Oropolitics
Encyclopedia
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.
The term "oropolitics" was coined by Joydeep Sircar
in the early 1980s to describe the surreptitious efforts, first by Pakistan
from the 1950s, and then by India
from the late 1970s, to demonstrate control and ownership of the Siachen Glacier
by allowing or organising mountaineering expeditions to the high peaks such as Saltoro Kangri
and Teram Kangri
flanking the glacier. The Siachen War of 1984 was the direct outcome of these 'oropolitical' activities. Another example is the Chinese
publication Raising the Five Star Flag on Mount Tomur, an account of the successful Chinese expedition of 1977 to the Tien Shan peak better known by its Russian name as Pik Pobedy(nowadays renamed yet again by Kyrgyzstan as Jengish Chokusu). The Chinese volume seems to imply a first ascent and completely ignores multiple Russian ascents.
The strangest oropolitical events must surely be the unpublicised ascents of Nanda Devi
and Nanda Kot
by joint Indo-US expeditions in the 1960s to plant devices to monitor Chinese nuclear
activity. The media disclosure in 1978 that an Indo-American covert expedition had planted a nuclear-fuelled monitoring device atop Nanda Kot in the 1960s, and that subsequently the device had disappeared, led to fears of radioactive contamination of the river Ganges, and a political brouhaha
.
Recent examples of oropolitics, again from India, were the claimed ascent of Nyegyi Kangsang (7047 m) and the attempt on the nearby peak Kangto (7090 metres) by Indian teams in the 1990s. Both are remote Arunachal Pradesh
peaks difficult of access, located on or very close to the India-China border. These were as much sporting activities as visible demonstrations of de facto control of India over terrain claimed by China. It has been suggested that the actual summit of Nyegyi Kangsang was not reached.
The opening of Siachen peaks to foreigners in 1985, even though a war was on, was also an unsubtle display of oropolitics. India wanted foreign teams to attempt Siachen peaks and thus provide neutral eyewitness accounts of Indian control over the glacier.
A simmering dispute between China
and Bhutan
over Kula Kangri
(7554? metres), which is possibly located wholly in Chinese territory, but is claimed by Bhutan to lie on the Bhutan-China border and be the highest peak of Bhutan, has clear oropolitical overtones. A Japanese team attempting nearby Gangkhar Puensum
(7570? metres) on the Bhutan-China border in 1999 from the Chinese side stopped short of the true peak due to the King of Bhutan having prohibited ascent of the unclimbed main summit.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
oros meaning mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
and politikos meaning citizen. In modern usage it denotes the use and abuse of mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
for political purposes.
The term "oropolitics" was coined by Joydeep Sircar
Joydeep Sircar
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 and above in Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent giving chronological entries of expeditions up to 1975 to each peak with a...
in the early 1980s to describe the surreptitious efforts, first by 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...
from the 1950s, and then by 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...
from the late 1970s, to demonstrate control and ownership of 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...
by allowing or organising mountaineering expeditions to the high peaks such as Saltoro Kangri
Saltoro Kangri
Saltoro Kangri is the highest peak of the Saltoro Mountains, better known as the Saltoro Range, which is a minor range of the Karakoram. It is one of the highest mountains on Earth, but it is in a very remote location deep in the Karakoram....
and Teram Kangri
Teram Kangri
The Teram Kangri group is a mountain massif in the remote Siachen Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range. The high point of the group, and of the Siachen Muztagh, is Teram Kangri I. The peak lies on the boundary between China and the disputed Siachen Glacier region near the line of control...
flanking the glacier. The Siachen War of 1984 was the direct outcome of these 'oropolitical' activities. Another example is the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
publication Raising the Five Star Flag on Mount Tomur, an account of the successful Chinese expedition of 1977 to the Tien Shan peak better known by its Russian name as Pik Pobedy(nowadays renamed yet again by Kyrgyzstan as Jengish Chokusu). The Chinese volume seems to imply a first ascent and completely ignores multiple Russian ascents.
The strangest oropolitical events must surely be the unpublicised ascents of Nanda Devi
Nanda Devi
Nanda Devi is the second highest mountain in India and the highest entirely within the country ; owing to this geography it was the highest known mountain in the world until computations on Dhaulagiri by western surveyors in 1808...
and Nanda Kot
Nanda Kot
Nanda Kot is a mountain peak of the Himalaya range located in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. It lies in the Kumaon Himalaya, just outside of the ring of peaks enclosing the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, southeast of Nanda Devi itself...
by joint Indo-US expeditions in the 1960s to plant devices to monitor Chinese nuclear
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
activity. The media disclosure in 1978 that an Indo-American covert expedition had planted a nuclear-fuelled monitoring device atop Nanda Kot in the 1960s, and that subsequently the device had disappeared, led to fears of radioactive contamination of the river Ganges, and a political brouhaha
Brouhaha
A brouhaha is a state of social agitation when a minor incident gets out of control, sometimes referred to as an uproar or hubbub. It is typically marked by controversy and fuss which can seem, afterwards, to have been pointless or irrational...
.
Recent examples of oropolitics, again from India, were the claimed ascent of Nyegyi Kangsang (7047 m) and the attempt on the nearby peak Kangto (7090 metres) by Indian teams in the 1990s. Both are remote Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
peaks difficult of access, located on or very close to the India-China border. These were as much sporting activities as visible demonstrations of de facto control of India over terrain claimed by China. It has been suggested that the actual summit of Nyegyi Kangsang was not reached.
The opening of Siachen peaks to foreigners in 1985, even though a war was on, was also an unsubtle display of oropolitics. India wanted foreign teams to attempt Siachen peaks and thus provide neutral eyewitness accounts of Indian control over the glacier.
A simmering dispute between China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
over Kula Kangri
Kula Kangri
Kula Kangri is claimed by many authorities to be the highest mountain in Bhutan but this is disputed by others, who claim that Kula Kangri is wholly in Tibet. The first ascent was by a Japanese team in 1986...
(7554? metres), which is possibly located wholly in Chinese territory, but is claimed by Bhutan to lie on the Bhutan-China border and be the highest peak of Bhutan, has clear oropolitical overtones. A Japanese team attempting nearby Gangkhar Puensum
Gangkhar Puensum
Gangkhar Puensum is the highest mountain in Bhutan and a strong candidate for the highest unclimbed mountain in the world with an elevation of 7,570 metres and a prominence of over 2990 metres. It lies on the border with China...
(7570? metres) on the Bhutan-China border in 1999 from the Chinese side stopped short of the true peak due to the King of Bhutan having prohibited ascent of the unclimbed main summit.