Demchok | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 32°42′00″N 79°26′58″E / 32.699910°N 79.449520°E | |
Country | India |
Union Territory | Ladakh |
District | Leh |
Tehsil | Nyoma |
Panchayat | Koyul |
Government | |
• Sarpanch | Ugrain Chodon |
Area | |
• Total | 33 ha (82 acres) |
Elevation | 4,200 m (13,800 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 78 |
• Density | 240/km2 (610/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
Census code | 906 |
[1][2] |
Demchok (Tibetan: ཌེམ་ཆོག, Wylie: Demchog, ZYPY: Dêmqog, historical: bDe-mChog)[3], also spelled Demjok, is a village and military encampment that is administered as part of the Nyoma tehsil in the Leh district of Ladakh by India.[1][4] The Indian-administered village was split off from the historical village of Demchok in the disputed Demchok sector after the 1962 Sino-Indian War between China and India, with the other part becoming the Chinese-administered Dêmqog.[5][6][7]: 39
History
The village of Demchok was mentioned in the Chronicles of Ladakh as the boundary point between Tibet and Ladakh demarcated in the 1684 Treaty of Tingmosgang.[8] In 1846–1847, a British boundary commission described Demchok as a village divided into two parts by a small rivulet.[9]
The village of Demchok was divided in two parts following the 1962 Sino-Indian War, with Demchok, Ladakh administered by India and Dêmqog, Tibet Autonomous Region administered by China.[5] The split did not divide any of the resident families.[5] The combined village had a total population of 150 living in 24 houses in 2005.[5]
Demchok was on an old route linking Ladakh and Tibet along the bank of the Indus River that is closed as of 2005.[5] Though the Kailash Lake Manasarovar is 300 km away, the route there is mostly through plains.[10]
In 2019, the sarpanch of Demchok said that residents of Demchok were moving to the town of Leh due to a lack of infrastructure and jobs.[11]
Description
The village lies 36.5 km east of Ukdungle (32°36′05″N 78°57′54″E / 32.6015°N 78.9651°E). The world’s highest motorable road passing through the Umling La pass (32°41′47″N 79°17′03″E / 32.6964°N 79.2842°E) in Ladakh at a height of 19,300 feet (5,900 m) connects to Demchok.[12][13]
The Line of Actual Control (LAC) passes along the southeast side of the village, following the Charding Nullah upstream from the nearby Indus River.
Demographics
The Indian-administered part of Demchok had 31 households and a population of 78 according to the 2011 Census of India. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 42.47%.[14] According to the sarpanch of Demchok in 2019, the village had a population of 69 people who are mostly nomads.[11]
Total | Male | Female | |
---|---|---|---|
Population | 78 | 43 | 35 |
Children aged below 6 years | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Scheduled caste | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Scheduled tribe | 64 | 37 | 27 |
Literates | 31 | 20 | 11 |
Workers (all) | 51 | 27 | 24 |
Main workers (total) | 49 | 26 | 23 |
Main workers: Cultivators | 5 | 5 | 0 |
Main workers: Agricultural labourers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Main workers: Household industry workers | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Main workers: Other | 42 | 21 | 21 |
Marginal workers (total) | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Marginal workers: Cultivators | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Marginal workers: Agricultural labourers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Marginal workers: Household industry workers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Marginal workers: Others | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Non-workers | 27 | 16 | 11 |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Blockwise Village Amenity Directory" (PDF). Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ Lack of infra forcing people to migrate from frontier, The Tribune, Chandigar, 17 July 2019.
- ^ Antiquities of Indian Tibet, Part (Volume) II, by A. H. Francke and edited by F. W. Thomas, (1926), pages 115-116.
- ^ https://leh.nic.in/about-district/administrative-setup/village/
- ^ a b c d e Puri, Luv (2 August 2005). "Ladakhis await re-opening of historic Tibet route". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
Administrative record books show that it has a population of 150 people living in 24 houses, all having solar-powered lights. The village itself was divided into two parts one held by India and the other by China after the 1962 Sino-Indian war, though there is not a single divided family. On the Chinese side one can spot two houses and the road seems to be in a poor condition.
- ^ "Ladakhis deplore Krishna's remark on Demchok road". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
- ^ Lamb, Alastair (1965). "Treaties, Maps and the Western Sector of the Sino-Indian Boundary Dispute" (PDF). The Australian Year Book of International Law. 1 (1): 37–52.
- ^ Lamb, Treaties, Maps and the Western Sector (1965), p. 38.
- ^ Lamb, The China-India border (1964), p. 68.
- ^ "expressindia.com - 'Issue of opening Demchok road with China taken up'". Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ^ a b Sharma, Arteev (17 July 2019). "Lack of infra forcing people to migrate from frontier". Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "BRO builds world's highest motorable road in Ladakh at 19,300 feet". Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ "Achievements of West Dte during the F/Y 2016-17" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Leh district census". 2011 Census of India. Directorate of Census Operations. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.