Tinkar Valley is a Himalayan valley situated in the Darchula District in the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal. Located in the northwestern corner of Nepal at an elevation of , it borders Tibet region of China in the north and India's Uttarakhand state in the west. It houses the river Tinkar Khola, which drains into the Kali River near the village of Chhangru. Tinkar is the name of the other large village in the valley.
At the top of the Tinkar valley near the Tibet border is the Tinkar Pass (5,258 m), which provides a trading route for the Byansis of the region for the Tibetan trading centre Burang. However, the Tinkaris are said to prefer the Lipulekh Pass across the border in Indian territory due to its higher volume.: "We met a smiling rosy-faced Tinker [resident of Tinkar] on the top of Nirpaniah, who ... informed me that his pass is not so easy as Lipu Lekh, and the snow on it more troublesome, because his village has but 5 or 6 Man (families) whose small traffic is insufficient to make a good beaten path." Nepal has ongoing claims to the Lipulekh Pass, as part of the Kalapani territory dispute.
Geography
Tinkar is in the far-western region of Nepal, in the province of Sudurpashchim Province at the high end of the Great Himalayan range, elevation . It is the principal village in the valley of the Tinkar River (Tinkar Khola), which is a tributary of the Mahakali River (or Kali River and Sarda River). Mahakali serves as the western boundary of Nepal with India, beyond which lies the Indian region of Kumaon (part of the Uttarakhand state).
Along the Tinkar Valley, closer to the border, is another large village called Chhangru (or Changru; elevation ).
Lieutenant Henry Strachey, who visited in 1846, described Chhangru as situated on an elevated terrace at the foot of the mountain Kelirong, within the angle of the Tinkar–Kali confluence, at an elevation of approximately . He noted that the village was on unsafe ground, gradually descending by landslip into the bed of the Tinkar river. Strachey argued that Changru and Tinkar should not have been left to the Gorkhas, as "the true frontier line was the range of snowy mountains on the East, Tinkar, Nampa, and Api, on the other side of which lies the district of Marma, the northernmost division of Doti, and the inhabitants of which, like those of Dung, next south, are Khasia and not Bhotia."
The region across the border in Kumaon is also populated by Byansi people, with whom the Byansis of the Tinkar Valley have cultural and historical links. A third village called Ghaga, at the confluence of Tinkar and Nampa rivers, is populated by other classes of people.
Upstream along one of the headwaters of the Tinkar Khola is the Tinkar Pass (or "Tinkar Lipu") at the top of the Great Himalayan range, which provides a historical trading route for the Byansis to the Tibetan town of Burang. This pass is however insignificant for the overall economy of Nepal because the far-western region is cut off from the rest of the country by "high impassable mountains and glaciers". Manzard et al. state that the Tinkar Byansis also used to use the Lipulekh Pass because the Tinkar Pass is quite difficult to traverse.
While the general border runs along the Mahakali River, in the upper headwaters above the Kalapani village, it is the watershed of the streams that flow into the river. This was a decision made by the British Indian government in the 19th century.: "The map 'District Almora' published by the Survey of India [during 1865–1869] for the first time shifted the boundary further east beyond even the Lipu Khola (Map-5). The new boundary moving away from Lipu Khola follows the southern divide of Pankhagadh Khola and then moves north along the ridge." and : "The drainage area of the Kalapani lies wholly within British territory, but a short way below the springs the Kali forms the boundary with Nepal." (Emphasis added) Two significant peaks, P. 6172 and Om Parvat (5590 m), lie on this watershed range, which are popular trekking destinations. Nepal has ongoing claims to the territory beyond the watershed, up to the main headwater stream, which is termed the Kalapani territory.It's ours, The Economist, 2 July 1998.
History According to the Himalayan Gazetteer, the entire Byans region to the south as well as north of the Mahakali River used to be part of Kumaon. After the unification of Nepal in the 18th century, Nepal expanded northwest and conquered the kingdoms of Kumaon as well as Garhwal. The expansion lasted till 1815. In that year, the Anglo-Nepalese War saw the British general Ochterlony evict the Nepalese from Garhwal and Kumaon across the Mahakali River.: "Ochterlony forced Amar Singh Thapa to agree at Malaun to terms under which the Nepali army retired with their arms, and the territory between the Kali and Sutlej rivers came under the control of the British." After agreeing the Treaty of Sugauli, which made a territorial settlement along the Mahakali River, the Nepalese appealed to the British governor general that they were entitled to the areas to the east (here, southeast) of the Mahakali River. The British conceded the demand, and the Tinkar Valley with its large villages of Chhangru and Tinkar was transferred to Nepal.
The British, however, retained the areas to the northwest of the Mahakali River, including the Kuthi Valley and the Kalapani territory near the headwaters of the Mahakali. When the zamindars of Byans were informed of the decision to transfer Changru and Tinkar, they petitioned Commissioner G. W. Traill in March 1817, stating that the remaining six villages — Budhi, Garbyang, Nabi, Rongkong, Gunji and Kuti — were entirely dependent on the agricultural production of Changru and Tinkar, and that they would be forced to desert their villages or divert their entire trade to the Doti marts in Nepal if the transfer proceeded.. Thus the "parganah [of] Byans" got divided across the two countries.: "... this arrangement divided into two parts [the] parganah Byans, which had hitherto been considered as an integral portion of Kumaon as distinguished from Doti and Jumla.": Quoting Government of India's letter to the Almora officials: "... the occupation of the villages and lands of Pergunnah Byans on that side of the river, having taken place under erroneous view of the questions, they must now be transferred to the Nipaulese, however desirous the British Government may be to retain under its own sway the Zamindars and Inhabitants of those villages."
Since the British operated an open border with Nepal, allowing free movement of people across it, the normal intercourse of the Tinkaris with their fellow Byansis on the Indian side is likely to have continued unhindered. They continued to use the Lipulekh Pass on the Indian side for their commerce with the Tibetans.: "Tinkar pass reaches an altitude of 20,000 feet and is considerably more difficult to traverse than Lipu pass, which was the main route to Taklakot (Purang)." They also use the road on the Indian side to travel to Khalanga where they spend the winters as part of their transhumance practices. The footbridge at Sitapul near the mouth of Tinkar Khola is used to transit to the Indian side of the border. Likewise the zamindars (landholders) on the Indian side that owned land in Nepal continued to operate such lands.
The Tinkar Pass at the top of the Tinkar Valley is the de facto tri-junction between China, India and Nepal. Article 1 of the China–Nepal border treaty of 1961 states:
This being the precise geographical description of the location of the Tinkar Pass, the Border Pillar numbered 1 of the China–Nepal border was placed here.
Following the Chinese take-over of Tibet, India and Nepal jointly operated a number of checkposts along the Tibet border starting in 1952.: "The extent of these precautionary measures is reflected in the rise in the cost of these defence posts from $42,000 (1952) to $280,000 (1954)".... " The initiative reportedly came from Nepal. See Robert Trumbull in the New York Times, 16 February 1950." According to Nepalese geographer Buddhi Narayan Shrestha, one of these was at the Tinkar Pass. In 1969, Nepal asked for the Indian personnel to be withdrawn from the posts, and India did so, with the understanding that Nepal would continue to man the posts. Former Indian Army general Ashok K. Mehta states that none of the posts remained afterwards.Ashok K. Mehta, Delhi Can’t Anger Nepal Too — Kalapani Issue Must Be Resolved ASAP, The Quint, 17 December 2019. Subsequently, India stepped up security and surveillance on the Indian side of the Nepal–India border and also introduced a permit system for the use of Indian roads.Gokarna Dayal, I Used To Patrol With Arms In Kalapani 48 Years Ago: Nepal Police ASI, The Rising Nepal, 12 May 2020.
According to The Rising Nepal, a checkpost was established at the Tinkar village around 1972, by an Assistant Sub-Inspector, who was also in charge of patrolling up to Chhangru. The officer claimed to have patrolled up to the Kalapani village with arms once, along the Indian road, while the Indian security kept him under surveillance. He was denied a permit to visit it a second time.
After the 1962 border war between India and China, India closed the Lipulekh Pass at the top of the Kalapani river valley. The Byansis of Kumaon then used the Tinkar Pass for all their trade with Tibet.: "Lipu La, however, was closed in 1962, due to the strained Sino-Indian relations. Today remaining trade moves via Tinkar La.": "Previously there were two passes to Tibet, the Lipu pass (Lipu la) and the Tinkar pass (Tinkar la), but now only the Tinkar pass is accessible, since the Indians have closed Lipu pass to trans-Himalayan traffic." In 1997, India and China agreed to reopen the Lipulekh pass, and the use of the Tinkar Pass had declined.
Status According to the Chairperson of the Byas Rural Municipality, Chhangru is the last Nepali village along the Mahakali river heading north. He states that the roads on the Nepali side are bad and the villagers have to use the Indian roads to get to Chhangru. They have to obtain permits from the Indian administration for this purpose. He complained of the attitude of the Indian administrators, which he described as "condescending".Ram Chandra Bhandari, No border marks in Kalapani, locals at mercy of Indian administration, Lokantar, 10 November 2019.
There is a walk bridge over the Mahakali River near Chhangru called Sita Pul, which allows passage between India and Nepal. Nepal used to have a customs point at this location, which was abandoned during the conflict period, and has not yet been reinstated. During the conflict period, the area was controlled by the Maoist rebels, who charged "tax" (protection money) on wildlife trafficking through the Tinkar route. Illegal animal products from India are said to have been trafficked, including tiger skins, tiger bones and parts, musk deer pouches and yarsagumba. The Nepali Times journalists estimated that the rebels earned Rs. 35 million annually through such "taxes".K. C. Sharad, Kalapani's new ‘line of control’, Nepali Times, 10 September 2004. Such trafficking is still ongoing as of 2019.Sonia Awale, Nepal-China Connectivity Aid Wildlife Smuggling, The Pangolin Reports, 6 September 2019. "New trans-Himalayan roads have also made it easier for wildlife smugglers transporting contraband from India to China via Nepal. Besides Rasuwagadi, Olangchungola in Taplejung, Kimathanka in Sankhuwasaba, Ilam in eastern Nepal, Tinkar Pass in Darchula and Hilsa in Humla are new smuggling routes."