Daulat Beg Oldi
Daulat Beg Oldi is a historic campsite and current military base located in Ladakh, India on an ancient trade route connecting Ladakh to the Tarim Basin. It is named after Sultan Said Khan, who died here on his return journey after the invasion of Ladakh and Kashmir. The Chip Chap River flows just to the south of Daulat Beg Oldi from east to west. Daulat Beg Oldi also has one of the world's highest airstrips, at an altitude of 5,065 meters.
Location and physical conditions
Daulat Beg Oldi lies near the easternmost point of the Karakoram Range in a cold desert region in the far north of India, just 8 km south of the Chinese border and 9 km northwest of the Aksai Chin Line of Actual Control between China and India. Other than Siachen Glacier military bases, it is India's northernmost settlement. The nearest civilian town is Murgo to the south, which has a small population of Baltis.The Indian government first announced plans in 2001 to construct a motorable road from Leh to its destination at Daulat Beg Oldi. The road was completed in 2019. The 255-km is Darbuk-Shyok-DBO Road runs at elevations between 4,000–5,000 metres. The travel time is said to be six hours.
Temperature plummets as low as -55 C in the winters. The weather deteriorates frequently with strong icy winds lashing much of DBO. DBO has very little if any vegetation or wildlife. Communication is possible only through INMARSAT phones.
History
Mughal era (Etymology)
Daulat Beg Oldi literally means "spot where the great and rich man died" in Turkic. There are various folklore about whom this refers to—such as the tale about this place being the location where a large caravan was destroyed, or the tale about this place being the burial site of a rich man and his treasure.According to British colonial era surgeon Henry Walter Bellew, Daulat Baig Oldi means "the lord of the state died here" and the lord refers to early 16th century Sultan Said Khan of Yarkent Khanate. The sultan went on a military campaign invading Ladakh and Kashmir in the name of Islam in the early 1530s. He purportedly died at this place while returning to Yarkent. He is sometime mentioned with title of Ghaza for his military expeditions.
The account of this military expedition was recorded by his general Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, who was the Sultan's first cousin, in the work of history Tarikh-i-Rashidi .
In Autumn of 1531, the Sultan Said Khan left Yarkand with Haidar and a few thousand men. Upon first time crossing the Karakorum, the Sultan encountered severe altitude sickness, but he managed to recover. In the course of a few months of campaigning, they were able to devastate Nubra Valley. As winter approached, they split forces. The Sultan left for Baltistan; Haidar left for Kashmir. In Baltistan, the Sultan encountered a population of friendly Muslims, but he turned them killing and enslaving them, possibly because they were Shiites which was heretic to orthodox Yarkandi Sunnis. On the way to Kashmir, Haider defeated the Dras near Zoji La. In Kashmir, he and his troops were hosted by the king of Srinagar. In the spring, the two parties met up again in Maryul, the Sultan decided to return to Yarkand, but he instructed Haider to conquer Tibet for Islam before his departure.
On his way back to Yarkand in Summer of 1533, the Sultan once again suffered severe altitude sickness. This time he succumbed to his illness near Karakoram Pass. Bellow argues that the location of his death was here at Daulat Beg Oldi. The news of Sultan's death led to a bloody succession which saw the ascension of Abdurashid Khan. Abdurashid Khan recalled the forces in Tibet and exiled Haidar. By then, Haidar had some successes against the Changpa Tibetans of Baryang, but his forces suffered greatly from the altitude and elements. By the time the army returned to Yarkand, of the starting few thousands, less than a dozen were left. The exiled Haidar received the refuge from his maternal aunt in Badakhshan. He eventually joined the ranks of Mughal Empire where he wrote the Tarikh-i-Rashidi.
Modern era
The trade route via the Karakoram Pass was used by caravans traveling between Leh and the Tarim Basin. DBO is believed to have been a stopping point for the caravans but not known to have any permanent civilian population. India and China sealed their borders after the 1962 India-China War, ending most of the cross-border trade.In April 2013, a platoon-sized contingent of the People's Liberation Army established a campsite 30 km southeast of DBO, a location in the Indian military's "DBO sector." In reference to their own perception of the LAC's location, India initially claimed that the Chinese camp was 10 km on their side, later revising this to a 19 km claim, and claimed that Chinese military helicopters had violated Indian airspace during the incident. In early May, both sides withdrew their units further back.
Advanced Landing Ground
The Indian Army maintains helipads and a gravel air strip here, the highest airstrip in the world. Routine sorties are carried out using An-32 aircraft to provide relief and supplies to the troops stationed nearby. The base was established during the Sino-Indian conflict in 1962, with the first landing by Squadron Leader C.K.S Raje who set a record for the world's highest aircraft landing at the time. It was operated with American-supplied Fairchild Packets from 1962 to 1966, whenit had to be closed down suddenly when an earthquake caused loosening of the surface soil, making the area unsuitable for fixed-wing aircraft. Work was undertaken to make the airfield operational again, and was marked on 31 May 2008, when an Indian Air Force An-32 landed.
The Indian Air Force first landed transports here between 1962 and 1965 and then after a gap for 43 years, the IAF started landing at DBO in 2008. In a significant demonstration of its capabilities, the Indian Air Force landed a C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft in Daulat Beg Oldie on 20 August 2013, thirty kilometers from where the 2013 Daulat Beg Oldi Incident took place in April 2013. This landing could qualify as a world record for a medium-lift aircraft landing at this altitude.