VIGNETTES FROM THE MECHANISED INFANTRY

THE KARAKORAM FILES – 1

 

THE EASTERN KARAKORAMS

A Romantic Introduction!

The fierce beauty and captivation for the ice wilds of the Karakoram mountains is best personified by two proverbs of the region

“The land is so barren and the passes so high that only the best of friends and the fiercest of enemies would want to visit us.”

“Whatever the hardships, whatever the names, let me O God, return thither again.”

That the inhabitants of the Karakoram mountains, which finds mention as Krishnagiri (dark mountain) in the Puranas, were equally fierce and wild is best deduced from the following excerpt from ‘The Gilgit Game’ by John Keay “...the Yaghis of the Gilgit Valley were awesomely ferocious. In Hunza captured enemy soldiers were used as human fireworks and in Yasin the natives were said to pluck out their hearts and eat them raw. Other tribes were supposed to be Devil Worshippers who offered human sacrifice. In the absence of coin, mankind was the common currency; a hunting dog cost one male slave, and a sturdy pony two females, preferably fair and fourteen. The Dards spoke a different tongue, had blue eyes, fair skin and blonde or red hair and were the supposed descendants of Daradas of the Sanskrit literature. Their genealogy was completely different from the other inhabitants of the region...”

 

Lore

The Great Karakoram range bordering the northern most part of Laddakh (land of passes) is also termed as the Eastern Karakoram (black gravel). It is home to two major valleys broadly following a north-south alignment. The Shyok (death) river valley lies to the east and generally runs from south of Karakoram Pass to the north Khardung (lower castle) ridge.  To the west lies the Nubra (flowers and trees) valley that runs from the Indira (Goddess Laxmi) Col (pass)/Turkistan La (pass), the northern most points of the Siachen (place of roses) Glacier, onto the Khardung ridge in the south. The Khardung ridge, following an east to west alignment, lies just to the North of Leh (plateau). Saser (golden earth) La provides a passage over the Saser Muztagh (mountain) between the upper reaches of Nubra and Shyok river valleys. Khardung La, on the other hand, provides passage over the Khardung ridge from Leh to the Shyok river valley and Nubra river valley.

In the olden times, Leh was at the cross roads of trading routes, with trading caravans plying to Lhasa, Srinagar, Manali, and even to Central Asia via Yarkhand and Kashgar. The double hump Bactrian camels and Yak driven carts were used for the carriage of trade. The Central Asia caravan trade route followed the axis of Leh – Khardung La – crossing Shyok river into Nubra valley – Sasoma - Saser La – Saser Brangza - Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) (rich person died) – Karakoram Pass – Yarkhand and beyond during the summers. In the winters the caravans diverted after Khardung La along the Shyok valley, keeping Galwan valley to the east and onto Gapshan, DBO and thence to Karakoram Pass and beyond.  

Access to the Siachen Glacier/Nubra valley also exists from Baltistan region, lying to its west, along the Bilafond (butterfly) Glacier – Bilafond La – Lolofond Glacier alignment. Opposite to the Lolofond Glacier, Teram Sheher (destroyed habitation) Glacier also joins the Siachen Glacier from the east. Legends abound of the existence of a Yarkhand settlement at the confluence of these glaciers which was destroyed by a fierce storm. The names along the Nubra valley generally follow Buddhist/Tibetan influence, along the Siachen Glacier Balti influence and balance of the Central Asian caravan trade route Yarkhand influence, giving some veracity to these legends.

 

Terrain

 

The Pamir Knot, located in Tajikistan, is the highest plateau in the world. Five of the highest mountain ranges emanate outward from the Pamir Knot, Tien Shan towards the north-east, Kunlun towards the east, Karakoram and the Himalayas towards the south-east, and the Hindu Kush to the south-west.

 

The 500 kilometers long Karakoram mountain range extends from the Pamir Knot, adjoining the Wakhan corridor in Afghanistan, in the west to the Aksai Chin plateau in the east and is the most heavily glaciated region in the world outside the Polar regions. Sandwiched between the Kunlun mountain range to the north and Himalayas to the south, it is also the watershed between the Indus and Yarkhand river systems. Aksai Chin Plateau, Tibetan Plateau, Yarkhand and Karakash regions border on its north and the Laddakh plateau, Baltistan and Gilgit regions lie to its south. The Shyok, Indus and Gilgit rivers mark its southern periphery. The important Karakoram Pass lies generally in the center of this mountain range.

In the area of interest the significant sub ranges of the Karakoram from east to west are Saser Muztagh, Rimo Muztagh, Siachen Muztagh, Saltoro Muztagh, and Baltoro Muztagh. The Saser Muztagh is the watershed between the Shyok river and the Nubra river in their upper reaches. The Siachen Glacier lies between the Siachen Muztagh and Saltoro Muztagh. The India held Saltoro Muztagh is the current alignment of the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) between India and Pakistan. Baltoro glacier lies between the Saltoro Muztagh and Baltoro Muztagh.

 

The passes here are known as Col or La. East to west some of the significant passes along the Karakoram watershed are Karakoram Pass, Turkistan La and Indira Col joining Siachen Glacier to Urdok Glacier in the Shaksgam Valley, Khunjerab Pass and Dandala Pass. Saser La, Col Italia joining Rimo Group of Glaciers with Teram Sheher Glacier, Sia La joining Unnamed Glacier to Kondus Glacier, and Bilafond La joining Bilafond Glacier with Lolofond glacier are also of significance.

 

Environment

The average elevation of the mountains is 20,000 feet. The ridgelines are craggy with steep slopes and narrow, steep and deep ravines. The region is glaciated, highly crevassed and devoid of any vegetation.

 

The temperature ranges from 4 degrees Celsius to minus 11 degrees Celsius in summers and from minus 11 degrees Celsius to minus 60 degrees Celsius in winters. There is a 0.3 degrees Celsius drop in temperature for every kilometer per hour of wind speed. The cumulative annual snowfall ranges from 10 to 15 meters.

 

Rarefied air, strong winds, intense ultra violet radiation and great diurnal ranges of temperature characterise the climate of this region. 

 

The rivers emanating from the glaciers are prone to a geographical phenomenon termed as ‘glacier surge’. Periodically the glacier underbelly close to its snout breaks into large chunks of ice blocking the flow of water. At a point of time the accumulated water generates adequate pressure to break through this ice dam and surges into the open. The surge lasts for up to a couple of minutes carrying along it massive chunks of ice as large as a single storey house. Its devastating force is to be seen to be believed.

 

RECOMMENDED READINGS

 

‘Across Peaks and Passes in Laddakh, Zanskar & East Karakoram’ by Harish Kapadia

Published by Indus Publishing Company, FS-5 Tagore Garden, New Delhi – 110027

(An authentic and exhaustive account of exploration and geography of the Siachen Glacier and adjoining areas.)

‘The Gilgit Game’ by John Keay

Published by Oxford University Press

(Well researched accounts of the explorations of the region North West of Indus river by British, motivations of the British establishment behind these explorations and their outcomes. An interesting sidelight on the ethnic populace including the origins of the Dards, the so called pure Aryan race or the supposed descendants of the Daradas, inhabiting the area west of Chitral, viz Dardistan/Kafiristan.)

 ‘Two Summers in the Ice Wilds of Eastern Karakoram Part: The Exploration of Nineteen Hundred Square Miles of Mountain and Glacier’ by Fanny Bullock Workman

Published by Nabu Press

‘Laddakh Crossroads of High Asia’ by Janet Rizvi (wife of Syed Rizvi Development Commissioner Laddakh 1976-78)

Published by Oxford University Press

‘Gazetteer of Kashmir and Laddakh’

Published by Manas Publications, 29 central Market, Ashok Vihar – 1, New Delhi - 110052

(An exhaustive compilation of 18^th and 19^th century territories of J&K including accounts of various treaties)

‘Laddakh Through The Ages, Towards a New Identity’ by Shridhar Kaul and HN Kaul

(An insight into the history, geography, ethnic origins and social customs of Laddakh with special emphasis on post 1947 developments)