In a significant step towards de-escalating India-China tensions , Kailash Mansarovar Yatra will resume this year from June after a five-year hiatus, with 750 pilgrims expected to visit for pilgrimage.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will be organizing the yatra.
“This year, 5 batches, each consisting of 50 Yatris, and 10 batches, each consisting of 50 Yatris, are scheduled to travel through Uttarakhand State crossing over at Lipulekh Pass, and through Sikkim State crossing over at Nathu La Pass, respectively,” MEA said in a statement.
The yatra marks a factor of cooperation between India and China, whose relationship plummeted after the 2020 border standoff in which at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed in Galwan valley. The yatra was first halted after the COVID-19 pandemic but got extended after the lockdown was lifted due to the Indo-Sino tensions.
The de-escalation process was initiated in October last year, when the two nations chalked up an agreement on disengagement and patrolling of troops along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
The reinstatement of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has been on top agendas for the Indian government, the negotiations for which gained pace after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri라이브 바카라 visit to China in January this year.
The Indian Express reported that the resumption of the yatra was officially discussed for the first time when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in November last year on the sidelines of the G-20 leaders’ summit in Brazil라이브 바카라 Rio de Janeiro.
Later it was discussed at the Special Representatives meet in Beijing between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in December.
The pilgrimage is considered holy amongst Hindu, Buddhist and Jain pilgirms.
Now the negotiation will shift to sharing of data on trans-border rivers, direct flights, visas issues and exchange of media and think tanks between the two countries, according to media reports.
