View source for Jelep La

{{short description|Mountain pass between Sikkim, India and Tibet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name = Jelep La
| photo = Jelep-la-tibetan-frontier-1936.jpg
| photo_caption = ''Jelep La Tibetan Frontier'' by [[Nicholas Roerich]]
| elevation_ft = 14390
| elevation_ref = {{sfnp|Brown, Tours in Sikhim|1934|p=142}}
| traversed = 
| location = [[Sikkim]], [[India]] – [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]], [[China]]
| range = [[Himalaya]]
| map = India Sikkim#China Tibet
| label_position = left
| coords = {{coord|27.367194|N|88.865747|E|type:pass|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| topo = 
}}
{{chinese
|s=则里拉山口
|t=則里拉山口
|p=zélǐlā shānkǒu
}}
'''Jelep La'''{{efn|Alternative spellings include '''Jelap La''' and '''Dzalep La'''.{{sfnp|Smith, Aline and Sub-Alpine Vegetation|1913}}{{sfnp|Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History|1984|p=210}} Older British spellings are '''Jeylap'''{{sfnp|Edgar, Report on a Visit to Sikhim|1874|p=5}} and '''Jyelap'''.{{sfnp|Temple, The Lake Region of Sikkim|1881}}}} ({{bo|t=རྫི་ལི་ལ|w=rdzi li la|s=dzi li la}}; {{zh|c=则里拉山口|p=Zé lǐlā shānkǒu}})<ref name=McKay/> elevation {{convert|14390|ft}},{{sfnp|Brown, Tours in Sikhim|1934|p=142}} is a high [[mountain pass]] between [[Sikkim]], [[India]] and [[Tibet Autonomous Region]], [[China]]. It is on a route that connects [[Lhasa]] to India. The pass is about {{cvt|4|km|mi}} south of [[Nathu La]] and is slightly higher. It was frequently used for trade between Tibet and India during the [[British Raj]], with [[Kalimpong]] serving as the contact point. The [[Menmecho Lake]] lies below the Jelep La.

== Name ==
According to the ''Bengal District Gazetteer'', Jelep-la, a Tibetan name, means "The lovely level pass, so called because it is the easiest and most level of all the passes between Tibet and Sikkim."<ref>{{cite book|first1=L. S. S.|last1=O'Malley|title=Bengal District Gazetteer : Darjeeling|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LhOzszXcM9UC|year=1907|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7268-018-3|page=215}}</ref>

According to scholar Alex Mckay, the Tibetan name is actually {{bo|w=rdzi-li-la}},<ref name=McKay>
{{citation |last=McKay |first=Alex |title=Pilgrimage in Tibet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TNFcAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 |year=2013 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-80716-9 |page=75}}
</ref>
which would mean a "shepherd's bronze pass".<ref>
[http://www.thlib.org/reference/dictionaries/tibetan-dictionary/translate.php THL Tibetan to English Translation Tool: ''rdzi li la''], The Tibetan & Himalayan Library, retrieved 1 August 2021.
</ref>

== Geography ==
[[File:1898 map of Chumbi Valley by Waddell.jpg|thumb|right|280px|Map of the Indo-Tibetan trade route through Jelep La (marked in red), 1898]]
[[File:Map of Jelep La trade route (SoI, 1937).jpg|thumb|right|280px|Jelep La trade route ([[Survey of India]], 1937)]]
On the Indian side there are two routes to Jelep La, one through [[Gangtok]] and the other through [[Kalimpong]]. 

The Kalimpong route boosted the local economies due to the trading of wool and furs during the 20th century. It passes through the towns of [[Rongli]], [[Rhenock]], [[Pedong]], [[Algarah]], in Sikkim and northern [[West Bengal]]. 

The route from Gangtok passes through the towns of Sherathang, nearby [[Lake Tsongmo|Changu lake]] and alongside [[Nathu La]] and through [[Kupup]].

The route is scenic with forests of [[rhododendron]]s blooming in spring. Numerous hamlets are scattered in the surrounding area. On the Tibetan side the pass leads to the Chumbi Valley of the Tibetan Plateau.

== History ==
=== 17th century ===
In the 17th century, Jelep La might have been under the control of an eastern Sikkimese Lepcha kingdom based at [[Damsang]] ({{bo|w=dam bzang rdzong}}), ruled by a Lepcha chieftain [[Gyalpo Ajok]] ({{bo|w=rgyal po A lcog}}; [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]]: ''Gyabo Achuk''). Ajok was allied with Tibet under the [[5th Dalai Lama]] and was rivalled by Bhutan. In a war fought by Tibet and Damsang against Bhutan during 1675–79, Ajok captured a Bhutanese outpost at [[Dalingkot]] ({{bo|w=Brda gling}}). However, the Bhutanese recaptured the post and executed Ajok.{{sfnp|Mullard, Opening the Hidden Land|2011|pp=148–149}}

After this event, a major war erupted between Tibet and Bhutan, but Bhutan managed to repulse its much larger foe. The end result of the war is not entirely clear, but the Kalimpong area came under the control of Bhutan, and the present day East Sikkim, between Rhenock and Jelep La, might have come under the control of Tibet.

At the time of the [[Sino-Nepalese War]], Sikkim lost much of its territory west of [[Teesta River]] to Nepal. Tibet apparently granted to Sikkim the present day East Sikkim region through unknown terms. By the time the British came on the scene, the area up to the [[Dongkya Range|Cho La–Jelep La range]] was under the control of Sikkim, and the Chumbi Valley beyond it was considered Tibet proper.

=== British Raj period ===
After the annexation of [[Kalimpong]] from Bhutan, the British started to constructing a cart road to Jelep La in 1884.<ref>{{cite book|last=Paget|first=William Henry|title=Frontier and overseas expeditions from India|publisher=Indian Army Intelligence Branch|url=https://archive.org/details/frontieroverseas04indi|year=1907|page=[https://archive.org/details/frontieroverseas04indi/page/42 42]}}</ref> This was viewed with some apprehension by the Tibetans and in 1886 a small Tibetan militia occupied the region around the pass. In May 1888, the Tibetans attacked the British but were warded off by a [[Sikkim Expedition|British Expeditionary Force]]. Later in September the same year the British regained control of the area around the pass.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

With the growing [[Russia]]n influence in Tibet, a British expedition was sent via Jelep La to Lhasa in 1904 led by Colonel [[Francis Younghusband]]. This expedition was met by hostile Tibetan forces which were defeated by the British. A trade agreement was then forced on the Tibetans in the absence of the [[13th Dalai Lama]], who had fled to [[Mongolia]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In 1910, to escape a Chinese invasion, the 13th Dalai Lama "accompanied by six ministers and a small escort" which included his close aide, diplomat and military figure [[Tsarong Dzasa]], fled via Jelep La<ref>[http://www.dalailama.com/biography/the-dalai-lamas#13 The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920052013/http://dalailama.com/biography/the-dalai-lamas |date=2012-09-20 }}, ''dalailama.com''</ref> to [[Sikkim]] and Darjeeling, where he stayed almost two years. During this period he was invited to [[Calcutta]] by the [[Viceroy]], [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto|Lord Minto]], which helped to restore relations with the British.<ref>{{citation |last=Chapman |first=F. Spencer |title=Lhasa – The Holy City |publisher=Readers Union Ltd. |location=London |year=1940 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.33679 |via=archive.org}}</ref>

=== Modern period ===
After India's independence in 1947, Sikkim, which was then a monarchy, agreed to a special protectorate status and gave India the status of a suzerain nation and its defence and foreign affairs were managed by India. After the Chinese invasion of [[Tibet]] in 1950 and suppression of the Tibetan uprising in 1959, the passes into Sikkim became a conduit for refugees from Tibet before being closed by the Chinese. During the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]], there were border skirmishes between the Indian and Chinese armed forces in and around the passes of Jelep La and [[Nathu La]] - this was despite Sikkim still being a separate Kingdom at that stage. After the war the two passes were closed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-07-25/news/52026486_1_india-bhutan-tibet-trade-route-jelep-la|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095607/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-07-25/news/52026486_1_india-bhutan-tibet-trade-route-jelep-la|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 May 2015|title=Business News Today: Read Latest Business news, India Business News Live, Share Market & Economy News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/will-india-and-china-fight-a-war-again_801878.html|title=Will India and China fight a war again?|date=26 September 2012}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=August 2022}}

Sikkim became a part of India in early 1975 following a referendum. With the recent thawing in relations between India and China, plans are afoot to reopen the Jelep La<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 June 2003 |title=Documents signed between India and China during Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to China |url=https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/7692/Documents+signed+between+India+and+China+during+Prime+Minister+Vajpayees+visit+to+China |access-date=2021-10-29 |website=www.mea.gov.in (Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India)}}</ref> (following the July{{nbsp}}6, 2006 reopening of the Nathu La).<ref name="zee">{{cite web |date=6 July 2006 |title=Nathula reopens for trade after 44 years |url=http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=307263&sid=NAT |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185314/http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=307263&sid=NAT |archive-date=30 September 2007 |access-date=6 July 2006 |work=Zee News |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Sikkim expedition]]

== Notes ==
;Notes
{{notelist}}

== References ==
;Citations
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Citation |last=Edgar |first=John Ware |author-link=John Ware Edgar |title=Report on a visit to Sikhim and the Thibetan frontier in October, November, and December, 1873 |publisher=Bengal Secretariat Press |place=Calcutta |year=1874 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023017829 |publication-date=1874 |via=archive.org |ref={{sfnref|Edgar, Report on a Visit to Sikhim|1874}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Tina |title=Geographical Diversions: Tibetan Trade, Global Transactions|publisher=University of Georgia Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8203-4573-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RU58AAAAQBAJ |ref={{sfnref|Harris, Geographical Diversions|2013}}}}
* {{citation |last=Brown |first=Percy |title=Tours in Sikhim and the Darjeeling District |editor-last=Townsend |editor-first=Joan |edition=Revised |publisher=W. Newman & Co |location=Calcutta |year=1934 |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.2586/page/144 |via=archive.org |ref={{sfnref|Brown, Tours in Sikhim|1934}}}}
* {{citation |last=Mullard |first=Saul |title=Opening the Hidden Land: State Formation and the Construction of Sikkimese History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_1J4tgrYDUC&pg=PA184 |date=2011 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-20895-7 |ref={{sfnref|Mullard, Opening the Hidden Land|2011}}}}
* {{citation |last=Shakabpa |first=Tsepon Wangchuk Deden |title=Tibet: A Political History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iKziAAAAMAAJ |year=1984 |orig-year=first published Yale University Press 1967| publisher=Potala Publications |location=New York |isbn=0-9611474-0-7|ref={{sfnref|Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History|1984}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=W. W. |author-link=William Wright Smith |title=Records of the Botanical Survey of India. Vol 6. No 7. The Alpine and Sub-Alpine Vegetation of South-East Sikkim |publisher=Superintendent Government Printing, India  |date=1913  |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.1962 |via=archive.org |ref={{sfnref|Smith, Aline and Sub-Alpine Vegetation|1913}}}}
* {{citation |first=Richard |last=Temple |author-link=Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet |title=The Lake Region of Sikkim, on the Frontier of Tibet |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography |date=June 1881 |volume=3 |number=6 |pages=321–340 |doi=10.2307/1800507 |jstor=1800507 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2274571 |ref={{sfnref|Temple, The Lake Region of Sikkim|1881}}}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Citation |last=Sherpa |first=Diki |title=Sino-Indian Border Trade: The Promise of Jelep La  |publisher=Institute of Chinese Studies |location=Delhi |date=May 2017 |url=https://www.icsin.org/uploads/2017/05/15/6ad1daff8feba472aeb443df3cf8a949.pdf}}
* {{Cite news |last=Sarkar |first=Debasis |title=After Sino-Indian trade route through Nathula, now Jelep-La is in the line |newspaper=The Economic Times |date=11 May 2012  |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/after-sino-indian-trade-route-through-nathula-now-jelep-la-is-in-the-line/articleshow/13095176.cms |access-date=2021-11-03}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.openstreetmap.org/directions?engine=graphhopper_foot&route=27.0703%2C88.4724%3B27.3434%2C88.8407#map=10/27.3443/88.8533&layers=C Indian Road from Kalimpong to Kupup (close to Jelep La)], OpenStreetMap, retrieved 5 July 2021.
* [https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/12935026#map=10/27.3439/88.8528&layers=C China's Azul Road from Jelep La to the Chumbi Valley], OpenStreetMap, retrieved 5 July 2021.

{{Mountain passes of China}}
{{Mountain passes of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jelep La}}
[[Category:Mountain passes of Sikkim]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of Tibet]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of China]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of India]]
[[Category:China–India border crossings]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Yadong County]]
[[Category:Gangtok district]]