Kongka Pass

Kongka La

Kongka Pass on the disputed border between China and India
Elevation 5,171 m (16,965 ft)
Location IndiaChina border
Range Himalayas
Coordinates 34°20′06″N 79°02′07″E / 34.335°N 79.0353°E / 34.335; 79.0353Coordinates: 34°20′06″N 79°02′07″E / 34.335°N 79.0353°E / 34.335; 79.0353

Location of Kongka La

The Kongka Pass or Kongka La, elevation 5,171 m (16,965 ft),[1] is a high mountain pass of the Chang-Chemno Range on the Line of Actual Control. China considers the Kongka Pass as its boundary with India, whereas India regards Lanak Pass further east as the boundary.[2] While a lone source states that the traditional border between China and India lay at the Kongka Pass,[3] all other sources state that the traditional boundary between India and Tibet accepted by both sides was at Lanak La.[4][5][6][7]

Kongka Pass incident

In October 1959, Indian troops crossed the Kongka Pass[3] in an attempt to establish posts on the Lanak Pass. This resulted in a clash with the Chinese soldiers posted on Kongka Pass. Of the 70 Indian soldiers, nine were killed and ten were taken prisoner. Chinese soldiers reportedly suffered one death. Indian media described the event a "brutal massacre of an Indian policy party." The incident preceded the Sino-Indian War in 1962.[2][8]

References

  1. "Kongka La". GeoNames. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  2. 1 2 Maxwell, Neville (1970). India's China War. New York: Pantheon. p. 13. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 Burkitt, Laurie; Scobell, Andrew; Wortzel, Larry M., eds. (2003). The Lessons of History: The Chinese People's Liberation Army at 75 (PDF). Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. p. 331. ISBN 9781428916517.
  4. Wellby, M.S. (1898). Through Unknown Tibet. Lippincott. p. 78.
  5. Carey, A. D. (1887). "A Journey round Chinese Turkistan and along the Northern frontier of Tibet". Proceedings of the Royal Geographic Society. 9. JSTOR 1801130.
  6. Bower, Hamilton, Diary of A Journey across Tibet, London, 1894
  7. Rawling, C. G., The Great Plateau Being An Account Of Exploration In Central Tibet, 1903, And Of The Gartok Expedition 1904-1905, p 38, London, 1905
  8. Vivek Ahuja. "Unforgiveable Mistakes, The Kongka-La Incident, 21st October 1959" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-02.


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