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39-495: Indira Col East (Coord 35°39′40″N 76°48′10″E  /  35.66111°N 76.80278°E  / 35.66111; 76.80278 ), also Main Indira Col or just Indira Col (Hindi: इन्दिरा कोल), is another col on Indira Ridge which lies 2.4 km further east of Indira Col West at 5,764 metres (18,911 ft)) altitude. It is more difficult to ascend or descend on the north side controlled by China, but easier to do so from

78-585: A certain sanctity in Chinese nomenclature. But there was no line defined in 1959. Scholars state that Chinese maps had shown a steadily advancing line in the western sector of the Sino-Indian boundary, each of which was identified as "the line of actual control as of 7 November 1959". On 24 October 1962, after the initial thrust of the Chinese forces in the Sino-Indian War , the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai wrote to

117-483: A number of times. Former Army officers have said that patrolling points provide a better on-the-ground picture of India's limits of control. Based on location, the periodicity of visiting patrolling points can vary greatly from a few weeks to a couple of months. In some cases, the patrolling points are well-known landmarks such as mountain peaks or passes. In other cases, the pattrolling points are numbered, PP-1, PP-2 etc. There are over 65 patrolling points stretching from

156-589: A starting point to clarify the LAC was that it gave both sides an "incentive to exaggerate their claims of where the LAC lay". On 30 July 2020, the Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong stated that China was not in favour of clarifying the LAC anymore as it would create new disputes. Similar viewpoints have been aired in India that China will keep the boundary dispute alive for as long as it can be used against India. On

195-520: Is claimed by Pakistan, which is "Indira Col East". In 1984, Indian soldiers traveled across Siachen glacier, scaled many peaks and passes including the Indira Col as part of the Operation Meghdoot . After that, Harish Kapadia and his colleagues also explored various peaks passes, ranges subranges and glaciers in the Siachen area. Territories on all sides of Indira Col are disputed . Area south of

234-703: Is near the tri-junction of India-China-Pakistan controlled areas. Indira Ridge, from west to east, has following features: Between Indira Col West and Indira Col East is India Saddle between the Siachen Glacier to the south and the Urdok Glacier to the north in the Shaksgam (Trans-Karakoram Tract), on the watershed between the Indus River basin and the Tarim Basin . It is too steep to easily descend north from

273-630: Is the point where main channel of Siachen Glacier meets the Teram Shehr Glacier . From the Station A , the route goes north to Indira Col West. Col A col in geomorphology is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks . It may also be called a gap or pass . Particularly rugged and forbidding cols in the terrain are usually referred to as notches . They are generally unsuitable as mountain passes , but are occasionally crossed by mule tracks or climbers' routes. Derived from

312-405: The 1962 Sino-Indian War . In 1993, India and China agreed to respect of the 'Line of Actual Control' in a bilateral agreement, without demarcating the line itself. In a letter dated 7 November 1959, Zhou proposed to Nehru that the armed forces of the two sides should withdraw 20 kilometres from the so-called McMahon Line in the east and "the line up to which each side exercises actual control in

351-880: The Karakoram to Chumar . The patrolling points within the LAC and the patrol routes that join them are known as ' limits of patrolling '. Some army officers call this the "LAC within the LAC" or the actual LAC . The various patrol routes to the limits of patrolling are called the ' lines of patrolling '. During the 2020 China–India skirmishes , the patrolling points under dispute included PPs 10 to 13, 14, 15, 17, and 17A. On 18 September 2020, an article in The Hindu wrote that "since April, Indian troops have been denied access to PPs numbered 9, 10, 11, 12, 12A, 13, 14, 15, 17, 17A." India has 65 patrolling points in Eastern Ladakh , from Karakoram Pass to Chumar . Patrolling points are not

390-634: The key col ) is effectively a measure of a mountain's topographic prominence . Cols lie on the line of the watershed between two mountains , often on a prominent ridge or arête . For example, the highest col in Austria, the Obere Glocknerscharte ("Upper Glockner Col", 3,766  m (AA) ) lies between the Kleinglockner ( 3,783 m above sea level (AA) ) and Grossglockner ( 3,798 m above sea level (AA) ) mountains, giving

429-459: The "line up to which each side exercises actual control", but rejected by Nehru as being incoherent. Subsequently, the term came to refer to the line formed after the 1962 Sino-Indian War . The LAC is different from the borders claimed by each country in the Sino-Indian border dispute. The Indian claims include the entire Aksai Chin region and the Chinese claims include Zangnan ( South Tibet )/ Arunachal Pradesh . These claims are not included in

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468-536: The 1962 war only saw signs of improvement towards the later 1970s and 80s. Ties had remained strained until then also because of Chinese attraction to Pakistan during India Pakistan wars in 1965 and 1971. Restored ambassadorial relations in 1976, a visit of the Indian Prime Minister to China in 1988, a visit of the Chinese Premier to India in 1992 and then a visit of Indian President to China in 1992 preceded

507-411: The 1970s to optimize patrolling effectiveness and resource utilization along the disputed and non-demarcarted China-India border at a time when border infrastructure was weak. Instead of patrolling the entire border which was more than 3000 km long, troops would just be required to patrol up to the patrolling points. Over time, as infrastructure, resources and troop capability improved and increased,

546-640: The 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas mentions, "The two sides agree that references to the line of actual control in this Agreement do not prejudice their respective positions on the boundary question". The Indian government claims that Chinese troops continue to illegally enter the area hundreds of times every year, including aerial sightings and intrusions. In 2013, there

585-436: The 1993 agreement. Prior to the 1993 agreement, a trade agreement was signed in 1984, followed by a cultural cooperation agreement in 1988. The 1993 agreement, signed on 7 September, was the first bilateral agreement between China and India to contain the phrase Line of Actual Control. The agreement covered force level, consultations as a way forward and the role of a Joint Working Group. The agreement made it clear that there

624-569: The Chinese pledge of 20-kilometre withdrawal and the same line was used, labelled as "the line from which the Chinese forces will withdraw 20 km." This line was essentially forgotten by both sides till 2013, when the Chinese PLA revived it during its Depsang incursion as a new border claim. At the end of the 1962 war, India demanded that the Chinese withdraw to their positions on 8 September 1962 (the blue line in Map 2). Political relations following

663-667: The Chinese-claimed line was not acceptable to India as the depiction of an actual position, it was apparently acceptable as the line from which the Chinese would undertake to withdraw 20 kilometres. Despite the non-acceptance by India of the Chinese proposals, the Chinese did withdraw 20 kilometres from this line, and henceforth continued to depict it as the "line of actual control of 1959". In December 1962, representatives of six African and Asian nations met in Colombo to develop peace proposals for India and China. Their proposals formalised

702-457: The French col ("collar, neck") from Latin collum , "neck", the term tends to be associated more with mountain than hill ranges. The distinction with other names for breaks in mountain ridges such as saddle , wind gap or notch is not sharply defined and may vary from place to place. Many double summits are separated by prominent cols. The height of a summit above its highest col (called

741-756: The Indira Col West is controlled by India and also claimed by Pakistan. North of Indira Col West is Trans-Karakoram Tract claimed by India but controlled by China under a 1963 border agreement with Pakistan . The AGPL generally runs along the Saltoro Mountains range, beginning from the northernmost point of the ( LOC ) at Point NJ 9842 and ending northwest of Indira Col West in the north, with peaks in excess of 7,000 meters and average low temperatures around minus 50 Celsius. India gained control of 985 square miles (2,550 km) of disputed territory in 1984 because of its military operations in Siachen. Indira Col

780-643: The Indira Ridge from west to east. The la in Ladakhi language means a mountain pass. The eastern col was named Indira Col in 1912 by Bullock Workman , after one of the names of the goddess Lakshmi . In 1889, British raj army officer and explorer Francis Younghusband reached the base of Turkestan La (North) from north side , and he noted that this was a long glacier and a major Central Asian dividing range. Colonel Narendra "Bull" Kumar reached Indira Col (the western col) in 1981. In 1998 Harish Kapadia reached

819-512: The Kleinglockner a minimum prominence of 17 metres. Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control ( LAC ), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute , is a notional demarcation line that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. The concept was introduced by Chinese premier Zhou Enlai in a 1959 letter to Jawaharlal Nehru as

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858-438: The LAC does not escalate into armed conflict. In October 2024, India announced that it had reached an agreement over patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the border area, which would lead to disengagement and resolution of the long-running conflict that began in 2020. The date of 7 November 1959, on which the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai alluded to the concept of "line of actual control", achieved

897-402: The LAC. It was only in 2001 when the first in-depth discussion would take place with regard to the central/middle sectors. Maps of Sikkim were exchanged, resulting in the "Memorandum on Expanding Border Trade". However the process of exchange of maps soon collapsed in 2002–2003 when other sectors were brought up. Shivshankar Menon writes that a drawback of the process of exchanging maps as

936-418: The beginning of September? Advancing forty or sixty kilometers by blatant military aggression and offering to withdraw twenty kilometers provided both sides do this is a deceptive device which can fool nobody." Zhou responded that the LAC was "basically still the line of actual control as existed between the Chinese and Indian sides on 7 November 1959. To put it concretely, in the eastern sector it coincides in

975-533: The col to the Urdok Glacier. The main channel of Siachen Glacier , which flows from north to south into India, begins from the southern slope of Indira Col West. The Urdok Glacier , which flows from south to north into Trans-Karakoram Tract held by China, begins from the northern slope of Indira Col West, its subbranches Urdok I glacier flows from north to northwest from the northern slope of India Col East and Urdok II glacier flows north to northwest from

1014-529: The concept of "actual control". The LAC is generally divided into three sectors: The term "line of actual control" originally referred only to the boundary in the western sector after the 1962 Sino-Indian War , but during the 1990s came to refer to the entire de facto border. The term "line of actual control" is said to have been used by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in a 1959 note to Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru . The boundary existed only as an informal cease-fire line between India and China after

1053-505: The heads of ten African and Asian nations outlining his proposals for peace, a fundamental tenet of which was that both sides should undertake not to cross the "line of actual control". This letter was accompanied by certain maps which again identified the "line of actual control as of 7 November 1959". Margaret Fisher calls it the "line of actual control as of 7 November 1959" as published in November 1962 . Scholar Stephen Hoffmann states that

1092-1130: The limits of Indian claim, because Indian claim extends beyond these patrolling points. These patrolling points were set by India as the patrolling limits for the Indian Army to patrol and avoid confrontation with the PLA to maintain peace on LAC with China, which had proved to be a superior military power in 1962 border war. According to a 2020 report by an Indian police officer, India lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points (PP 5–17 in Depsang Plains & Depsang Bulge including Samar Lungpa & Galwan, 24-32 in Changchenmo basin, 37 in Skakjung pasture, 51 & 52 in Demchok & Chardhing Nala, 62 in Chumar) in Ladakh due to being restricted by China. India's opposition party Congress claims that

1131-410: The line represented not any position held by the Chinese on 7 November 1959, but rather incorporated the gains made by the Chinese army before and after the massive attack on 20 October 1962. In some cases, it went beyond the territory the Chinese army had reached. India's understanding of the 1959 line passed through Haji Langar, Shamal Lungpa and Kongka La (the red line shown on Map 2). Even though

1170-421: The main with the so-called McMahon Line, and in the western and middle sectors it coincides in the main with the traditional customary line which has consistently been pointed out by China." The term "LAC" gained legal recognition in Sino-Indian agreements signed in 1993 and 1996. The 1996 agreement states, "No activities of either side shall overstep the line of actual control." However, clause number 6 of

1209-523: The northern slope of Turkmenistan La North . Straghar Glacier runs perpendicular to the Indira Ridge on the eastern side of the ridge (and serves as the LAC between Trans-Karakoram Tract held by China and Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) held by India). The Siachen Glacier is explored from the Siachen Base Camp , reachable via Leh - Khalsar - Sasoma army camp-Siachen Base camp road, to the Station A which

Indira Col - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-506: The other hand, there have been voices which say that clarifying the LAC would be beneficial for both countries. In the 1970s, India's China Study Group identified patrol points to which Indian forces would patrol. This was a better representation of how far India could patrol towards its perceived LAC and delimited India's limits of actual control. These periodic patrols were performed by both sides, and often crisscrossed. Patrolling Points were identified by India's China Study Group in

1287-462: The patrolling points were revised. The concept of patrol points came about well before India officially accepted the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Patrolling points give a more realistic on–ground guide of India's limits of actual control. Most patrolling points are close to the LAC. However, in the Depsang plains , the patrolling points are said to remain well inside in LAC, despite having been revised

1326-400: The same col; on his map and text he refers to it as the " main Indira Col " and " Indira Col West ", whereas he refers to the col 2.4 km to the east as the " Indira Col East ( Workman )." Indirakoli Pass （ Chinese : 因地拉科里山口 ） name on the Chinese maps refers to 35°40′17″N 76°50′26″E  /  35.67139°N 76.84056°E  / 35.67139; 76.84056 coordinates

1365-679: The south side controlled by India. India Saddle (Coord 35°39′50″N 76°48′20″E  /  35.66389°N 76.80556°E  / 35.66389; 76.80556 ), a geographical saddle , connects the Indira Col East and Indira Col West. Indira Ridge separates the Chinese-controlled Trans-Karakoram Tract , which lies north of Indira Ridge, from the Siachen Glacier , which lies south of Indira Ridge. The AGPL end point, Indira Col West, Indira Col East, Indira Saddle, Turkestan La North, and Turkestan La East lie on

1404-457: The west". Nehru rejected the proposal stating that there was complete disagreement between the two governments over the facts of possession: It is obvious that there is complete disagreement between the two Governments even about the facts of possession. An agreement about the observance of the status quo would, therefore, be meaningless as the facts concerning the status quo are themselves disputed. Scholar Stephen Hoffmann states that Nehru

1443-469: Was a three-week standoff ( 2013 Daulat Beg Oldi incident ) between Indian and Chinese troops 30 km southeast of Daulat Beg Oldi . It was resolved and both Chinese and Indian troops withdrew in exchange for an Indian agreement to destroy some military structures over 250 km to the south near Chumar that the Chinese perceived as threatening. In October 2013, India and China signed a border defence cooperation agreement to ensure that patrolling along

1482-405: Was an "ultimate solution to the boundary question between the two countries" which remained pending. It was also agreed that "the two sides agree that references to the line of actual control in this Agreement do not prejudice their respective positions on the boundary question". In article 10 of the 1996 border agreement, both sides agreed to the exchange of maps to help clarify the alignment of

1521-490: Was determined not to grant legitimacy to a concept that had no historical validity nor represented the situation on the ground. During the Sino-Indian War (1962), Nehru again refused to recognise the line of control: "There is no sense or meaning in the Chinese offer to withdraw twenty kilometers from what they call 'line of actual control'. What is this 'line of control'? Is this the line they have created by aggression since

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