New Delhi: India Saturday announced resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra after a gap of five years, following the recent thaw in ties with China marked by talks that facilitated disengagement at friction points across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) struck last October.
“Kailash Manasarovar Yatra organised by Ministry of External Affairs is set to take place during June to August 2025. This year, 5 batches, each consisting of 50 yatris, and 10 batches, each consisting of 50 yatris, are scheduled to travel through Uttarakhand State crossing over at Lipulekh Pass, and through Sikkim State crossing over at Nathu La Pass, respectively,” said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement issued Saturday.
A total of 750 yatris will be allowed to travel to the pilgrimage site through two routes via Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu La Pass in Sikkim.
ThePrint reported on 17 April that the announcement for the yatra was to happen within the next seven to ten days.
The resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra is amongst the early confidence building measures between India and China, following the clashes at Galwan in the summer months of 2020. The yatra was originally halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but remained suspended for the following four years due to tensions between New Delhi and Beijing.
Following the disengagement agreement between the two countries first announced on 21 October 2024 by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, the resumption of the yatra, had been one of the asks by New Delhi as a part of repairing ties with Beijing. The yatra organised by MEA is significant for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. Pilgrims are expected to trek at heights of 19,500 feet, under difficult terrain and inhospitable conditions.
Resumption of the yatra was first agreed to during Misri’s visit to Beijing in January of this year. In return for resuming the Kailash Mansarovar yatra, China has been pushing for resumption of direct flights between the two countries, which was agreed to “in principle” during Misri’s visit.
The two sides are working to come to a technical framework for the resumption of direct flight services. Subsequent to the announcement of disengagement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan.
The early confidence building measures come as China has been facing the brunt of the trade war started by US President Donald J. Trump. It also comes at a time when ties between India and Pakistan have been further impacted by the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Islamabad has relied heavily on Beijing for investment and security over the years.
At least 25 Indians and one foreign national were killed by armed terrorists in Pahalgam on 22 April. On Wednesday, India alleged cross-border linkages to the attack and imposed punitive measures on Pakistan, which included holding the Indus Waters Treaty in “abeyance”.
The Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong to India condemned the attack in a statement on the social media platform X. India has briefed the Chinese top diplomat earlier this week on the Pahalgam attack.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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