Army facilitates border pilgrimage under special initiative

Itanagar, Jun 30 (PTI) The Indian Army’s Spearhead Division facilitated a pilgrimage for residents of frontier villages in Arunachal Pradesh to the sacred Chorten at Kepang La Pass along the India-Tibet border, Defence officials said on Tuesday.

The pilgrimage, organised under the Ministry of Defence’s flagship initiative ‘Rann Bhoomi Darshan’, coincided with the annual observance of the Universal Smoke Prayer Day, Defence PRO Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said.

Residents from Gelling, recognised as India’s first village on the border, along with villagers from Norbuling and Tuting, participated in the event, which aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of the state’s frontier communities while strengthening civil-military bonds.

“Kepang La holds profound

spiritual significance for the local Buddhist population. During the century-old Universal Smoke Prayer Day tradition, devotees offer incense and ceremonial smoke to pray for universal peace and prosperity,” the official said, adding that the Army provided seamless logistical support and safety coordination for the rituals.

As part of the Rann Bhoomi Darshan experience, the border residents also visited the Siang Shaurya Sthal to pay homage to the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during the 1962 War.

The visiting contingent was also taken to a state-of-the-art audio-visual facility for a presentation on the strategic history of Kepang La and the 1962 conflict, followed by a tour of a local souvenir shop and the newly constructed Kepang La Cafe.

The cafe has been developed as a welcoming space to promote tourism and generate local engagement in the remote border sector.

“Through the Rann Bhoomi Darshan initiative, the Indian Army aims to promote the socio-economic growth of border regions by boosting tourism to frontier battlefields,” the official added, reinforcing the military’s commitment to inclusive development and cultural preservation in the border state. PTI CORR RG