Joydeep Sircar
Encyclopedia
Joydeep Das is a mountain-traveller and pioneer mountain-historian. In 1979 he published his Himalayan handbook, an index of all the-then named peaks of 6096 meters (20000 feet) and above in Afghanistan
and the Indian subcontinent
giving chronological entries of expeditions up to 1975 to each peak with a brief summary of results and references to expedition reports, after a decade of solitary research. He was inspired in this formidable undertaking by the pronouncement of the late Soli S. Mehta , Hony. Local Secretary of The Himalayan Club, that the task had never been attempted before and was well-nigh impossible. This book, introduced by the famous British mountaineer-explorer J. O. M. Roberts
, one of Sircar's idols, was the first one of its kind. Printed in 500 copies only, it received excellent international notices and became a basic reference resources.
In 1982 Sircar was the first to suspect and draw public attention to the covert competition between India
and Pakistan
over the Siachen Glacier
and coined the term Oropolitics
to describe the use of mountaineering expeditions as a cloak for establishing territorial claims. His essay on this topic was published in abbreviated form in an article in The Telegraph newspaper of Calcutta.. The full essay titled "Oropolitics" came out in Himalaya Sameeksha, a limited circulation magazine published by Kamala Mukherjee in Calcutta, and was subsequently reprinted in the prestigious Alpine Journal of London in 1984.http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1984_files/AJ%201984%2074-49%20Sircar%20Oropolitics.pdf. India sent troops into the Siachen Glacier the same year.
Sircar surmised the existence of a feasible pass in Himachal Pradesh
, India on the Himalayan divide between Kullu
and Spiti
Districts. He led three expeditions to the high range separating the Upper Parvati
valley from the unexplored Debsa Glacier in 1992,1993 and 1995.The Debsa Pass
(5340 metres)http://wikimapia.org/20195175/DEBSA-PASS named by him was reached in 1993 and crossed on 21st September 1995, and the team descended the unexplored West Debsa Glacier and followed the Debsa stream to the Parahio Valley and from there to the Spiti Valley
.http://expeditionquest.com/expeditionportal/home/index.phtml?Expedition_Id=8599http://www.jsircar.blogspot.com/2011/11/debsa-pass-1992-1995.html
The pass has become a regular route as it saves two/three days over the traditional Kullu-Spiti route by the Pin Parvati Pass(5319 metres).
Sircar has taken part in a number of other mountaineering expeditions, likes travelling to remote places, and is a poet, essayist, and wildlifer. He drew the attention of the Bombay Natural History Society
in 2001 to the presence of large numbers of the endangered Bar-Headed Goose
at Gharana Wetland Reserve, Jammu
, which eventually led to this neglected sanctuary on the Indo-Pak border being classified as an Important Bird Area
He is also avidly interested in history and military matters, particularly aviation, and was the first to compose a brief biography of the World War 2 Beaufighter ace Flying Officer A.M.O.Pring,DFM http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1093, a childhood hero who flew and died in combat defending Calcutta from Japanese air attack and is buried at Calcutta. He followed this up with an expanded essay called SERGEANT PRING AND THE CALCUTTA HURRICANE http://www.rquirk.com/176Sqdn/Sircar/Sergeant%20Pring%20and%20the%20Calcutta%20Hurricane.pdf in which an outline biography of Maurice Pring is combined with the pioneering study of a rare and little-known night-fighter, the Hawker Hurricane II C(NF) equipped with the pilot-operated AI Mark VI radar. Both essays have won praise from aviation cognoscenti.He has followed these pieces up with an article conclusively demonstrating that the Hurricane II C(NF) was, in fact, the first radar-equipped single-seater night-fighter.http://www.jsircar.blogspot.com/2011/09/hawker-hurricane-ii-c-nf-forgotten.html
Sircar has started a blog called JOYDEEP SIRCAR : an eclectic collection http://www.jsircar.blogspot.com/2011/09/asirgarh-proud-fortress_19.html in which he proposes to collect all his scattered writings, both fiction and non-fiction.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
giving chronological entries of expeditions up to 1975 to each peak with a brief summary of results and references to expedition reports, after a decade of solitary research. He was inspired in this formidable undertaking by the pronouncement of the late Soli S. Mehta , Hony. Local Secretary of The Himalayan Club, that the task had never been attempted before and was well-nigh impossible. This book, introduced by the famous British mountaineer-explorer J. O. M. Roberts
J. O. M. Roberts
James Owen Merion Roberts was one of the greatest Himalayan mountaineer-explorers of the twentieth century, a highly decorated Army officer who achieved his greatest renown as "the father of trekking" in Nepal...
, one of Sircar's idols, was the first one of its kind. Printed in 500 copies only, it received excellent international notices and became a basic reference resources.
In 1982 Sircar was the first to suspect and draw public attention to the covert competition between India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
over the Siachen Glacier
Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains at about , just east of the Line of Control between India-Pakistan. India controls all of the Siachen Glacier itself, including all tributary glaciers. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and...
and coined the term Oropolitics
Oropolitics
Oropolitics comes from the Greek oros meaning mountain and politikos meaning citizen. In modern usage it denotes the use and abuse of mountaineering for political purposes....
to describe the use of mountaineering expeditions as a cloak for establishing territorial claims. His essay on this topic was published in abbreviated form in an article in The Telegraph newspaper of Calcutta.. The full essay titled "Oropolitics" came out in Himalaya Sameeksha, a limited circulation magazine published by Kamala Mukherjee in Calcutta, and was subsequently reprinted in the prestigious Alpine Journal of London in 1984.http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1984_files/AJ%201984%2074-49%20Sircar%20Oropolitics.pdf. India sent troops into the Siachen Glacier the same year.
Sircar surmised the existence of a feasible pass in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
, India on the Himalayan divide between Kullu
Kullu
Kullu, once known as Kul-anti-peetha - "the end of the habitable world", is the capital town of the Kullu District, in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about ten kilometres north of the airport at Bhuntar.Kullu is a broad open...
and Spiti
Spiti
-Geographical locations:*Lahaul and Spiti, a district in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India.*Spiti Valley, former heartland of the former Spiti district now combined.*Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh.*Spitia River-Language:...
Districts. He led three expeditions to the high range separating the Upper Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
valley from the unexplored Debsa Glacier in 1992,1993 and 1995.The Debsa Pass
Debsa Pass
Debsa Pass is a high mountain pass in the Himalaya mountains between the Kullu and Spiti Districts of Himachal Pradesh, India.Joydeep Sircar led the teams which explored the watershed ridge and discovered the pass after approaching through the Parbati River valley in Kullu...
(5340 metres)http://wikimapia.org/20195175/DEBSA-PASS named by him was reached in 1993 and crossed on 21st September 1995, and the team descended the unexplored West Debsa Glacier and followed the Debsa stream to the Parahio Valley and from there to the Spiti Valley
Spiti Valley
The Spiti Valley is a desert mountain valley located high in the Himalaya mountains in the north-eastern part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The Middle Land", i.e. the land between Tibet and India....
.http://expeditionquest.com/expeditionportal/home/index.phtml?Expedition_Id=8599http://www.jsircar.blogspot.com/2011/11/debsa-pass-1992-1995.html
The pass has become a regular route as it saves two/three days over the traditional Kullu-Spiti route by the Pin Parvati Pass(5319 metres).
Sircar has taken part in a number of other mountaineering expeditions, likes travelling to remote places, and is a poet, essayist, and wildlifer. He drew the attention of the Bombay Natural History Society
Bombay Natural History Society
The Bombay Natural History Society, founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Many...
in 2001 to the presence of large numbers of the endangered Bar-Headed Goose
Bar-headed Goose
The Bar-headed Goose is a goose which breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest....
at Gharana Wetland Reserve, Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
, which eventually led to this neglected sanctuary on the Indo-Pak border being classified as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
He is also avidly interested in history and military matters, particularly aviation, and was the first to compose a brief biography of the World War 2 Beaufighter ace Flying Officer A.M.O.Pring,DFM http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1093, a childhood hero who flew and died in combat defending Calcutta from Japanese air attack and is buried at Calcutta. He followed this up with an expanded essay called SERGEANT PRING AND THE CALCUTTA HURRICANE http://www.rquirk.com/176Sqdn/Sircar/Sergeant%20Pring%20and%20the%20Calcutta%20Hurricane.pdf in which an outline biography of Maurice Pring is combined with the pioneering study of a rare and little-known night-fighter, the Hawker Hurricane II C(NF) equipped with the pilot-operated AI Mark VI radar. Both essays have won praise from aviation cognoscenti.He has followed these pieces up with an article conclusively demonstrating that the Hurricane II C(NF) was, in fact, the first radar-equipped single-seater night-fighter.http://www.jsircar.blogspot.com/2011/09/hawker-hurricane-ii-c-nf-forgotten.html
Sircar has started a blog called JOYDEEP SIRCAR : an eclectic collection http://www.jsircar.blogspot.com/2011/09/asirgarh-proud-fortress_19.html in which he proposes to collect all his scattered writings, both fiction and non-fiction.