How India-China border tensions affect Ladakh nomads

One evening in mid-September, as the sun began to set, the grunts of Kunzes Dolma's yaks filled the sandy streets of Chushul, a Himalayan village in Ladakh, India, near the border with China.

The 68-year-old whistled to guide the animals toward her brick hut. Dolma is a herder from the Changpa community, a seminomadic group that lives in eastern Ladakh's Changthang Valley. Her family owns over 300 sheep and 50 yaks.

"The nomadic lifestyle is harsh, but I enjoy taking my cattle to graze in the mountains," said Dolma, who sells sheep wool and yak milk at the local market.

Dolma told DW that life has become difficult for her family because the Indian military has restricted grazing near the India-China border due to a territorial dispute.

"The pasture in that region is very good. Now, we cannot use the land to graze our cattle," Dolma said, with her 37-year-old daughter, Tsering Lamo, echoing her concerns.

"These days with restrictions triggered due to military tensions, it is no longer pleasurable to be a nomad," Lamo said, adding it is a harsh lifestyle, suggesting that, "it is better for younger people to take up other jobs."

What is the border dispute all about?

Chushul is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the de facto border between India and China, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The high-altitude village was impacted by the 1962 Sino-Indian war, triggered by differences over the ownership of the regions of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh.

The conflict lasted for over a month and ended with Beijing declaring a cease-fire and claiming sovereignty over Aksai Chin.

While India and China have fought only one major war since the 1960s, there are occasional clashes along the LAC — which India claims is 3,488 kilometers (2,167 miles) long and China says is shorter.

In May 2020, a skirmish in the Galwan River valley resulted in the deaths of at least 20 Indian soldiers, with China later confirming four of its troops had been killed.

Since then, both nations have ramped up patrols along the LAC and on Pangong Tso lake, a pristine but disputed area claimed by both sides.

Rigzhin Dorjay, a farmer who has lived in Chushul all his life, said the 2020 clashes reminded his family of the 1962 war.

"I was not born when the war in the 1960s took place but my parents often told me about how afraid they were," the 55-year-old told DW.

"They said the Indian military had helped them feel secure. So when the 2020 clashes took place, I trekked up to the mountains to give the Indian military officers securing our border food and rations." 

Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel in China's military, explained that tensions persist because the India-China border has never been "clearly demarcated."

"The military tensions have spilled over into political tensions since nobody actually knows who is controlling what," he told DW.

"India says that unless this border issue is solved, relations won't improve. So China is just waiting," Bo said, adding that there are other issues at play like market forces, which also influence relations.

"Bilateral trade is on the rise between both the countries. India is aware [of] this, making solving tensions with Beijing important," said Bo.

Solutions to secure land rights

Farmer Dorjay acknowledged the complexity of border tensions, but emphasized the need to find solutions for farmers and nomads who are losing their land.

"I mainly cultivate crops like barley and peas and this year the harvest was good," he said, adding that he can no longer use land near the border.

"Also, due to climate change and global warming we have water scarcity in the region which has made it challenging."

Chetan Doye, who also works as a farmer in Chushul, said that due to military tensions there has been no development in their border village.

"The government has constantly promised us that we would be given funds to develop facilities in the village like installing electricity and funds to cultivate our lands," the 76-year-old told DW. "But the money does not seem to be reaching us."

Ladakh's nomads push for rights and recognition

Ashish Kothari, co-founder of the Indian environmental group Kalpavriksh, told DW that recognizing the land and resource rights of nomads and farmers in the Changthang region under the Indian Forest Rights Act could offer support. The legislation protects the livelihoods of traditional forest dwellers and tribal communities across the country.

Ladakh is a union territory, which means it is directly governed by the Indian central government. Including Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of India's constitution, which allows Indigenous tribal people to make their own laws and policies, would ensure that the interests of nomads and farmers are protected.

Demands for "Sixth Schedule" status have gained momentum in Ladakh recently, with local environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk holding rallies in favor of the move.

But Konchok Stanzin, the councillor of Chushul at the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in Leh, said that autonomy for Ladakh would not necessarily solve issues of land and development.

He admitted that nomads and farmers in the villages bordering China have lost land in the buffer zone between India and China. But he highlighted that due to the ongoing military tensions, security of the country and people is of primary importance.

"We are aware that loss of land as pastures and for cultivation is important. So we have submitted border village development scheme proposals to the central government to ensure they sanction packages that will assist people in eastern Ladakh, especially during the winter months," Stanzin told DW.

Watching her sheep and yak amid the cold desert hues of her village, Dolma said there are times when she listens to the news about Indo-China relations and worries about the future of their land.

"I am getting older and we do face many difficulties as we traverse across the land as nomads. While there is peace between India and China right now, it is possible that a war could also take place since it is a complex issue at the border," she said.

"But when I'm in the mountains with my cattle and high valleys and mountains and pristine rivers surround me, I am at peace. Nature heals."

Edited by: Keith Walker