Why Kailash Belongs to India?
The geographical extent of J&K included the areas now under Pakistani occupation, that is, Pakistan-occupied Ladakh (PoL), as well as the Trans-Karakoram Tract or Shaksgam Valley, and the Aksai Chin Plateau.
One important fact that is generally ignored is that Maharaja Hari Singh’s Instrument of Accession referred to him as “Shriman Inder Mahinder Rajrajeswar Maharajadhiraj Shri Hari Singhji, Jammu & Kashmir Naresh Tatha Tibbet adi Deshadhipati”.
That is, he was not just the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir but also of the areas of eastern Ladakh, including Aksai Chin, as well as the territory he controlled inside Tibet.
Accordingly, J&K’s territory included jurisdiction over Minser (Menser) estate, which consisted of a cluster of villages located 296 kilometres deep inside Chinese territory at the foot of the holy Mount Kailash on the bank of Manasarovar Lake.
Historically, territory up to Kailash, Rudok, and areas of Burang bordering Nepal belonged to Ladakh kingdom until the 5th Dalai Lama, and his troops snatched away to make parts of Tibet in 1684. It’s time to rethink India’s territorial extent.
