Tuesday 29 May 2012

Mr.Konchok Paldan

Mr. Konchok Paldan
( On his research on four Border areas in North-West of Ladakh )


From very long time we heard and we still hear the grievances of Partition between India and Pakistan from Punjab to Kashmir.
But here Mr.Konchok Paldan reveals the grievances of partition, no not the partition of 1947 but lesser known to common people the partition of 1971.The region of Pakistan that came under India in 1971 war.

In his own words :

During partition in 1947, the entire Baltistan including Turtuk areas of Khapulu district then was in Pakistan until the split occurred in the aftermath of 1971 war, followed by cease-fire which came into force with effect from 1700 hours on December 17. The focus in the 1971 Indo-Pak War was on East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, although the war was also fought along the Cease Fire Line (CFL) in Turtuk area on Ladakh’s north-western border with Pakistan. Chalungka was until then (1971) the last border village of Pakistan. In 1971 Major Chewang Rinchen of the Ladakh Scouts and his troops captured four out of the 14 villages in Baltistan, with a total area of 804 sq km, before the ceasefire was declared on December 17. Those four villages are Thang, Tyakshi, Turtuk and Chulungkha. There are voluminous literature on partition of India as a unique event and the collapse of the state of Pakistan creating Bangladesh in 1971. However, scholars and specially partition's have shown laxity in bringing the partition event of 1971 in Ladakh within the realm of intellectual and academic discourse. When the border was drawn it was drawn all of sudden resulting division of hundreds of families. Its been more than four decades people are longing to meet their relatives stranded across the border, yet no arrangement has been made by both the states (India and Pakistan).

We Request Mr.Konchok Paldan to prepare a concrete speech on this whole issue.Konchok Paldan is doing his PhD from JNU New Delhi and can reach him on aldanjnu2012@gmail.com