On LAC, PLA preys on yaks, we pray to them
Old-timers in Indian Army reveal PLA very touchy about yaks, won’t hesitate to go to war over them
They chop it well from the head to tail, dump the large portions of flesh into a container and store it a few feet below the earth for several days. Worms to feed on the flesh and multiply. Weeks later, the container is pulled up and it is feast time.
This is how the soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army of China deployed along the line of actual control (LAC) in Tibet autonomous region eat the yak, with the worms, which makes them stronger and hardier. A few kilometres on the Indian side, the yak, dwindling in numbers, is worshipped.
The yak is a special animal to the PLA. Recently, the eastern command of the Indian army handed over 13 yaks and four calves that strayed across the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, to China, in what was called a humane gesture.
Sources acquainted with the functioning and habits of the PLA soldiers told Deccan Chronicle that the Chinese army has been heavily dependent on yaks even prior to the 1962 war. In fact, the PLA has a dedicated yak unit which takes men and material through impenetrable mountain passes along the LAC.
“Although the PLA soldiers kill and eat yaks, they do so mostly when the animal dies accidentally or is old and of no more use for them, though there have been instances wherein
they have snatched yaks from locals in Tibet and consumed them. They use yaks for patrolling. Their soldiers have survived on the mountains not due to their technological advancements but due to the yaks which even provide warmth to the soldiers who sleep beside them during harsh winters,” the sources said.
The PLA consider the yak to be a symbol of good luck, success and strength. According to feng shui, a traditional practice which originated in ancient China, yak heads and tails both symbolise good luck. The head symbolises strength.
Just like the Indian Army has been dependent on mules and ponies in mountain warfare, Chinese troops cannot do without yaks and keep ‘recruiting’ the best breeds. Of them, Tibetan yaks are the most popular and useful. “PLA soldiers also drink yak milk and eat yak butter, both considered highly nutritious and cures to various ailments. Yak blood is high in protein and raw yak meat is highly nutritious,” the sources said.
What makes it the best suited animal in mountains is its massive respiratory system and outer coat and the fact that its blood takes in more oxygen than other bovines making it survive easily in the harshest of the climates. Yaks hardly sweat.
Old timers who served in the Indian Army say that the PLA is so touchy about yaks that it will not hesitate to go to war over them.
“A missing flock of 59 yaks and about 800 sheep had triggered tensions between the two countries in 1965. It led to a border conflict between the two armies in Sikkim in 1967. There were heated exchanges between the two countries over the yaks and sheep after the PLA accused Indian forces of stealing the animals from Tibetan herdsmen on the Sikkim border,” a former army officer who worked along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) recalled.
Though there have often been suspicions that the PLA sends yaks and sheep into Indian territory fitted with spying tools, the Indian army, wary of PLA’s designs, has not found any concrete evidence of that.