At the end of the discussion, the older Monpa said that if today the Chinese were to come inside India, "I will fight and kill them", prudently adding, "if they are of my age, if they are younger soldiers, I will not be able to fight".
The entire village had a good laugh.
On June 21, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu wrote on X (former Twitter): 'Now that Mago-Chuna, nestled near the LAC, is connected by road, you no longer walk out of necessity. You walk to soak in the silence, to breathe the mountain air, and to witness the untouched beauty of the land.'
During his visit, Khandu held detailed discussions with officials and stakeholders to promote sustainable spiritual, cultural, and eco-tourism in the remote Mago-Chuna region of Tawang district.
A joint collaboration between the district authorities, the Indian Army, the Indo Tibetan Border Police and the local authorities will help developing the Mago-Chuna region into 'a global tourism destination while preserving its fragile Himalayan ecosystem and cultural sanctity.'
This remote area has a historical background.
In 1975, a serious and uncalled-for incident took place, forcing the official spokesman of the ministry of external affairs to make a statement: 'On October 20, 1975, an Indian patrol party consisting of one NCO and four men, while on a routine patrol along India's northern border, were ambushed by a Chinese party of about 40 persons.
'The ambush was well within Indian territory and in an area which has been regularly patrolled by us for many years and where no previous incident had taken place. Following this incident, four men were missing.'
While visiting the spot, I was told that the bodies of the four soldiers, all of Nepali origin and all called Chhetri, were repatriated a few days later, after the Chinese side informed the Indian post of the incident.
A memorial has now been built at an altitude of 17,000 feet, just below the Tulung-la pass marking the LAC to commemorate the death of the four jawans.
Linked by tarred road
The Mago-Chuna area has only recently been linked by a proper tar road to the rest of a district, which saw the brunt of the first military operations with China in October and November 1962.
The villages of Thingbu and Mago are today easily reachable and slowly getting integrated into the country's mainstream, partly due to the Vibrant Village Program (455 such villages in Arunachal Pradesh only) and the close collaboration of the Indian Army which is deeply involved.
Mago Area
Before visiting Thingbu village in early August, I read again the report of Captain Henry Morshead of the Survey of India, probably the first explorer to visit the area with his colleague, Captain Frederick Bailey of the Intelligence.
Morshead wrote in 1913: 'Wedged in between Monyul [Tawang] and the Lopa country is the quaint and isolated little district of Mago. ... on our arrival there we found it difficult to get the people to supply transport as the district is seldom visited by officials and they are not accustomed to do so.'
The British surveyor continues to describe the area: 'The country is wooded and damp. The houses are of wood and stone with pent roofs of shingles, or, in some cases, of slate. They grow no crops but keep yaks in the upper parts of the valleys; the produce of these animals is exchanged with Monbas and Lopas (Daflas) for cereals and madder dye. ...Mago is 11,800 feet in altitude and is under snow in winter.
'Most of the people live on the hills with their yaks in summer and return to the villages from the end of December to the end of May, during which period the grazing grounds are under deep snow.'
For decades, Morshead's report was the only record about these remote villages: 'The total population is only about two hundred and is, they say, decreasing. The people are quite illiterate. ...They let their hair grow long and do not tie it in any way.
'...The women wear a short skirt of woollen cloth in broad red and blue longitudinal stripes under which they wear knickerbockers. They wear a great deal of jewellery.'
Thingbu village
The village is located some 15 km from Mago at an altitude of 11,000 feet. the population belongs to the Monpa tribe, like in Tawang; the census said that 58 households live in Thingbu.
I received a grand reception when I visited Thangbu; all the villagers were keen to see this white-skin person interested in their culture as well as what happened in 1962 during the war with China.
This was one of the routes used by the Chinese army to bring reinforcements to Dirang and Bomdila during the second phase of the Sino-Indian War (November 18-20, 1962).
Thingbu is just off the famous 'Bailey Trail', the historic route taken by Captains Bailey and Morshead who had been commissioned to survey the Tibet border during 1913.
After completing the survey along the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo river, the two Britishers returned into Indian territory at Tulung-la pass, descending to Mago village, then crossing over Tse La to reach Pota, and from Poshing La down to Thembang before proceeding to Tawang and finally to Tsona Dzong in Tibet.
The first part of their journey from Mago is known as the 'Bailey Trail'.
Meeting the villagers
During my encounters with the villagers of Thangbu, a couple of elders remembered the events of 1962.
They said the Chinese had not been too aggressive with the villagers.
At that time, some villagers had gone grazing in the nearby Yangtse area; they came running back to inform people about the Chinese attack and their imminent arrival in the village.
Apparently, the People's Liberation Army troops just wanted guides as they did not know their way towards Dirang and Bomdila.
Upon hearing the news of the Chinese troops' arrival, all the young people left the village, leaving behind only older people, unable to serve as guides due to their age.
During the discussion, I learnt something interesting: The Chinese troops were usually sleeping during the day and marching at night.
In a few days, several hundreds of soldiers passed on their way to the Tse-la pass and Dirang Dzong.
After seeing the gorges around Mago, one wonders how they could find a track to progress through this densely afforested area or how they could cross the rapid flow of the Mago chu (river).
The Chinese had very few Tibetans guiding them to their destination.
The Thingbu villagers recounted that the Chinese were all smoking cigarettes and beedies. After seeing the PLA troops, the Monpas' conclusion was that the PLA were not good soldiers, 'nothing compared to Indian soldiers', they added.
Contrary to other sectors (Tawang for example), the PLA had no mules or horses, they were carrying their own food (something like tsampa, barley flour) and did not take any food from the villagers.
This reminded me of The Three Main Rules of Discipline given by Mao Zedong in 1947: 'Obey orders in all your actions; Don't take a single needle or piece of thread from the masses; Turn in everything captured' and The Eight Points for Attention:: 'Speak politely; Pay fairly for what you buy; Return everything you borrow; Pay for anything you damage; Don't hit or swear at people; Don't damage crops; Don't take liberties with women; Don't ill treat captives.'
Though these rules were not followed in other sectors, the PLA soldiers told the Monpa villagers that they were from similar race and had not come to trouble them; they just wanted to kill the Indian Army soldiers.
At the end of the discussion, the older Monpa said that if today the Chinese were to come inside India, "I will fight and kill them", prudently adding, "if they are of my age, if they are younger soldiers, I will not be able to fight".
The entire village had a good laugh.
The Girls of Tawang
Continuing in a lighter vein, I told them about the 1913 report of Morshead who wrote: 'In Mago there were no officials and if we had tried to put on our act, the people would not have understood what we were doing. ...They asked if we knew Tawang.'
'Not yet,' we said, 'but we are going there.'
'What a place!' they answered.
'So many houses! So many people! And the chang (barley beer)! There is no chang like the chang you get there. And the girls, who sing and dance for you. You haven't seen girls, till you go to Tawang!'
None of them had visited Tawang.
The Thingbu villagers could not stop laughing and the ladies vociferously denied that it was true: "Here the girls are fine and chang is tasty, as good as in Tawang."
The village is quite prosperous, it owns about 1,000 yaks, however, they greatly appreciate the central government's Vibrant Village Program and the Indian Army's role in providing a good road, a school, a small dispensary and drinking water.
They don't need to dream of Tawang as the paradise on earth anymore.
Claude Arpi is Distinguished Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi.
Mr Arpi is a long-time contributor to Rediff and you can read his earlier columns here.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff