Soldiers Versus Shepherds: Indian Shepherds Stand Up To Chinese Military

NEW DELHI—Indian shepherds in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh stood their ground against Chinese soldiers on Jan. 2 when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers stopped the shepherds’ livestock from grazing in territory claimed by both countries. The issue eventually led the Indian government to promise shepherds that a few soldiers would accompany them during the next grazing season in the region, said local officials. The confrontation between a few Indian shepherds and more than a dozen unarmed PLA soldiers happened in the Nyoma constituency of Ladakh, and came to light only last week. It is the latest attempt by locals to assert their traditional grazing rights in the region, which has faced decades of “salami slicing”—a tactic in which the Chinese grab land inch by inch. Since the June 2020 Galwan conflict, the contentious area has seen increasing military build-up on both sides....