{{Use Indian English|date=January 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Kaurik | other_name = Khyuré | native_name_lang = | settlement_type = Village | image_skyline = | image_alt = | image_caption = | etymology = | pushpin_map = India Himachal Pradesh#India | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Himachal Pradesh | coordinates = {{coord|32.096|78.673 |region:IN|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|India}} | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Himachal Pradesh | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Lahul and Spiti | subdivision_type3 = Tehsil | subdivision_name3 = Spiti | established_title = | established_date = | founder = | seat_type = Panchayat | seat = | leader_party = | leader_title = | leader_name = | unit_pref = Metric | area_total_km2 = 60.01 | elevation_m = 3690 | population_as_of = 2011 | population_total = 288 | population_density_km2 = | population_demonym = | population_footnotes = <ref name=census>{{citation |title=District Census Handbook – Lahul & Spiti |publisher=Director of Census Operations, Himachal Pradesh |year=2011 |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/479/download/1564/DH_2011_0203_PART_B_DCHB_LAHUL_SPITI.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114075305/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/479/download/1564/DH_2011_0203_PART_B_DCHB_LAHUL_SPITI.pdf |archive-date=14 January 2024 |page=110}} (The name is misspelt as "Kauirik".)</ref> | timezone1 = IST | utc_offset1 = +5:30 | postal_code_type = <!-- PIN --> | postal_code = | area_code_type = <!-- STD Code --> | area_code = | footnotes = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 11 | mapframe-wikidata = yes }} '''Kaurik''', originally ''Khyuré'',{{sfnp|Cunningham, Correspondence of the Commissioners|1848|pp=89–90}}{{efn|Other spellings: Khyuri,{{sfnp|Kaul, India China Boundary|2003|pp=55–56}} Kyuri,<ref>{{citation |title=Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, Volume 5, Part 1 |publisher=Geological Survey of India, by order of the Governor-General of India |year=1865 |page=120 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=68I6WnMR7RoC&pg=PA120}}</ref> and Kyurik. The Chinese spelling is {{zh|c=曲惹|p=Qū rě}}. It was transliterated as "Chuje" in 1960.{{sfnp|Report of the Officials|1962|pp=4, 25–26}} "Churi" is another transliteration found in some sources.<ref>[http://www.tibetmap.com/3278o150.jpg Tibetmap sheet 3278], Tibet Map Institute, 2009</ref>}} is a village in the Lahul and Spiti district, in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is in the valley of the Pare Chu river before its confluence with the Spiti River. Kaurik is close to the border with Tibet, the opposite side on the Tibetan side being the Tsosib Sumkyil Township (Churup Sumkhel).<ref> [https://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070610/spectrum/main1.htm Spiti: Legend & lore], Spectrum (Tribune India), 10 June 2007. </ref> China claims the village as part of its Tsamda County, Tibet.

== Geography == Kaurik lies in the Zanskar Range on the bank of the Pare Chu river (or Parang River). Pare Chu originates in Spiti and takes a circuitous route through Ladakh and Ngari Khorsum, finally reentering Spiti at Kaurik. It joins the Spiti River at Sumdo about 20&nbsp;km to the southwest.

Kaurik is situated on a flat at an elevation of {{convert|3690|m|abbr=on}}, halfway up the ridge that forms the India–China border (Line of Actual Control) at this location. The ridge itself rises to an elevation of 4600&nbsp;m above Kaurik. The closest border point is about 700&nbsp;m to the east, where the Pare Chu river crosses into Spiti. There is a border post called Lepcha at this location.<ref>Noni Chawla, [https://www.outlooktraveller.com/explore/features/a-road-trip-to-spiti-in-himachal-pradesh A road trip to Spiti in Himachal Pradesh], Outlook Traveller, 29 Nov 2015.</ref>

Across the border is the village of Churup (Tsurup), the seat of the Tsosib Sumkyil Township in Tsamda County of the Tibet region of China.

== Demographics == In 1975, landslides during an earthquake completely destroyed the village situated in Kaurik,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Chawla |first=Noni |date=30 November 2015 |title=A road trip to Spiti in Himachal Pradesh |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/46832/a-road-trip-to-spiti-in-himachal-pradesh |archive-url= |archive-date= |magazine=Outlook }}</ref><ref>Srivastava, Lakshman Saran, "[https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/2icchge/2icchge-session4/10/ Landslides in Rock Slopes During January 19, 1975, Kinnaur Earthquake in Himachal Pradesh, India]" (1988). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 10.</ref> Largest number of survivors of Kaurik village now reside in Hurling village in this area.<ref>{{citation |first1=Aniket |last1=Alam |first2=Aman Kant |last2=Panta |first3=Kesang |last3=Thakur |first4=Neekee |last4=Chaturvedi |title=Losing a Home, Finding a Nation: The Curious History of Hurling Village in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh |work=The Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal & The Himalaya |year=2021 |url=https://annualconference.soscbaha.org/topic/losing-a-home-finding-a-nation-the-curious-history-of-hurling-village-in-spiti-himachal-pradesh/}}</ref> The ruins of Kaurik are in a restricted area under Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) control.<ref>Gaurav Bisht, [https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/chinas-pla-resumes-building-border-post-along-kaurik-in-hp-101620367078126.html China’s PLA resumes building border post along Kaurik in HP], Hindustan Times, 7 May 2021.</ref>

== Sino-Indian border dispute == In 1847, when the British border commission headed by Alexander Cunningham went to the Indo-Tibetan border at Kaurik, the commissioners were unobustructed till reaching that place, but were prohibited from going beyond. They faced the emissaries of the governor of Gartok sent there for the purpose of pointing out the "ancient boundary between Ladakh and the Chinese territory". (Spiti was traditionally part of Ladakh.){{sfnp|Cunningham, Correspondence of the Commissioners|1848|pp=89–90}}{{sfnp|Kaul, India China Boundary|2003|loc=pp. 55–56: "Thus in Spiti, it is clear, that the boundary ran along the villages of Khyuri [Kaurik], Shaktolb and Chooret."}}

In December 1957, seven years after the Chinese annexation of Tibet, Chinese forces were said to have intruded at Kaurik, for which India lodged a protest. In 1959, after the Kongka La incident, that China raised a number of disputes regarding the mutual border, including at Kaurik.{{sfnp|Verghese, A Reassessment of Indian Policy in Asia|2016|pp=104–105}} However, there have been no clashes at this location till date.

During the 1990s, a joint working group of India and China held multiple meetings and exchaned maps of the "middle sector" of the border in 2000. Kaurik was identified as one of the locations where the claims of the two countries overlapped, and the disputed territory was estimated to be {{convert|250|km2}}.{{sfnp|Gupta, The Himalayan Face-off|2014|p=106}}<ref>Sushant Singh, [https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-china-ladakh-border-lac-galwan-6441494/ De-escalation process underway: 2 LAC flashpoints are not in list of identified areas still contested], The Indian Express, 4 June 2020.</ref> It is believed that the Chinese claim extends down to Sumdo, and includes the Gue village and valley.

== Transportation == Kaurik is connected to the rest of India through the Kaurik–Sumdo Road, and from Sumdo, through two national highways—NH 5 (Sumdo-Nako-Shimla Highway) through Kinnaur district and NH 505 (Sumdo-Kaza-Gramphu-Manali highway) through the Spiti River valley. The latter remains closed for 7 months due to winter snows on the Kunzum Pass (4,551 m or 14,931&nbsp;ft).<ref name="kaur1">[https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/bro-restores-sumdho-gramphu-road-after-seven-months-258395 BRO restores Sumdho-Gramphu road after seven months], The Tribune, 26 May 2021.</ref> A dual-use airstrip, 100&nbsp;km to the west, is under construction, scheduled to be completed in 2024.<ref name="ranga1">[https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/to-counter-china-nyoma-airfield-in-ladakh-to-be-full-fledged-base-in-2-yrs-467406 To counter China, Nyoma airfield in Ladakh to be full-fledged base in 2 years], The Tribune, 5 Jan 2023.</ref>

== See also == * Gue, Himachal Pradesh * Sumdo, Himachal Pradesh

== Notes == {{Notelist}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

; Sources * {{citation |title=Correspondence of the Commissioners deputed to the Tibetan Frontier communicated by H. M. Elliot |journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |volume=XVII, Part I |year=1848 |pp=89–132 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiatic171asia/page/88 |ref={{sfnref|Cunningham, Correspondence of the Commissioners|1848}}}} * {{citation |editor=India, Ministry of External Affairs |title=Report of the Officials of the Governments of India and the People's Republic of China on the Boundary Question |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.3188 |year=1962 |publisher=Government of India Press |ref={{sfnref|Report of the Officials|1962}}}} * {{citation |last=Gupta |first=Shishir |title=The Himalayan Face-Off: Chinese Assertion and the Indian Riposte |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Ig5AwAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Hachette India |isbn=978-93-5009-606-2 |ref={{sfnref|Gupta, The Himalayan Face-off|2014}}}} * {{citation |last=Kaul |first=Hriday Nath |title=India China Boundary in Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hYduAAAAMAAJ |year=2003 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |ISBN=978-81-212-0826-0 |ref={{sfnref|Kaul, India China Boundary|2003}}}} * {{cite journal |last1=Verghese |first1=B. G. |title=A Reassessment of Indian Policy in Asia |journal=India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs |volume=17 |issue=2 |year=2016 |pages=103–127 |issn=0974-9284 |doi=10.1177/097492846101700201 |ref={{sfnref|Verghese, A Reassessment of Indian Policy in Asia|2016}}}}

Category:Villages in Lahaul and Spiti district