Kampa
Kampa Dzong
Kampa Dzong, Tibet 1904
Kampa Dzong, Tibet 1904
Kampa Dzong, 1938
Russian artist Nicholas Roerich's 1938 painting of Kampa Dzong

Kampa or Kamba Dzong,[1][2][3][a] (Gampa Dzong in Standard Tibetan,[6][b] and Gangba Xian in Chinese)[c] is a Tibetan town north of Sikkim.[8] It is the headequarters Kamba County in the Shigatse Prefecture. It is marked by an iconic hill-top fort, much admired by the expeditions travelling to Mount Everest during the early 20th century. It also used to be a border trading post for Sikkimese traders from North Sikkim, prior to the Chinese annexation of Tibet.

History

Traditional Tibetan carpet making is thought[by whom?] to have originated in Kampa Dzong.[9][10]

Ernst Schäfer 1938 Tibetexpedition, Reiter, Burg Kampa Dzong

In June 1903, Colonel Francis Younghusband, serving as British commissioner to Tibet, led a diplomatic mission consisting of five officers and five hundred troops to Kampa Dzong.[11] The objective of the mission was to meet Chinese and Tibetan representatives and discuss mutual non-aggression and trade agreements. After being kept waiting for five months before the Chinese and Tibetan representatives arrived, the mission was recalled.[12]

Sino-Indian relations

The Sino-Indian border along the Sikkim is well-defined by the 1890 Convention of Calcutta signed by Britain and China. Despite this, frenetic construction of border infrastructure and troop deployment has been witnessed along the border.[13] During the 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes, one of the first clashes was reported at the Naku La pass, where a scuffle broke out between the Chinese and Indian forces, resulting in injuries to eleven soldiers.[14][15] During the 12th round of disengagement talks, the commanders of the two sides agreed to establish a hotline between the PLA base at Kampa Dzong and the Indian Army base at Kongra La [Wikidata]. It was meant to enhance ties between the two armies and maintain peace and tranquility along the border.[16]

Notes

  1. ^ The variations Khampa[4] and Khamba [5] are also found, typically in the literature on the Younghusband expedition and its aftermath.
  2. ^ Tibetan: གམ་པ་རྫོང, Wylie: gam pa rdzong, THL: gam pa dzong, ZYPY: Kamba Zong.[7]
  3. ^ Chinese: 岗巴县; pinyin: Gǎng bā xiàn,[7]

References

  1. ^ Bell, Tibet Past and Present (1924), p. 66.
  2. ^ Lamb, Britain and Chinese Central Asia (1960), p. 156.
  3. ^ Chan, Victor (1994), Tibet Handbook, Chico, CA: Moon Publications, pp. 839–840 – via archive.org
  4. ^ Powers & Holzinger, History as Propaganda (2004), p. 79.
  5. ^ French, Younghusband (1994), p. 175.
  6. ^ Tibet 2002: A Year Book, Tibet Information Network, London, p. 145.
  7. ^ a b "Geographical names of Tibet AR (China): Tibet Autonomous Region". KNAB Place Name Database. Institute of the Estonian Language. 2018-06-03.
  8. ^ Sikkim: a traveller's guide, Volume 2001 by Arundhati Ray, Sujoy Das
  9. ^ Tibet handbook: with Bhutan, by Gyurme Dorje
  10. ^ Of Wool and Loom, The Tradition of Tibetan Rugs, by Trinley Chodrak and Kesang Tashi
  11. ^ History as propaganda: Tibetan exiles versus the People's Republic of China by John Powers, p. 80
  12. ^ The great game: on secret service in high Asia, by Peter Hopkirk, p 507
  13. ^ Kumar, Ankit (26 March 2021). "Exclusive: Satellite images show active Chinese posts near Sikkim's Naku La". India Today.
  14. ^ "Indian and Chinese soldiers injured in cross-border fistfight, says Delhi". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 11 May 2020. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  15. ^ Sud, Vedika; Westcott, Ben (11 May 2020). "Chinese and Indian soldiers engage in 'aggressive' cross-border skirmish". CNN. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  16. ^ Vasudeva, P. K. (15 August 2021), "A thaw in ties", The Statesman (Kolkata)

Bibliography

External links

28°16′49″N 88°31′19″E / 28.2803°N 88.522°E / 28.2803; 88.522

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