Meha Dixit
On the occasion of Diwali (October 31), a Hindu Festival of Lights, Indian and Chinese troops exchanged sweets at several border points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In October, an agreement was reached on disengagement of troops and patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, a breakthrough to end the over four-year stand-off between India and China. The 2020 border clashes between the two neighbors saw rare hand-to-hand combat between the Indian and Chinese soldiers along the LAC. Subsequently, thousands of soldiers were deployed on both sides of the border.
Militarization of the region has had an adverse impact on the semi-nomadic communities such as the Changpa people on the Indian side of the border.
Toiling amid the barren mountains, under the shadow of India-China border tensions, the lives of border residents were divested of peace and any hope for a settlement between the two neighbors. They have lost access to grazing land. The Chinese soldiers have reportedly taken over territories that, until a few years ago, were patrolled by the Indian Armed Forces. These pastures were easily accessed by the Indian farmers in the border region but in the last few years have shrunk dramatically. It remains to be seen whether the recent rapprochement between India and China can ameliorate the lives of the border residents.
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