vol. 21
- ^ Himalayan Journal Vol. 25
- ^ 2003 article about Siachen in Outside magazine
- ^ SANGAKU 71
- ^ Outside magazine article about Siachen battleground
- ^ [2]
- ^ Alpine Journal, 1984
- ^ Pervez Musharraf (2006). In the Line of Fire: A Memoir. Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-8344-9.(pp. 68-69)
- ^ The Himalayas War at the Top Of the World July 31, 1989 - TIME
- ^ J. N. Dixit. India-Pakistan in war & peace. Routledge. ISBN 0415304725.(pp. 39)
- ^ [3].
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ See http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE6-1/Siachen.html for perhaps the most detailed treatment of the geography of the conflict, including its early days, and under section "3." the current status of control of Gyong La, contrary to the oft-copied misstatement in the old error-plagued summary at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/siachen.htm
- ^ See http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2304/stories/20060310001704400.htm for a detailed, current map.
- ^ Confirm ground position line on Siachen: BJP - April 29, 2006, The Hindu
- ^ Guns to fall silent on Indo-Pak borders November 26, 2003 - Daily Times
- ^ [6]
- ^ India opens Siachen to trekkers Times of India 13 Sep 2007
- ^ India hits back at Pak over Siachen issue Times of India 17 Sep 2007
35°30′N 77°00′E / 35.5°N 77.0°E
See also
References
- V.R. Raghavan, Siachen: Conflict Without End, Viking, New Delhi, 2002
- Analysis: Peace may return to Siachen - The Washington Times
- TIME Asia's cover story on Siachen Glacier (July 11, 2005)
- "Heights of Madness: One Woman's Journey in Pursuit of a Secret War" by Myra MacDonald, published by Rupa. The first full account of the Siachen war to be told from the Indian and Pakistani sides.