Camera traps used to spy on and harass women in Indian national park – study
Wildlife camera traps and drones in one of India’s best-known forest reserves are being misused to spy on women, researchers say.
Forest rangers in Jim Corbett National Park in the northern state of Uttarakhand intentionally fly drones over local women to intimidate them and prevent them from collecting natural resources to which they have a legal right, a research paper, published in the journal Environment and Planning F, warned.
“The patriarchal gaze of the society has extended into the forest because of these cameras,” Trishant Simlai, a researcher at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Sociology and lead author of a report detailing these findings, told The Independent.
“Nobody could have realised that camera traps put in the Indian forest to monitor mammals actually have a profoundly negative impact on the mental health of local women who use these spaces,” Mr Simlai said.
Officials from Corbett Tiger Reserve, part of the wider national park, called the allegations that forest officers were misusing wildlife cameras “absurd”. Nonetheless, they said an investigation had been set up to look into the study’s claims.
Researchers conducted a 14-month study interviewing 270 locals in the villages around Corbett Tiger Reserve and found that this intentional snooping of women by misusing technology was aimed at controlling and restricting women’s access to the forest.
The women go there to collect firewood or to relieve themselves.
“These cameras, these drones, they’re taking pictures of people as well (besides the wildlife). So what happens to these pictures? India has one of the worst data protection laws. What is the accountability? What is the transparency here? What do they do with these pictures? They are not asking for consent of people,” Mr Simlai says.
The researchers also found that women now venture deeper into the woods to avoid surveillance and put themselves at greater risk of wildlife attacks.
The study, titled “The gendered forest: Digital surveillance technologies for conservation and gender-environment relationships”, also claimed that women, especially from marginalised communities, are being controlled by these surveillance methods, with some men even encouraging their use to prevent women from “straying” or wasting time in the forest.
“These findings have caused quite a stir amongst the conservation community. It’s very common for projects to use these technologies to monitor wildlife, but this highlights that we really need to be sure they’re not causing unintended harm,” Prof Chris Sandbrook, director of the University of Cambridge Masters in Conservation Leadership programme, who was also involved in the report, said in a statement.
“Surveillance technologies that are supposed to be tracking animals can easily be used to watch people instead – invading their privacy and altering the way they behave,” he added.
Uttarakhand has a recorded forest area of 38,000 square kilometres, making up 71.05 per cent of the state’s total area. Forests play a crucial role for women, particularly in rural areas, by supplying vital resources such as firewood and fodder for cattle.
The researchers highlighted an incident from 2017 when a photograph of an autistic woman in Corbett Tiger Reserve – with a total area of 1288.31sq km – went viral after being taken by a wildlife camera trap. Local men circulated the image to shame and control the marginalised community she belonged to.
“A photograph of a woman going to the toilet in the forest – captured on a camera trap supposedly for wildlife monitoring – was circulated on local Facebook and WhatsApp groups as a means of deliberate harassment,” Mr Simlai said.
“I discovered that local women form strong bonds while working together in the forest, and they sing while collecting firewood to deter attacks by elephants and tigers. When they see camera traps they feel inhibited because they don’t know who’s watching or listening to them – and as a result, they behave differently – often being much quieter, which puts them in danger,” he said.
“Accidents happen when tigers get surprised by our presence, we sing loudly before entering the forest and while collecting firewood, to let them know that we are here,” a local woman told researchers.
Munish Kumar, a local social activist with a rights organisation called Samajwadi Lokmanch, told The Independent that camera traps have been used to invade the privacy of women in the forest. “Women call the forest their home. Sometimes they also relieve themselves in the forest as people in the villages relieve themselves in the open. When a camera trap captures their pictures, it is an invasion of their privacy.”
Mr Kumar said there were ethical concerns surrounding the use of surveillance technology in forests. “When women go to a forest to collect resources like firewood where cameras are set up, but they are not informed about their presence, it is an invasion.”
Mr Simlai said the use of drones for surveillance in villages near the Corbett Tiger Reserve also reflects the entrenched caste dynamics and social inequities in the state. “The drone team (of the forest department) would first call the headman of a village and take permission from him before flying a drone if it is a village dominated by the landed elite or the upper caste.”
But “when it comes to a 100 per cent Dalit village, no permission is taken. They drive straight into the village, fly the drone wherever they want, and be very brazen about it”, he alleges. India’s 200 million Dalits, formerly untouchables, are placed on the lowest rung of a caste hierarchy and remain subject to widespread discrimination, despite the fact India abolished untouchability in 1955.
Saket Badola, the field director for Corbett Tiger Reserve, told The Independent: “These are absurd allegations. The intention of using these technologies is never to snoop on women. These cameras are put up in forest areas for wildlife monitoring, conducting wildlife censuses, and mitigating human-wildlife conflict.”
When asked about the allegations of forest rangers intentionally flying drones over local women to intimidate them, as alleged by the Cambridge researchers, Mr Badola said: “Drones are primarily used for rescue operations and to track wildlife movements, especially when animals are approaching villages. The purpose is entirely wildlife management.”
The Independent asked him whether there were any avenues available for villagers to report misuse of surveillance technology by forest officials. Mr Badola responded: “If these claims were true, don’t you think people would have brought them to our attention? There has been no such reporting to the administration.”
He added: “If people felt something was wrong or objectionable, they could have directly approached our staff, officers, the district administration, or even the police. These avenues are always available to them.”
He says that “camera traps have been in use since 2006. Over all these years, no such allegations or complaints have been brought to us by villagers”.
“If there is any substantiated evidence, we will investigate further. We will take action if anything is found.”
Rajiv Bhartari, a former director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve and former principal chief conservator of forests in Uttarakhand, urged officials to look into the researchers’ findings.
He told The Independent: “I don’t think that any camera traps have been put ever with design to capture images of people or restrict their movement. It’s not a part of the design, but misuse of images is always a possibility.
“Any progressive management should welcome research and the findings of the research because this knowledge is meant to improve conservation practice and make it more just.”
Man dubbed ‘one of Australia’s worst paedophiles’ gets life sentence
A former childcare worker in Australia has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing almost 70 children over the period of two decades.
Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, was sentenced on Friday by the Brisbane District Court after he pleaded guilty to 307 sex offences committed over 20 years.
Judge Paul Smith said the scale and the nature of the crimes were “depraved” and “horrendous”, adding that “significant harm” had been caused by Griffith, “and significant harm will continue to be caused”.
“This was very serious, offending in terms of length and scale. The victims were very vulnerable, and there was a significant breach of trust,” Judge Smith added, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The judge said there was a high risk of Griffith re-offending if he was released into the community. The accused will have a non-parole period of 27 years and won’t be eligible to apply until 2049.
Griffith, dubbed as “one of Australia’s worst paedophiles” appeared emotionless during his second day of sentencing at the district court. Several people reportedly screamed at Griffith in the courtroom as the judge handed his sentence.
The charges against Griffith included 28 counts of rape, 190 of indecent treatment, and 67 of creating child exploitation material. The crimes were committed against about 70 children, many of them under 12, at childcare centres in Australia and Italy between 2003 and 2022.
Griffith was arrested in August 2022 after investigators linked him to disturbing content found on the dark web. He was charged with more than 1,400 crimes, including multiple counts of rape, after additional child abuse material was found on his electronic devices.
The number of charges was significantly reduced earlier this year and additional charges were dropped on Monday, leaving him facing 307 offences.
The court was told last week that Griffith was diagnosed with a “paedophilic disorder” and was assessed as having “a high level of sexual deviance”.
Investigators found thousands of photographs and videos of abuse that were filmed by him and uploaded onto the dark web.
A parent of one of the survivors recalled the “horrific” moment they were told their daughter had been sexually abused. They initially thought that police were contacting them about a separate incident at the daycare centre, but they were instead asked to identify their child from a photo.
“We see people going in and I think this happened to my child in that room,” the survivor’s mother said, referring to the daycare centre. “It’s a room of horrors.”
Her father said it was “hard to believe” how someone could “get away with something like that for so long”.
“As she grows up, we’ll deal with that as it comes but it’s going to be something we deal with through our lives now,” the child’s father said. “It was good that he pleaded guilty and we can move on to the next step now.”
If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331.
Crypto mogul eats banana he bought for $6.2 million
The crypto entrepreneur who bought a banana duct-taped to a wall for $6.2 million last week has eaten it.
Justin Sun knew he wasn’t meant to eat the banana when he originally purchased it. Yet, in a room filled with media personnel at a hotel in Hong Kong, the 34-year-old TRON cryptocurrency founder swallowed the banana like it was any other.
Before taking a bite, Sun sang the praises of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, arguing conceptual art was similar to cryptocurrency as he described the banana as “iconic.”
“It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun proclaimed. “It’s really quite good.”
Cattelan, 64, debuted the artwork at Art Basel in Miami, Florida, in 2019, titling it “Comedian.”
The banana, which was regarded as “the most expensive piece of fruit in the world,” was sold to Cattelan for 35 cents from a vendor outside the Sotheby’s auction house in New York where Sun bid on it.
Upon hearing how much Sun bought the fruit for, the vendor, Shah Alam, was in disbelief. Sun then promised to buy 100,000 more bananas from Alam, or $25,000 worth of produce, in a series of posts on X/Twitter.
“As the owner of a fruit stand in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Mr. Shah Alam inadvertently became a crucial contributor to a groundbreaking piece of art. This banana, far from being an ordinary piece of fruit, has taken on profound cultural and artistic significance,” he wrote on Thursday (November 28).
“To thank Mr. Shah Alam, I’ve decided to buy 100,000 bananas from his stand in New York’s Upper East Side. These bananas will be distributed free worldwide through his stand. Show a valid ID to claim one banana, while supplies last,” Sun continued.
He added: “This is not just a unique event but also a celebration of the beautiful connection between everyday life and art. I hope this gesture will help share the meaning of this special art story with more people.”
However, the 74-year-old vendor wasn’t thrilled by Sun’s promise. Speaking with The New York Times, Alam outlined the realities of fulfilling Sun’s enormous order. He said procuring tens of thousands of bananas from the Bronx wholesale market would cost him thousands, not to mention the practical difficulties of moving the boxes each containing 100 bananas.
“There’s not any profit in selling bananas,” Alam told the outlet before noting his net profit would only be $6,000 and because he only makes $12 an hour, working 12-hour shifts, he would have to forfeit the money to the stand owner.
The 53-year-old stand owner, Mohammad R. Islam, told The New York Times he’s split the profit evenly between himself, Alam, and his six other employees.
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un vows ‘steadfast support’ for Russia
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed his country will “invariably support” Russia’s war in Ukraine as he met Russia‘s defence chief.
A Russian military delegation led by defence minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday, amid growing international concern about the two countries’ expanding cooperation after North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia last month.
Mr Kim and Mr Belousov reached “a satisfactory consensus” on boosting a strategic partnership and defending each country’s sovereignty, security interests and international justice in the face of the rapidly-changing international security environments in a Friday meeting.
Mr Kim said that North Korea “will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists’ moves for hegemony,” according to state-run KCNA.
North Korea has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a defensive response to what both Moscow and Pyongyang call Nato’s “reckless” eastward advance and U.S.-led moves to stamp out Russia’s position as a powerful state.
Mr Kim slammed a US decision earlier in November to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles as a direct intervention in the conflict. He called recent Russian strikes on Ukraine “a timely and effective measure” demonstrate Russia’s resolve, KCNA said.
According to US, Ukrainian and South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia and some of them have already begun engaging in combat on the frontlines. The US, South Korean and others say North Korea has also shipped artillery systems, missiles and other conventional weapons to replenish Russia’s exhausted weapons inventory.
Both North Korea and Russia haven’t formally confirmed the North Korean troops’ movements, and have steadfastly denied reports of weapons shipments.
South Korea, the US and their partners are concerned that Russia could give North Korea advanced weapons technology in return, including help to build more powerful nuclear missiles.
Last week, South Korean national security adviser Shin Wonsik told a local SBS TV program that Seoul assessed that Russia provided air defense missile systems to North Korea. He said Russia also appeared to have given economic assistance to North Korea and various military technologies, including those needed for the North’s efforts to build a reliable space-based surveillance system.
Mr Belousov also met North Korean defence minister No Kwang Chol on Friday. During a dinner banquet later the same day, Mr Belousov said the the two countries’ strategic partnership was crucial to defend their sovereignty from aggression and the arbitrary actions of imperialists, KCNA said.
In June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a treaty requiring both countries to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked. It’s considered the two countries’ biggest defence deal since the end of the Cold War.
Who is Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan’s wife leading Pakistan protests?
Bushra Bibi, who previously avoided the spotlight, has taken centre stage in her husband Imran Khan’s political party during its protest march to Islamabad that have led to deadly clashes with security forces.
Bushra Bibi, the third wife of the cricketer-turned-politician, narrowly escaped after her convoy came under attack and was later set on fire.
She has taken up a more active role in Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after being jailed for nine months following conviction in an unlawful marriage and corruption case.
Mr Khan and his wife were charged with illegally selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees ($501,000; £3,94,988) in state possession and received during his 2018-2022 premiership.
However, a court overturned the conviction of unlawful marriage charges and granted her bail in the corruption case. She was finally released from prison in October while her husband still remains in jail. He has since been fighting over 150 cases that he claims are politically motivated.
Born Bushra Riaz Watto, Bushra Bibi changed her name after her marriage to the former Pakistani cricket star in 2018. Her title Bibi in Urdu denotes respect and is used by Muslim women in South Asia.
She is believed to be in her 40s and is an influential figure in Pakistan’s Sufi circle for her devotion to Sufism – a mystical and ascetic form of Islam that emphasises the inner, spiritual dimension of the religious practice.
The two were married in a secret ceremony months before Mr Khan ascended to premiership for the first time. It was Mr Khan’s third marriage after two divorces.
Mr Khan was previously married to Britain’s Jemima Goldsmith and journalist Reham Khan.
Mr Khan calls Bushra Bibi his spiritual leader for her devotion to Sufism. The former first lady is believed to be a devotee of the 13th century mystic, Fariduddin Masud Ganjshakar, more popularly known as Baba Farid. He is revered as a Muslim mystic and Sufi saint whose shrine is located in Pakpattan in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Bushra Bibi has remained a figure of interest and intrigue in Pakistan. She belongs to a family of landowners in Punjab and details about her early life in public domain are scarce.
She was earlier married to Khawar Farid Maneka, a customs officer from a politically influential Punjab family and has five children from her first marriage.
She rarely appears in the media or follows Mr Khan on his international diplomatic trips with the exception of her visits to Saudi Arabia, where the couple was filmed at the holy Muslim cities of Mecca and Medina.
In a rare interview, she told the local HUM news network in 2018 that “people would come to see me to get closer to God and the Prophet”.
“Every moment of Khan sahib’s life is now dedicated to God, the Prophet, and the love for Baba Farid,” she said.
Bushra Bibi has earlier also defended her public appearances in veil. “My veil doesn’t define that I am not modern. I should be judged on the basis of my personality, not my face,” she said.
She is credited with inspiring Mr Khan to establish the Al-Qadir Trust, a non-governmental organisation devoted to spirituality and Islamic teachings, according to members of PTI.
However, the trust became embroiled in a legal case and reason for Mr Khan’s arrest in May last year after corruption charges were levelled against the couple. Mr Khan promoted the trust at official events, and the couple were the sole trustees, according to law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
Mr Khan’s party spokesperson Farrukh Habib told Reuters that the couple drew no financial benefits from the trust.
Bushra Bibi was seen in an open-roof vehicle with other stalwarts of the party and raised slogans as thousands of people marched alongside her to hold protests and demand the release of her husband who remains in jail.
She addressed thousands of supporters for the first time from atop a truck near the historic D-Chowk square where they vowed to hold a sit-in until Mr Khan was freed.
“You all need to promise that until Khan is amongst us, you won’t leave D-Chowk,” she said.
With her growing influence in PTI in the absence of the popular leader, she has become the latest target of the Pakistani government ministers, who have avoided mentioning her by name.
Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi told media the destruction during the protests this week was caused by “one woman”, adding that the root cause of the unrest was a “hidden hand”.
Zulfikar Bukhari, PTI’s spokesperson and Mr Khan’s close aide, said Bushra Bibi, who wanted to lead a private life, was taking a more active role on instructions of her husband.
“If she has come out and led this protest, it’s on the orders of Imran Khan and the people will obviously rally behind her unitedly because she is the wife of Imran Khan,” Mr Bukhari said.
He added that her near year-long imprisonment has earned her supporters’ admiration which had helped to mobilise the large numbers of protesters.
Underscoring her growing active role in PTI’s strategy, she insisted on holding the protest at a central and sensitive location, according to party officials.
Concerns were raised over her whereabouts after the vehicle in which she was leading the protest was set on fire. But PTI officials said she was evacuated in time and taken to the nearby PTI stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after they received intelligence that her convoy could be attacked as forces launched a midnight crackdown to disperse the crowd.
Some analysts said that she would likely continue to act as a rallying figure while Mr Khan remained behind bars.
“Putting Bibi at the forefront of these protests is a politically savvy move, because of her relationship to Khan. That gives her a level of authenticity that appeals to protesters and will bolster their commitment to the cause,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute.
I’m a mayonnaise fiend – but Japan’s drinkable mayo is an abomination
As if to prove a point, I am sitting in front of my computer, typing with one hand and dipping chicken nuggets into mayonnaise with the other. Admittedly, it’s not even the good stuff – it’s M&S-branded mayonnaise, which is fine but certainly no substitute for a delicious Hellman’s. But my love for the condiment runs so deep that very few mayonnaise products sound genuinely revolting to me.
This might come as a surprise. As a food writer, I’m often expected to rise above the simple condiments. The circles I run in, usually full of food lovers and taste-makers, tend to decry mayonnaise, which pains me. “God, I hate mayo,” some of them proclaim. This happened to me not long ago while getting chips at Wetherspoons, as if we were even eating at some sort of paragon of British cuisine. “Mayonnaise is boring!” they shout. “It’s got no flavour! It looks gross!” I cringe because I was about to help myself to the squeezy bottle.
I’ve often felt embarrassed by my love for this apparently bland condiment. When the people around me make announcements about the awfulness of mayonnaise, I wonder if my reputation as a gastronome will be tarnished by the sizeable dollop I like to add to the side of my plate.
I must say, however, that the launch of a recent product in Japan sounds so truly heinous that even the most ardent mayonnaise-lover (AKA me) gags at the thought. Japanese convenience store chain Lawson has summoned an apparently “drinkable mayonnaise” into existence, words that make me grimace just to write. The company described it as a “chilled drink mayo fanatics have long been waiting for”, but I think it can be summed up in just one word: abomination.
“Drinkable mayonnaise” aside (shudder), I’ve noticed a pattern of late, and it’s time to address it: the people who shout obnoxiously about hating mayonnaise are usually self-described “foodies”, which is perhaps one of the most cringeworthy words of the 21st century. And I’ve had it.
Mayo has been unfairly vilified as plain and dull for too long. It’s one of the UK’s favourite condiments – second only to ketchup – for good reason, and has far more potential than we give it credit for.
How do I love thee, mayonnaise? Let me count the ways. Firstly, the way it’s made is pure magic. Eggs? Oil? White vinegar? Lemon? As they are, they don’t really make any sense. But blending them somehow creates a smooth, thick, creamy emulsion. Who on earth discovered this? There are numerous legends about how mayonnaise was first invented; some food historians say it was the French, others point to the Spanish. The sauce can be traced back to 1756, and has gone through many iterations before arriving as the eggy, almost jelly-like substance we know today.
The other thing I love about mayonnaise is how versatile it is. You can mix it with just about anything – this is something Heinz does with abandon, selling varieties like Mayomust (mayo and mustard) and Mayocue (mayo and barbecue sauce). I draw the line at some of the brand’s more Frankenstein-esque creations – monstrosities such as Creme Egg mayo and hot cross bun mayo. Some things are better left alone. But mayonnaise mixed with other savoury condiments is revelatory, one of my favourites being sriracha mayo. I would highly recommend making your own mixes, as this lets you decide on a ratio that works for you and means you won’t have to stoop so low as to buy anything labelled “Mayoracha”.
Mayonnaise also has far more uses than just dipping. You could mix it with ketchup to make a thousand island dressing for salad (although maybe don’t check any calorie counts if you do this… I certainly don’t). One of the best tips I’ve ever been given is to spread a thin layer of mayonnaise instead of butter over the outside of your cheese toasties before grilling them – the fat in the mayonnaise and its uber-spreadable texture will help you achieve an even browning all over the bread. It has non-food uses, too. You can use mayonnaise, for example, to marinade chicken, which yields tender, juicy meat with loads of flavour.
Finally, trying different types of mayonnaise from other countries has been quite an adventure for me. Japanese mayonnaise – my utmost favourite – is tangier due to the use of rice vinegar, as well as more unctuous in texture than regular mayonnaise. I squeeze squiggles of it over scrambled eggs, freshly steamed rice, fried chicken, anything. Dutch mayonnaise is richer and more flavourful, which makes dipping chips into it feel quite luxurious. While I have yet to try Russian mayonnaise, I imagine it is just wonderful, considering Russia is the only market in Europe that sells more mayonnaise than ketchup.
My love for mayonnaise knows no bounds. Well, there are some bounds. I wouldn’t choose to emulate Kingsman star Taron Egerton, who once told the Off Menu podcast that he spreads mayonnaise on his pizza like butter on a slice of bread. That’s taking things a bit too far. And I won’t touch any sweet mayonnaise atrocities. But I urge anyone who’s ever uttered the words “I hate mayonnaise” to give it another chance. I’m done with being embarrassed about loving mayo. In fact, I’m off to buy more. If not the drinkable stuff.
India plans to turn its most remote battlefields into tourist hotspots
Tourists may soon gain access to some of India’s most famous recent battlefields, such as the icy Siachen Glacier, the Kargil war zone, and the Galwan Valley.
General Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of the Army Staff, said the military is working to allow visitors to see these historically significant, if inhospitable, places.
“We are opening battlefields, including Kargil and Galwan, for tourists to allow them to get first-hand experience,” Gen Dwivedi was quoted by news agency PTI as saying during a lecture at the Savitribai Phule Pune University on Wednesday.
Tourism in the Himalayan border region has seen exponential growth in recent years, he said, and 48 locations have been picked for further development.
The military has launched initiatives such as the “Soul of Steel” trek in Uttarakhand and trained local villagers in mountaineering and adventure sports to promote border tourism, he added.
The Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest and coldest battlefield, and Kargil in Kashmir, the site of a 1999 conflict with Pakistan, hold great historical and geopolitical significance for India.
The Galwan Valley, where 20 Indian soldiers died in a clash with Chinese troops four years ago, is still involved in an active border dispute with Beijing despite the two countries recently announcing measures for deescalation.
“Now, you are allowed to climb to Tiger Hill and see the battlefield,” Gen Dwivedi was quoted as saying by The Tribune earlier in September, referring to one of the sites of the Kargil conflict.
Clarifying the intention behind opening up “areas that are inaccessible”, he said that “infrastructure and habitations will deter any claims being made”, in an apparent reference to disputed territory especially along the Line of Actual Control with China.
The move to open up strategic border areas for tourism comes almost a month after India and China announced they had reached an agreement on military patrols along the disputed Himalayan boundary, marking a significant step towards resolving a standoff that began after the clashes in 2020.
India and China share a 3,488km border which runs from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. China holds a large piece of territory called the Aksai Chin in Ladakh, which it won during the 1962 war with India, and claims Arunachal as part of the province of Tibet.
Relations between the neighbours hit a new low in July 2020 after at least 20 Indian armymen and four Chinese soldiers died in a clash in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. It was the first time in 45 years that a clash on the border had led to fatalities.
The clash quickly turned into a standoff, with both sides stationing thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets along the border.
Gen Dwivedi’s announcement has sparked mixed reactions. While some observers regard it as a move to foster patriotism and awareness, others are concerned about the logistical and strategic challenges it may pose.
“Promoting tourism in these regions offers a firsthand account of what our soldiers endure in these hostile terrains,” Suyash Desai, who studies China’s defence and foreign policies at the Observer Research Foundation, told The Independent. “It is an opportunity to celebrate their sacrifices and modern history.”
Mr Desai also said the move could boost local economies through tourism. “It’s a smart way to integrate civilians with the realities of these regions while fostering awareness and economic growth.”
Shibani Mehta, senior research analyst at Carnegie India, emphasised alternative ways of honoring military sacrifices. “While visiting these sites could create powerful emotional connections to military history, traditional war memorials, museums, and educational programmes can achieve the same without requiring travel to remote, unsafe locations,” she said.
“The question becomes whether the additional impact of visiting actual battle sites justifies the risks and environmental impact.”
The military’s decision to promote tourism in places such as the Galwan Valley is not without its alterior motives, retired lieutenant general Rameshwar Roy said.
One could be to counter narratives about territorial loss to China in Galwan, he said. “This might be a way to validate to ordinary citizens that the claims of Chinese encroachments are exaggerated,” he told The Independent.
He noted the inherent difficulty in civilian verification, however, as boundary demarcations are not physically visible nor are they easily interpreted by the untrained eye. The lack of markers or clear lines on the terrain underscores the complexity of such tours, making the initiative more symbolic than functional, he added.
The inhospitable terrain of these areas, with altitudes ranging from 16,000 to 18,000ft, raises questions about the feasibility of mass tourism.
“Even trained soldiers face immense challenges in these environments,” Lt Gen Roy said, emphasising that civilians would need acclimatisation to avoid severe health risks, such as altitude sickness or heart conditions.
The lack of civil infrastructure further complicates matters as the military would likely have to step in for logistics and rescue operations during emergencies.
“And if our government permits, foreigners will also jump at it and then they all will come and surely we aren’t going to permit foreign tourists to come and take the terrain mapping of our border areas, you know,” he said.
Mr Desai acknowledges such concerns but trusts the military to handle them. “I am confident that proper care will be taken, such as designating specific routes and ensuring that sensitive geographical details are not exposed,” he said.
For him, the broader objective of establishing a permanent status quo along the disputed border is paramount. He cites China’s strategy of building settlements along the Line of Actual Control as a model for India to emulate.
According to news reports, China has been establishing new settlements along its borders, particularly in regions adjacent to India.
Termed “border guardians” by Beijing, these settlements are part of a broader strategy to bolster territorial claims and strengthen security infrastructure along the border.
More than 628 such villages have reportedly been built in Tibet along India’s border from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. The dual purpose design of these villages, accommodating both civilians and soldiers, has sparked concerns in India’s military and strategic circles.
Mr Desai said by encouraging tourism and establishing settlements in the border areas, “India is effectively creating a new status quo, making it harder for adversaries to alter borders. It’s a necessary catch-up to China’s advances”.
“Even if it’s a revenue expenditure, the strategic advantage of creating a civilian presence in these areas is invaluable,” he said. “It’s a step towards making these borders more permanent.”
“Developing border villages is the surest way of securing our border belt,” argued Lt Gen Roy. “This is a far greater and bigger way than deploying security forces to secure our borders but government must take a commitment to do that, merely army assertions in this regard will not be enough.”
China finds world’s largest gold deposit worth over £63 billion
China says it has discovered the world’s largest known deposit of gold, estimated to be worth over $80bn (£63bn).
The deposit at the Wangu goldfield in central China could yield more than 1,000 tonnes of gold, the Geological Bureau of Hunan was quoted as saying by Chinese state media.
The bureau announced the detection of 40 gold veins, which are long and narrow openings in rocks filled with the metal, around a mile deep in Hunan province’s Pingjiang county. These rocks alone may have 300 tonnes of gold and there could be more reserves at deeper layers, geologists said.
“Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold,” Chen Rulin, a geologist and ore prospector at the bureau, said.
Test drills near the site’s “peripheral areas” found more gold, suggesting that the deposit could be even larger.
In all, there could be over 1,000 metric tonnes of the precious metal at the site which, at current prices, would bring in more than 600 billion yuan, or about $83bn (£65bn).
Global gold prices rose after the discovery was announced, but the long-term trajectory remained uncertain due to geopolitical tensions around the world.
The demand for the precious metal has increased in China amid global uncertainties. And the latest find, according to the Hunan Provincial Geological Institute, could be “significant in helping safeguard the country’s resource security”.
The Wangu goldfield is one of China’s most critical mining hubs and the country has invested nearly 100 million yuan for mineral exploration in the area.
China produced about a tenth of the world’s gold as of 2023.
The nation is a global leader in mining, dominating the production of precious metals used to make new generations of batteries and electronics.
It also leads the world in the export of technology for mining, developing new ways to reduce carbon emissions in the process.