Jelep La

Coordinates: 27°22′02″N 88°51′57″E / 27.367194°N 88.865747°E / 27.367194; 88.865747
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jelep La
Himalaya
Coordinates27°22′02″N 88°51′57″E / 27.367194°N 88.865747°E / 27.367194; 88.865747
Jelep La is located in Sikkim
Jelep La
Jelep La
Jelep La
Hanyu Pinyin
zélǐlā shānkǒu

Jelep La

Menmecho Lake
lies below the Jelep La.

Name

According to the Bengal District Gazetteer, Jelep-la, a Tibetan name, means "The lovely level pass, so called because it is the easiest and most level of all the passes between Tibet and Sikkim."[7]

According to scholar Alex Mckay, the Tibetan name is actually Wylie: rdzi-li-la,[6] which would mean a "shepherd's bronze pass".[8]

Geography

Map of the Indo-Tibetan trade route through Jelep La (marked in red), 1898
Jelep La trade route (Survey of India, 1937)

On the Indian side there are two routes to Jelep La, one through Gangtok and the other through Kalimpong.

The Kalimpong route boosted the local economies due to the trading of wool and furs during the 20th century. It passes through the towns of Rongli, Rhenock, Pedong, Algarah, in Sikkim and northern West Bengal.

The route from Gangtok passes through the towns of Sherathang, nearby

Changu lake and alongside Nathu La and through Kupup
.

The route is scenic with forests of rhododendrons blooming in spring. Numerous hamlets are scattered in the surrounding area. On the Tibetan side the pass leads to the Chumbi Valley of the Tibetan Plateau.

History

17th century

In the 17th century, Jelep La might have been under the control of an eastern Sikkimese Lepcha kingdom based at

Dalingkot (Wylie: Brda gling). However, the Bhutanese recaptured the post and executed Ajok.[9]

After this event, a major war erupted between Tibet and Bhutan, but Bhutan managed to repulse its much larger foe. The end result of the war is not entirely clear, but the Kalimpong area came under the control of Bhutan, and the present day East Sikkim, between Rhenock and Jelep La, might have come under the control of Tibet.

At the time of the Sino-Nepalese War, Sikkim lost much of its territory west of Teesta River to Nepal. Tibet apparently granted to Sikkim the present day East Sikkim region through unknown terms. By the time the British came on the scene, the area up to the Cho La–Jelep La range was under the control of Sikkim, and the Chumbi Valley beyond it was considered Tibet proper.

British Raj period

After the annexation of

British Expeditionary Force. Later in September the same year the British regained control of the area around the pass.[citation needed
]

With the growing Russian influence in Tibet, a British expedition was sent via Jelep La to Lhasa in 1904 led by Colonel Francis Younghusband. This expedition was met by hostile Tibetan forces which were defeated by the British. A trade agreement was then forced on the Tibetans in the absence of the 13th Dalai Lama, who had fled to Mongolia.[citation needed]

In 1910, to escape a Chinese invasion, the 13th Dalai Lama "accompanied by six ministers and a small escort" which included his close aide, diplomat and military figure

Calcutta by the Viceroy, Lord Minto, which helped to restore relations with the British.[12]

Modern period

After India's independence in 1947, Sikkim, which was then a monarchy, agreed to a special protectorate status and gave India the status of a suzerain nation and its defence and foreign affairs were managed by India. After the Chinese invasion of

better source needed
]

Sikkim became a part of India in early 1975 following a referendum. With the recent thawing in relations between India and China, plans are afoot to reopen the Jelep La[15] (following the July 6, 2006 reopening of the Nathu La).[16]

See also

Notes

Notes
  1. ^ Alternative spellings include Jelap La and Dzalep La.[2][3] Older British spellings are Jeylap[4] and Jyelap.[5]

References

Citations
  1. ^ a b Brown, Tours in Sikhim (1934), p. 142.
  2. ^ Smith, Aline and Sub-Alpine Vegetation (1913).
  3. ^ Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History (1984), p. 210.
  4. ^ Edgar, Report on a Visit to Sikhim (1874), p. 5.
  5. ^ Temple, The Lake Region of Sikkim (1881).
  6. ^ a b McKay, Alex (2013), Pilgrimage in Tibet, Taylor & Francis, p. 75,
    ISBN 978-1-136-80716-9
  7. ISBN 978-81-7268-018-3
    .
  8. ^ THL Tibetan to English Translation Tool: rdzi li la, The Tibetan & Himalayan Library, retrieved 1 August 2021.
  9. ^ Mullard, Opening the Hidden Land (2011), pp. 148–149.
  10. ^ Paget, William Henry (1907). Frontier and overseas expeditions from India. Indian Army Intelligence Branch. p. 42.
  11. ^ The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso Archived 2012-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, dalailama.com
  12. ^ Chapman, F. Spencer (1940), Lhasa – The Holy City, London: Readers Union Ltd. – via archive.org
  13. ^ "Business News Today: Read Latest Business news, India Business News Live, Share Market & Economy News".
  14. ^ "Will India and China fight a war again?". 26 September 2012.
  15. ^ "Documents signed between India and China during Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to China". www.mea.gov.in (Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India). 23 June 2003. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Nathula reopens for trade after 44 years". Zee News. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2006.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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