The McMahon Line- a Century of Discord

by J J Singh

  Figure 10: Evolution of the McMahon Line (1913–14)—The Monyul and Tawang frontier region

  Some of the tribes living in the upper reaches of the Himalayas are Buddhists. They are ethnically different from the Tibetans, but because of their religion they are culturally closer to the peoples in eastern Bhutan and Tibet. Intercourse between the Monpas, Membas, the Sherdukpen highlander tribes and the Bhutanese and Tibetans was limited to barter trade, cultural and religious ties. The Tibetans and Chinese considered themselves culturally more evolved and therefore superior to these tribes inhabiting the southern slopes of the Himalayas. They have traditionally and culturally treated these tribes in an exploitative, shabby and often cruel way.

  This part of the frontier along the Himalayan watershed stretches over 600 kilometres from the north-east of Bhutan and up to the famed ‘Tsangpo bend’ around Namcha Barwa. It is garlanded by the Tsangpo in the north and by the Brahmaputra in the south. On the Tibetan side are the areas of Takpo, Tsari, Kongbo, Pomed, Pemako and a part of Monyul. These southern areas of central Tibet are extremely remote, and are isolated from other areas by the Tsangpo, which is a major obstacle to movement in the region. As a result, traditionally, control of this region by Lhasa was nominal, and certain areas such as Pomed and Pemako were practically independent. The Great Fifth Dalai Lama had his origins in the Tsang region, the sixth belonged to Urgeling near Tawang, and the thirteenth Dalai Lama was born in a place called Trung Kang in the Takpo region.

  The population of the Monyul region consists of Monpas (Monbas) and Tibetans. The Monpas are ethnically different from the Tibetans, and their language is also distinct from the Tibetan spoken in Lhasa, although there are some common words. There is, in fact, greater similarity between the languages spoken by the people of eastern Bhutan and the Monpas. The Tibetans are settled mostly in high-altitude areas, 3,000 metres and above, whereas the hardier Monpa people are found even at lower altitudes and warmer areas. Tsona Dzong and Tawang were the frontier towns and commercial hubs of the Monyul region. Three annual markets were held in Tsona Dzong, where merchants from Tibet and the lower Monyul area would congregate. The head lama, or abbot, of the famous Tawang monastery, along with the two Dzongpons of Tsona, were accorded high protocol in the Monyul area, the specific limits of which were undefined. Better known as ‘Ganden Namgyel Lhatseling’, the Tawang monastery houses about 500 monks. It was built between 1680 and 1681, under the supervision of Mera Lama, who had undertaken this mission on the urging of the fifth Dalai Lama.

  Referring mainly to the Monpas inhabiting the Tawang area, Captain Bailey, who toured the area a century ago, said: ‘Both in the nature of the country they inhabit, their customs, language, dress and method of building houses the Monbas are very distinct from the Tibetans, and resemble more the inhabitants of Bhutan and Sikkim. Their country is low lying and well wooded and their villages large and prosperous.’4

  Looking eastwards from Point 6110 (20,045 feet, i.e., 6110 metres), the approximate tri-junction of Bhutan, Assam and Tibet is about 21 kilometres south of the Me La. For the first 50 kilometres or so, the geography has not presented a clearly definable and unbroken crest line. Here, therefore, the traditional boundary was evolved over the years, keeping in mind, relatively speaking, the most prominent ridge or watershed, the traditional and ethnic features of the population, and other factors. This region is loosely referred to as Monyul, the land of the Monpas. Tawang controls the southern part of Monyul, going down to Dirang Dzong and beyond. Western Monyul is the area around Tashigong Dzong in Bhutan. The high-altitude region between Tsona Dzong and Tawang is flanked by two rivers flowing in the north–south direction, making delineation of an east–west boundary an even more complex exercise. The first river that cuts across the Himalayas from Tibet is the Namjyang Chu, which is joined by two small tributaries, the Le Chu and Namka Chu flowing from the west, one to the north and the other to the south of the most prominent and dominating ridge, named Thagla. The last Tibetan settlements along the Namjyang Chu Valley are Le and Gordong, north of the Thagla ridge. Nine kilometres upstream of Le is ‘Lepo Tsukang’—‘custom house’—where traders had to pay 10 per cent tax to go further into Tibet, which indicated that they had entered Tibetan territory. Immediately to the north of Namka Chu is the Indian border outpost of Khinzemane, which lies at the foot of the Thagla ridge. There is a small Monpa settlement nearby, known as Pangchen. These landmarks became famous because of the fierce battle fought between the Chinese and Indian armies in October 1962. South of the Namka Chu is the Monpa village of Lumpo. Graziers of this village used to take their cattle to the Namka Chu Valley for grazing. The Namjyang Chu flows 20 kilometres west of Tawang. About 15 kilometres to the east of Tawang is the Tsona or Sho Chu (which later becomes the Tawang Chu), which too courses down in a parallel and southward direction from the Tsona Dzong area in Tibet. After making a loop around Tawang, it joins the Namjyang Chu before entering Bhutan, where it forms part of the Manas river. This river, along with the waters of its affluents originating in eastern Bhutan, eventually flows into the mighty Brahmaputra at Goalpara in Assam.

  Hypothetically speaking, if one were to define a natural boundary applying the watershed principle between the Tsangpo Valley in Tibet and the Brahmaputra basin in Assam, the line would run far to the north of the present boundary alignment, known as the McMahon Line, particularly in this sector. Such an alignment encompassing Tsona Dzong was initially proposed by the General Staff at Simla in June 1912, but based on the timely inputs provided by Captains Bailey and Morshead in November 1913, McMahon decided to follow the watershed from Bum La along the traditional border about 25 kilometres north of Tawang. The line was extended westwards to the Namjyang Chu Valley and thence to the Bhutan border. Between Bumla and Tsona Dzong lay the Tibetan settlement of Nagdo, with a toll post, or Lepo Tsukang, nearby, where tax was collected from any trader going to Tsona Dzong from the Tawang side5 along the well-established trade route from Tibet to Udalguri in Assam.

  Proceeding eastwards from the frontier outpost of Bumla, located at an altitude of 4,430 metres, one descends 1,372 metres to the Sho Chu/Tawang Chu gorge and then climbs up almost vertically about 3,000 metres to the crest of the highest and most formidable glaciated region of the eastern Himalayas, the Zanglang ridge, referred to as Zangnan Gudi in some maps (Figure 10). This 250-kilometre range follows a north-easterly alignment and has a number of virgin peaks ranging between 6,100 and 7,000 metres, including the Kangeddo, Gori Chen, Kangto and the revered Takpa Shiri, with several glaciers. This impassable high-altitude barrier makes for a natural divide and has three known passes, which generally remain open from May to October.

  Tulung La, at 5,258 metres, is the most prominent pass of the three. It was crossed by Bailey during his path-breaking adventure on 3 October 1913. He recorded its height quite accurately as 5,259 metres! An amazing achievement, considering he had antiquated equipment such as the hypsometer, theodolite and plane table, which had to be lugged all over such terrain. Below this pass, one descends about 2,440 metres over 16 kilometres to Mago, a small village inhabited by a sub-tribe of the Monpas. Bailey noticed a lot of madder—a dark-red dye produced from the root of a plant which is used extensively in this region to colour monks’ robes and other garments—being hauled to Mago by various tribesmen for trade. Apparently, Mago lies on an alternative, shorter but more difficult trade route to Tibet via the Tsona Dzong, Tsethang, Takpo and Kongbo regions, which are inhabited by southern Tibetans. Another reason for use of this route may have been to avoid the excessive taxation on the traditional trade route from Tawang to Tsona Dzong.

  The Takpo, Kongbo and Pemako regions in the Tsangpo Valley north of the Himalayas are adjacent to the Monyul as one goes eastwards; they are predominantly inhabited by people of central Tibet. These regions constitute southern Tibet. The sacred area of Tsari and the venerated mountain of Takpa Shiri lie in this region. The well-known and revered monastery of Sangak Choling is also situ
ated in this area. The Tsangpo Valley is the most productive of the valleys in this region because of its rich soil and its irrigation by the waters of the Tsangpo and many of its smaller tributaries and streams.

  The next river that cuts across the Himalayas is the Subansiri, with its main tributaries, the Chayul or Loro Karpo Chu and the Tsari Chu (shown in Figure 11). Migyitun is the last Tibetan settlement on the Tsari Chu. These rivers cut through the main mountain chain at two points, 35 kilometres apart as the crow flies, and their confluence is approximately 40 kilometres downstream at a village called Murang, which is fairly deep into tribal territory. The Tsari area has been considered to be very sacred since ancient times. No animal, bird, fish or even insect can be killed in this holy land; even tilling of the land is a taboo. Pilgrims from all over Tibet and other parts of the world used to come to do a full parikrama, or circumambulatory trek, of about 190 kilometres along the Tsari Chu to the river junction at Murang, and return upstream along the Chayul or Loro Karpo Chu, ending the pilgrimage at Chozam. This pilgrimage, called Ringkor, took around sixteen days. It is performed once every twelve years, during the ‘monkey’ year. When entering tribal territory, the Tibetans paid an annual tax of 144 goats to the tribal chiefs and also gave salt, swords and tsampa as bribes in order to ensure their safety as pilgrims. And yet cases of theft, molestation and abduction for slavery had been taking place here occasionally. A shorter circuit involving a traverse of about 80 kilometres around a sacred peak called Dakpa Shelri (5,732 metres) was called Kingkor. This involves a week-long trek and is performed annually during the summer. There were rest houses along the pilgrim circuit, and they were manned throughout the period of the pilgrimage. A villager was stationed at each of these houses; his responsibility was to provide hot water and fuel to the travellers.6 Also in this area are a cave and a sacred lake, the Tsari Tsokar, which lies about 15 kilometres north of Tsari and can be reached after crossing the Ja La (4,640 metres). These too are visited by a number of Buddhist pilgrims.

  Figure 11: Evolution of the McMahon Line (1913–14)—The Subansiri Frontier

  The Kongbo area lies on the northern side of the Tsangpo Valley and dominates the ancient road leading to Lhasa from the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan of China. To its east lies the Pomed region, which comprises the valley of Po Tsangpo, a major tributary of the Tsangpo, and includes the area where the mighty river almost hugs the main Himalayan chain, a distance of only 10–15 kilometres separating the two. It is here that the river cuts its way through the deepest gorge in the world and forms the ‘Great Bend’—a geographical marvel (Figure 12). This wondrous area, circumscribed by the Tsangpo and its gorges around Namcha Barwa, is called Pemako. This ‘land of promise’ derived from ‘ancient prophesies’ is inhabited by Monpas and some Lopas, who are descendants of earlier settlers. Originally, this valley was inhabited by the Abors, who were pushed southwards by the Monpa or Drukpa immigrants during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They had come in search of this land from Tawang and adjoining areas in eastern Bhutan. They continue to speak in a Monpa dialect, although they speak and dress like the Tibetans of this region. No definitive boundaries of this fabled area of Pemako exist.7

  Figure 12: Evolution of the McMahon Line (1913–14)—Siang frontier region

  In his book Le Thibet Revolte, published in 1910, M. Bacot, a French traveller, in a brief and striking narrative, describes this region as ‘a land where rivers flowed with milk, where crops grew without the necessity of any labour, and whence their religion would spread over the whole world’. His Tibetan story said: ‘When their religion was persecuted in Tibet, the people should go to Pemako.’

  There is also the myth of a ‘mountain of glass’ to be found somewhere in the watershed area of the Dibang and Lohit rivers. Many Tibetans have travelled towards this region in the hope of finding this Shangri-La, but have failed to locate it because of the ‘determined hostility of the Mishmis’. Most of those who migrated to the highlands near the sources of the Dibang river perished because of the unsustainability of the land, disease and the incessant hostile actions of the Mishmi tribes.8

  The Pobas of Pomed were a mixed race of Chinese and Tibetan origin. It is believed that some Chinese soldiers had settled down in this area during the late eighteenth century.9 Having intermarried with local Tibetan women, the Pobas speak in a Tibetan dialect akin to the dialect of the Khambas. Over the centuries they had acquired an autonomous status, which they were very averse to losing, and therefore were not easy to subdue.

  East of the Tsari Chu tributary of the Subansiri, going all the way to Pemako and the great bend of the Tsangpo, is a continuous mountain range of about 230 kilometres. With heights of 4,000–6,100 metres, this chain forms a perfect watershed, with smaller rivers draining into the Tsangpo to the north, and the Siyom river and other affluents flowing southwards and joining the Siang, also known as the Dihang, which later becomes the Brahmaputra. This range ends abruptly with one of the highest peaks of the eastern Himalayas, a towering massif called Namcha Barwa (7,758 metres) before the Tsangpo cuts through the range. On the other side, to the north of the Tsangpo, is another formidable peak, Gyala Peri (7,294 metres). These peaks are as sentinels guarding the deepest gorge in the world (4,878 metres approximately), which hides the great bend and a mythical ‘waterfall’ in its bowels. Because of the inaccessibility of this region for centuries, the world could not unravel the mystery of the origin of the Tsangpo, which twisted, churned and cut its way through the Himalayas. Meandering so, the mighty river does a parikrama around Namcha Barwa and cascades down from a height of 2,896 metres to 1,494 metres over a distance of about 250 kilometres before it exits into the Abor Hills at Gelling. This segment of the river is undoubtedly a geographical marvel without parallel. Thereafter, the river winds its way downstream for another 300 kilometres to form the Brahmaputra.

  The myth of the giant waterfall was busted authoritatively during the expedition of Captains Bailey and Morshead in 1912–13 and by Frank Kingdon-Ward in 1924, who reported the fall to be just about 9 metres high. This has been named the ‘rainbow fall’, as on a sunny day rainbows appear in the dense foam and spray thrown upwards to a height of about 15 metres by the volume and velocity of the water.10 This phenomenon enhances the visual impact of this waterfall. Ending another mystery, Bailey’s expedition also authoritatively confirmed that the Tsangpo, Siang and Dihang were names of the same river that became the Brahmaputra as it debouched from the hills near Pasighat and entered the Assam plains. Another waterfall of about 33 metres in the ‘great bend’ area is called the ‘hidden fall’, and was discovered near Tsangpo Badong in 1998.

  Siang to Myanmar Border

  East of the Siang river, the Tibet–Assam frontier traverses along a prominent mountain ridge for 150 kilometres to a peak called Kangri Karpo (5,335 metres), and then goes south-eastwards for another 310 kilometres till it hits the Lohit river at an altitude of about 2,744 metres between Rima and Kibithoo (Walong area). This ridge forms the natural watershed between the Dibang Valley on the southern side, the Chimdro Chu on the northern side and the Rong Thod/Gangri Karpo Chu on the north-eastern side. The Dibang and its numerous tributaries eventually join the Lohit at Sadiya, the well-known administrative centre of the north-eastern frontier of Assam. About 40 kilometres downstream, the confluence of these waters with the Siang or Tsangpo results, in the true sense, in the formation of the mighty Brahmaputra, one of the largest rivers in the world (see Figure 8).

  Upstream of Walong, the Lohit river is joined by the Dichu stream. Along the northern bank of this stream there is a prominent spur that climbs steeply for about 45 kilometres and joins the main ridge about 8 kilometres north of the Diphu Pass where approximately lies the tri-junction of the frontiers of Assam, Tibet and Myanmar (Figure 9). This place is on the highest ridge going in the north–south direction, making it a distinct watershed between the Lohit and the Irrawaddy Valleys. On this divide also lies the highest peak of Myanmar,
Hkakabo Razi, at 5,881 metres.

  11

  British Administration of Eastern Himalayan Region

  Assam and the Tribal Areas

  Since ancient times, Assam was an independent kingdom in the north-east of India. It has been home to a culturally rich and prosperous civilization in the fertile though flood-prone Brahmaputra Valley. Assam is divided and isolated to a large extent by the Brahmaputra, one of the largest rivers in the world. The great eastern Himalayan chain, extending slightly over 1,000 kilometres, forms this region’s natural boundary to the north, and the densely forested Patkai range its natural boundaries to the east and south. The Assam region, including the hill states surrounding it, is considered a place of unique biodiversity and is one of the world’s ecological hot spots. The Brahmaputra basin is over 712 kilometres in length and has a spread of 80 to 146 kilometres between Sadiya and Goalpara, where small hill ranges converge to isolate Assam from Bengal.

  The original inhabitants of Assam were at some stage displaced by people of Aryan stock, who were in turn defeated and their territories conquered in AD 1226 by the Tibeto-Burman Ahoms, a Shan tribe of upper Burma. Over the years, the Ahoms adopted Hinduism and were assimilated by the indigenous races of the valley. The Ahom dynasty ruled for about 600 years, during which a rich, integrated yet distinct Assamese culture came into being. However, the declining Ahom Empire was defeated by the British in the first Anglo-Burman war of 1824–26, by the end of which the British annexed the Brahmaputra Valley and the hills adjoining it by the Treaty of Yandabo of 24 February 1826. Under this treaty, the king of Burma renounced his sovereign rights over all of Assam and its dependencies, and the British became their virtual masters. They placed Purandar Singh, an Ahom prince, on the throne of upper Assam. Singh concluded another treaty with the British on 2 March 1833. However, five years later, on the pretext of his having defaulted in paying the annual tribute, the British resumed his territory and brought it directly under their control by a proclamation of the Governor General in October 1838. The six districts that were then carved out in Assam were Lakhimpur, Sibsagar, Darrang, Nowgong, Kamrup and Goalpara.1