Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 31: Heralding a new bonhomie, the Indian and Chinese troops exchanged Diwali sweets on Thursday on five locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including the two hitherto disputed points in Ladakh, even as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeping his own tradition celebrated the festival with the jawans near the India – Pakistan border in Kutch district in Gujarat.
“The exchange of sweets between members of the troops of India and China took place at several border points along the LAC on the occasion of Diwali,” Army sources said. “The exchange took place at five Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) points along the LAC,” the sources added.
The sweet exchange between the two warring troops comes a day after the Indian and Chinese troops completed military disengagement from the Depsang and Demchock points in Ladakh in line with last week’s patrolling agreement. Sweets have been exchanged at Chushul Maldo and Daulat Beg Oldi in Ladakh, Banchha (near Kibutu) and Bumla in Arunachal Pradesh, and Nathula in Sikkim.
The patrolling deal called for removal of military personnel and infrastructure, including temporary camps, from the Depsang plains and Demchock, and withdrawal of troops to pre-April 2020 positions. The deal is expected to end the nearly four years of stand-off between the two armies and the military and diplomatic tension triggered by skirmishes and violent clashes in the Pangong Lake and Galwan regions in May-June 2020 resulting in the death of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley and an unknown number of casualties on the Chinese side.
Indian Army sources said the verification process – to cross-check that China had, in fact, withdrawn its troops, is ongoing, and that ground-level commanders from each side will inform the other prior to regular patrols “to avoid miscommunication”. Significantly, both Delhi and Beijing will each continue to have surveillance options in Depsang and Demchok.
The agreement was announced on Monday and, on the following Monday, a satellite image from the Depsang plains – from the ‘Y’ Junction – showed four vehicles and two tents. A second image, taken four days later, showed Indian military tents taken down and vehicles moving away, while images from Demchok showed temporary Chinese structures removed by October 25.
On the disengagement process Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said this week the Indian military was “trying to restore trust” in its Chinese counterpart. “This (rebuilding of trust) will happen once we are able to see each other, and convince and reassure each other, that we are not creeping into buffer zones that have been created,” the General said.
The de-escalation of military tension in the area will be taken up after disengagement is over. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar declined to give a timeline for the de-escalation, saying only it would not happen till Delhi is sure that its Beijing counterparts had honoured their side of the deal.
De-escalation is still a concern in other areas, including the Gogra-Hot Springs area in Ladakh, after Indian and Chinese forces backed down in September last year. However, intel indicates China continues to hold large swathes of Indian territory to the north, in the Depsang plains area.
Depsang is seen as critical for India since it provides access to the airstrip at Daulat Beg Oldie and prevents Chinese troops from threatening vital logistics centres in the area. Demchok, meanwhile is divided in two by the LAC; India controls the western part, which is claimed by China. “After de-escalation, how to manage the borders will be discussed,” he had said in Mumbai.
The India-China patrolling agreement was announced hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping were to visit Russia for the BRICS summit and held a bilateral meeting. Speaking after it was confirmed, Mr Modi told the Chinese leader, “It should be our priority to ensure there is peace and stability along our border” and stressed the need for “mutual trust and mutual respect.”
Meanwhile, Mr Modi celebrated the festival with the personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF), Army, Navy and Air Force near the Indo-Pak border in Gujarat’s Kutch district. “PM Modi reached Lakki Nala in Sir Creek area after landing at Koteshwar in Kutch from Ekta Nagar,” said a BSF official. “He celebrated Diwali by offering sweets to jawans,” the official added.
In a video shared by officials, PM Modi, wearing a BSF uniform, can be seen offering sweets to the personnel on board a patrol vessel. The Prime Minister wished the security personnel on the occasion of Diwali and said his wishes represent the feelings and gratitude of 140 crore Indians. “The country sees in you a guarantee of security and peace, the world sees India’s power and the enemy sees an end to evil intentions,” the Prime Minister said.
“There is a government now which cannot compromise with one inch of the nation’s borders. There was a time when a plan to usurp Sir Creek in the name of diplomacy was in the works. I had opposed it as Gujarat Chief Minister. Now, we don’t trust the enemy’s words, but our soldiers’ pledge,” he said.
Since 2014, when he took over the top job, Prime Minister Modi has spent Diwali with soldiers posted in different corners of the country. He visited Siachen in 2014, the Punjab border in 2015, Sumdo in Himachal Pradesh in 2016, Jammu and Kashmir’s Gurez sector in 2017, Uttarakhand’s Harsil in 2018, Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri in 2019 and Rajasthan’s Longewala in 2020. The Prime Minister’s 2021 Diwali was in Kashmir’s Nowshera, 2022 in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kargil and 2023 in Himachal’s Lepcha.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister attended celebrations on the occasion of National Unity Day, which marks the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, known for his key role in national integration after Independence in 1947.
The Prime Minister attended grand celebrations at Gujarat’s Kevadiya, where Sardar Patel’s grand statue — the Statue of Unity — is located. He said this National Unity Day is special because it coincides with Diwali. He also announced the beginning of the two-year celebrations of Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary.