Shangri-La threatened

Oped >> Opinion

• DATELINE MUSTANG

SURENDRA PHUYAL

Amid fears of a possible Khampa revival, the “superpowers” are showing their might in Mustang

NOV 04 - A way from the urban hustle and bustle and never-ending political dramas, Mustang relishes its peace and tranquillity. As the blue skies provide a perfect backdrop, the snow-capped mountains — such as Nilgiri, Tilicho, the Annapurnas and Dhaulagiri peaks — glisten all around the desert-like valley. From the heart of Mustang, the Kali Gandaki River, its headwaters further north in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China, flows clean and calm. North of the Annapurna range here, on the Tibetan plateau, there’s hardly any forest or shrub cover as in the areas south of the Himalaya. Occasionally, an orchard or two glow near the river basin. Near the slopes higher up, next to the straight-out-of-glacier fountains, some sea-buck-thorn plants or their close relatives adorn the unique landscapes.

Barring a few fields where the indigenous Thakalis or people of Tibetan origin (most of whom call themselves Gurungs), grow buckwheat or potato, there isn’t much agricultural activity in upper Mustang. In a trans-Himalayan region where even yaks, sheep and goats are a rare sight, such wildlife species as the blue sheep, Himalayan thar or snow leopard that inhabit the Annapurna region are bound to be even rarer. What’s strange is that even the sight of humans is rare in Mustang. A remote district which, until recently, was connected only by turboprop flights, Mustang is among Nepal’s least populated districts.

Yet Mustang is among the most popular destinations for tourists, pilgrims and Kathmandu-based diplomats.

Strategic

True, in peak tourist seasons like spring and fall, the Jomsom-Muktinath-Thorung La pass (en route to Manang to the east, along the Annapurna circuit) remains chock-a-block with Muktinath-bound pilgrims, international trekkers and mountaineers alike. That said, Upper Mustang’s Lo Manthang, an ancient kingdom, is no less popular; the only hassle is that foreigners require special permit. The area has attracted many high-profile visitors in recent months including the U.S., French, Indian and Chinese ambassadors. The envoys’ visits to the “strategically sensitive” area — coming at a time when Nepal-based Tibetan refugees have launched a series of anti-China protests — raised many eyebrows in Kathmandu.

Maybe the suspicions weren’t unfounded. Back in the early 1970s, an armed revolt by the Tibetan Khampa warriors in support of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, spread as far as Upper Mustang, raising Kathmandu’s, and Beijing’s, hackles. The Khampas were allegedly supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA. But that revolt was eventually crushed by the Nepal Army (NA). Today, the Mountain Warfare School of the NA, based in Jomsom, is popular among many international armies that are friendly to the NA, including the Honolulu-headquartered U.S. Pacific Command.

Beijing may be concerned about a possible resurrection of the Khampas in sensitive pockets like Upper Mustang, but Nepal’s friendly “superpowers” have their own way of showcasing their presence — or might? — in Mustang. In Kagbeni, an Indian-built library stands tall on the premises of Janashanti High School; in Lo Manthang a U.S.-funded project to renovate an ancient monastery goes on in full swing; in Taglung, the locals seem thankful to the Chinese ambassador for the financial assistance that their village school received recently. Officials indicate there’s more to come.

For Mustang is teeming with the internationals — as ever.

“We are glad that important diplomats do care about Mustang these days,” says a top government official in Jomsom, grinning. “The more they visit us, the better.”

Good times

Every morning turboprop aircraft, filled mostly with dollar-paying high-end tourists, steer their way into the Jomsom Valley, just as four-wheel jeeps negotiate the fair-weather dirt roads that connect Muktinath-Jomsom with Beni, about 75 km south en route to Pokhara. Day in and day out, these days, the jeeps ferry passengers along the Jomsom-Muktinath road, whose condition is slightly better than the Jomsom-Beni track which can suddenly turn treacherous and unsafe. Minus that, lower Mustang chiefly the villages of Marpha, Kalapani, Tukuche and Ghasa continue to bask in natural beauty and associated prosperity.

Further up, Muktinath and Upper Mustang reap the benefits of tourism, and alternative energy promotion. To the south, the Gurung-Thakali community members are the proud producers and suppliers of such exotic produce as apple, walnut, potato and a variety of aromatic and herbal products that fetch good prices in the markets of Jomsom, Pokhara or Kathmandu. Even better, products of Mustang are beginning to find markets abroad. “We are glad that whatever little we grow here is getting a good price in the market,” says Karma Gurung, a farmer in Kagbeni. “But since we have limited arable land, tourism is very important for us.”

And Mustangis don’t complain much.

Why would they? Tens of thousands of international tourists visit the Annapurna area for trekking, mountaineering and other adventure activities. Despite gradual modernization of the world famous Annapurna Circuit that circles the famed Annapurna Conservation Area, international tourist arrivals have continually gone up. Such is the beauty and charm of the region (that boasts everything from several of the world’s highest mountains to the world’s deepest gorge, the Kali Gandaki) that trekkers don’t stop even if the tiny trail does. Seemingly reluctantly, the hapless trekkers continue trekking even along the dusty, dirt road that these days remain crowded with rowdy jeeps and motorbikes.

Uncertainty

Mustangis are happy that their district has finally been linked by a road. That road could soon be improved, considerably upgraded to national or international standards. “The district prison is empty, there’re no cases pending in the court here, we don’t have to worry about theft and other petty crimes as of now,” says a proud lodge-owner in Jomsom. But now that the jeeps have arrived, we never know, he adds. Thanks to uncontrolled tourism and modernization of the Annapurna area, things may not be the same. Already, there are eyesores like political graffiti on the otherwise pristine rocks of a region that stands like Shangri-La. Bad signs.

Wrong-headed geopolitical manoe-uvrings could prove even worse.

(The writer is a BBC Nepali Service correspondent)

Surendra Phuyal

nepal.surendra@gmail.com