Hot Springs, Chang Chenmo Valley

Hot Springs (traditional name: Kyam[2]) is a campsite and the location of an Indian border checkpost in the Chang Chenmo River valley in Ladakh near the disputed border with China. It is so named because there is a hot spring at this location.[2] The Line of Actual Control near Kongka Pass is only 3 kilometres (2 mi) to the east.[3]

Hot Springs

Kyam
Border checkpost
Hot Springs
Hot Springs
Coordinates: 34.30°N 78.95°E / 34.30; 78.95
Country India
Union territoryLadakh
DistrictLeh
Elevation4,700 m (15,400 ft)

Name

Historically, the name for the hot spring was Kyam[2] (Kiam, Kayam[4]). The Chinese still refer to it by this name.[5]

Geography
Changchenmo Valley in a Survey of India map of 1916

Geologist Frederic Drew states that the Chang Chenmo river flows on a barren gravel bed, with occasional alluvial patches where vegetation is found. Hot Springs is one such location. In the vicinity are also other such patches, named Pamzal, Tsogstsalu (or Tsolu) and Gogra. They were historical halting places for travellers and trading caravans, with a supply of water, fuel and fodder. Nomadic Ladakhi graziers also used them for grazing cattle.[6]

Gogra is actually in a branch valley of the Changchenmo watered by the Khugrang River, northwest of Hot Springs. The Changlung River flows in from the northeast to join Khugrang at this location.[6][7][8]

History

In the late 1800s, the Maharaja Ranbir Singh at the request of the British made improvements to the trails and facilities of the Gogra campsite in order to improve trade with Yarkand.[9] The valley was also a popular hunting spot for British officers on leave.[8][10]

In Autumn 1959, the Kongka Pass incident occurred near here. At the time, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel[lower-alpha 1] were given the mandate of constructing this camp.[3] During the construction, the scouting team was captured by the PLA who had advanced to Kongka Pass since the previous years. On 21 October, the search team tasked to find the missing scouts encountered the Chinese and were caught in a firefight. That led to the death of 9 members during the firefight and 1 member later due to his injuries.[lower-alpha 2][4][13] They have been since honored as martyrs by the law enforcement in India annually on this day. In the 1960s, a Police Memorial was erected here at Hot Springs.[13]

See also

Notes
  1. The units manning the post were called "Indo-Tibetan Border Force" but they were regular members of the CRPF.[11] The present Indo-Tibetan Border Police was raised later in 1962.
  2. Bhola Nath Mullik dedicated his book "The Chinese Betrayal" to the nine policemen who lost their lives on 21 October 1959 near Hot Springs.[12]

References
  1. Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak (1890), p. 496.
  2. Geological Survey of India (1883). Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India. order of the Governor-General of India. p. 44. Gogra and Kyam. In the Changchenmo valley near the halting place Gogra (Gokra) and Kyam (Kium) hot springs are numerous. ... The spring at Kyam has a temparture of 147° F.
  3. Jindal, Akash (November–December 2018). "The Story of Hot Springs" (PDF). Indian Police Journal. No. Special Issue on Police Martyrdom. pp. 20–33. ISSN 0537-2429. Retrieved 4 January 2020. (p22) Karam Singh of ITBF was assigned the task of establishing outposts near the Chinese Occupation Line ... “Hot Springs” was barely three Km far from the site where Chinese Army had intruded.
  4. "Notes, Memoranda and letters Exchanged and Agreements signed between The Governments of India and China" (PDF). White Paper III. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. November 1960 – March 1960. Retrieved 4 January 2020 – via Claude Arpi. [Chinese interrogation of Karam Singh] We established a checkpost at Kayam and we had to establish one at Shamul Lungpa. On 20th October, 1959, our two men missed. On the morning of 21st October 1959 Tyagi took 60 men and reached the hill (battle field). ... [Indian debriefing of Karam Singh] we had inadequate cover and the Chinese were in a favourable position ... five of us were made to carry the dead body of a Chinese soldier who had been killed.
  5. "中华人民共和国外交部给印度驻华大使馆的照会（1965年9月16日）" [Note by the Chinese Foreign Ministry to the Indian Embassy in China (16 September 1965)] (in Chinese). RedChinaCn.net. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020. 基阿姆温泉建立哨所
  6. Drew, Frederic (1875). The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories: A Geographical Account. E. Stanford. pp. 329–330 – via archive.org.
  7. Ward, A.E. (1896). The Tourist's And--sportsman's Guide to Kashmir and Ladak, &c. Thacker, Spink. p. 106. The Changlung stream joins the Kugrang near Gogra
  8. Hayward, G. W. (1870). "Journey from Leh to Yarkand and Kashgar, and Exploration of the Sources of the Yarkand River". Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 40: 33–37. doi:10.2307/1798640. ISSN 0266-6235. (p33) 'Kiam' and 'Gogra' located near bottom of last map insert ... (p37) Chang Chenmo is now well known, being visited every year by at least half-a-dozen officers on long leave to Kashmir. The game to be found...
  9. Accounts and Papers. East India. XLIX. House of Commons, British Parliament. 1874. pp. 23–33. (p23) From Gogra there are two routes to Shadula in Yarkand (p33) Every endeavour has been made to improve the Changchenmo route--serais having been built at some places, and depots of grain established as far as Gogra
  10. H.I.N. (1902). "Sport in the Changchenmo Valley, Ladakh". The Navy and Army Illustrated. Vol. 15. London: Hudson & Kearns. p. iv.
  11. Martyrs of CRPF, police.gov.in (Indian Police web site), Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  12. Mullik, BN (1971). My Years with Nehru--The Chinese Betrayal. Allied. pp. Dedication page – via archive.org and PAHAR. To the memory of THE NINE POLICEMEN (capitalization in text) who were killed by the Chinese near Hotsprings in Ladakh on October 21, 1959, and who, by their supreme sacrifice, made the country aware of the true nature of Communist China.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  13. Bhatnagar, R.R. (November–December 2018). "Hot Springs: Saga of Heroism" (PDF). Indian Police Journal. No. Special Issue on Police Martyrdom. p. 16. ISSN 0537-2429. Retrieved 4 January 2020. Fighting gallantly nine men laid down their lives and ten were wounded. Later on, one of the injured also succumbed to his injuries. ... Seven men were taken Prisoners of War by PLA

Bibliography
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