The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, will resume on June 30 after a five-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The yatra will be conducted in five groups of 50 people each, with the first group entering China via Lipulekh Pass on July 10 and the last group departing on August 22. The pilgrimage, which holds great religious significance for Hindus, involves circumambulating Mount Kailash and taking a bath in Lake Manasarovar, believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that India and China have reached an understanding to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in 2025. While an understanding has been reached, the modalities of the pilgrimage are yet to be firmed up. The Yatra has been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and non-renewal of Yatra arrangements by the Chinese side.
Amid unrest in Nepal, pilgrims from Tamil Nadu crossed the border for Kailash Mansarovar, and a wedding was held at the India-Nepal border.
China Eastern Airlines has resumed its Shanghai-Delhi service after a five-year gap, marking the first mainland Chinese carrier to restore direct flights to India this year. The resumption follows the resolution of border tensions and aims to boost trade, economic, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Chinese airline China Eastern is set to begin its Delhi-Shanghai flight from Sunday, days after IndiGo's flight to Guangzhou from Kolkata, marking the resumption of the flight services between the two countries after a gap of five years.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is being organised by the ministry of external affairs from end of May/ early June to September.
India is preparing to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, after a three-year hiatus. The decision comes as part of efforts to improve relations between India and China, which have been strained since a military standoff in 2020. The two countries have also agreed in principle to resume flight services between them.
"Earlier Haj House was made in Ghaziabad. Our government constructed Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan. Earlier the mafia used to harass traders, but now no mafia can dare to grab property of any trader, doctor or a poor person...," he said.
'The missile mounted near Kailash-Mansarovar is called DF-21. It is a medium-range, 2,200 kilometres ballistic missile. Its advantage is that it can cover all cities of north India, including New Delhi'
India and China will resume direct flight services by the end of this month after a five-year gap, signaling an effort to rebuild ties strained by the border standoff in eastern Ladakh.
The road network at the Indo-China border will also help locals settle in their villages to run homestay and other tourism-related businesses
The yatra will continue for the next four months.
The Haj Committees and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd, which organise the religious pilgrimages will not have to Service Tax.
The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India.
Nepal has reiterated its claim over the Lipulekh territory, stating it is an inseparable part of the country, after India and China agreed to resume border trade through the area. The Nepalese government has incorporated the territory into its official map and Constitution. India has rejected Nepal's claims, asserting they are not based on historical facts or evidence.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun that India and China should maintain the positive momentum in the bilateral ties and avoid adding new complexities.
India is committed to taking forward its ties with China based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two leaders held wide-ranging talks to reset the bilateral relations.
China promised to address three key concerns of India, the sources said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India for border talks with NSA Ajit Doval, ahead of PM Modi's visit to China for the SCO summit. The visit aims to improve bilateral ties after recent tensions.
A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet, marking the resumption of the pilgrimage after a five-year gap. The Yatra's resumption is seen as an attempt to normalize India-China relations, which were strained by the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, with pilgrims traveling in five batches via the Lipulekh route and ten batches via the Nathu La route. The selection process was deemed "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which organized the pilgrimage.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval stated that India-China relations have shown an "upward trend" in the past nine months, with peace prevailing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This statement was made during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the boundary issue, ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to China for the SCO summit.
India and China are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to India. The visit is seen as an effort to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes.
India on Wednesday outright rejected China's attempts to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such 'preposterous' attempts will not alter the 'undeniable' reality that the state 'was, is, and will' always remain an integral part of India.
The annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, undertaken by hundreds of pilgrims involving circumambulation of Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in Tibet, will commence in the middle of this year amid tight security.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Japan and China starting around August 29. The visit to China would be his first after the Ladakh border standoff.
Wang is travelling to India days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned trip to the Chinese city of Tianjin to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra began on Friday as the first batch of 58 pilgrims was flagged off by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat from Almora.
Is this Rahul on Kailash Mansarovar Yatra? Fake photos, says BJP
China welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), expressing hope that the event will be a 'gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results'.
Gandhi took to Twitter to put out a Sanskrit shloka from the Upanishads and tweeted a picture of Mount Kailash along with it.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday flagged off the first batch of pilgrims for Kailash Mansarovar yatra in Tibetan Autonomous Region of China through a new route via Nathu La pass.
'If China shows greater concerns for Indian interests, ties could improve. Otherwise, the thaw could be short-lived.'
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India focuses on border talks with NSA Ajit Doval, amidst efforts to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes and rising India-US tensions.
Nepal's claim on Lipulekh and Kalapani reopens a 200-year-old border dispute, while historical maps and treaties show the area belongs to India, asserts Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung (retd).
India and China on Monday decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as the two sides agreed to take certain people-centric steps to 'stabilise and rebuild' ties.
Pilgrims travelling through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand will continue as scheduled.
India and China have announced a series of measures aimed at improving their relationship, including maintaining peace along the border, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flights.
India and China have agreed to rebuild ties and resume people-to-people exchanges, including resuming direct flights and the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year. The two countries also discussed the resumption of dialogue mechanisms to address each other's concerns and move relations to a more stable path. The meeting comes after a period of strained relations following the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.
India and China held diplomatic talks in Beijing, focusing on effective border management and the resumption of cross-border cooperation and exchanges, including on trans-border rivers and the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra. The meeting explored measures and proposals to implement decisions made during the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue in December. Both sides agreed to work together for the next SR meeting in India later this year.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has arrived in Beijing for a two-day visit during which he will hold talks with Chinese officials. The visit comes amid ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and to resume bilateral cooperation in various fields, including the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
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