New Delhi, June 28: Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced on Thursday that the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra — a sacred pilgrimage route for Indian devotees — is set to resume after a six-year suspension, following discussions with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun.
Singh met Dong on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao, where the two leaders held what Singh described as a “constructive and forward-looking” conversation on bilateral ties.
“Held talks with Admiral Dong Jun, the Defence Minister of China, on the sidelines of the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao. We had a constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on issues pertaining to bilateral relation,” Singh said in a post on social media platform X.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remained suspended amid heightened tensions between India and China, especially after the deadly clashes in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley the same year.
The resumption of the pilgrimage is seen as a potential sign of thawing relations between the two neighbours, who have been locked in a prolonged military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Yatra holds religious significance for Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists, and traditionally includes routes passing through Chinese-administered Tibet.
Officials have not yet provided specific dates for when the pilgrimage will restart.
