Kailash Mansarovar Yatra closed for 5 years… What is the agreement with India that China is not accepting?

New Delhi: China is looking for every opportunity to trouble India. Sometimes by giving loans to India’s neighboring countries and sometimes by using some other trick to bring them to its side. Something similar is being done by it regarding the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is closed for Indians for the fifth consecutive year since 2020. Both official routes are closed. China opened the route through Nepal last year but it is practically closed for Indians due to strict rules. Corona is being cited as the reason for the closure of the Yatra, but in reality it seems to be a strategy of China since the India-China border tension since 2020.

News18 has obtained information from the Ministry of External Affairs through RTI regarding the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. It also contains copies of the agreements made with China in 2013 and 2014. It is clear in these agreements that China cannot unilaterally end these agreements without notice. The consent of both countries is necessary for any change.

What were the first and second agreements?
First Agreement: In 2013, the agreement was signed between the then Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In this, the route of travel through the Lipulekh pass was opened. According to the first agreement, it was valid for five years from 2013 and would automatically increase for every five years, unless a party gives a written notice six months in advance. The agreement states that both the parties can make changes in it by mutual consent.

Second Agreement: In 2014, an agreement was signed between the then foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Wang Yi to start the journey through Nathu La pass. There was something similar in the second agreement as well. The agreement states that a large number of Indian pilgrims go to Kailash Mansarovar through tour operators. China had agreed to provide necessary facilities to these pilgrims. The second agreement states that Indian pilgrims will be able to enter or exit China through Nathu La pass. Its process was decided through diplomatic channels. The third option was to go to China through private operators via Nepal. In all cases, Indians needed a Chinese visa.

Pretense in the name of concessions through Nepal
China opened its borders through Nepal last year. But made the rules very strict for Indians. Many restrictions were imposed including increasing the fees, which made it almost impossible for Indians to go on Kailash Yatra. In January this year, only 38 Indians took an aerial view of Kailash Mansarovar from Nepalganj in Nepal in a chartered plane.

Maybe we don’t need to go to China anymore
India has developed a place on Lipulekh peak in Dharchula, Uttarakhand, from where Mount Kailash will be clearly visible. The Uttarakhand government has announced that pilgrims will be able to see Mount Kailash from here from September 15. The Uttarakhand government has said that due to the closure of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra for 5 years, Shiva devotees were not able to see Mount Kailash. Therefore, the government has decided that it will make them see Kailash from near Old Lipulekh.