-Satyakam Ray

If the government covers up the knowledge of aliens, they are doing a better job than they do at anything else. The wise words of Stephen Hawking are pretty relevant. The profound impact of the proclamation of alien existence is evident in our religious beliefs, society, country, and even humanity. If the so-called conspiracy theory of human-alien interaction is confirmed, then all hell can break loose. Our community can quickly descend into complete chaos and anarchy. Returning to normalcy would have been impossible at that time. Perhaps governments and militaries prefer to maintain a stoic silence on alien-related matters and to discredit eyewitness accounts as hoaxes or as other physical phenomena.

 The Indian government may not be as secretive as the US counterpart on clandestine UFO operations, but we have our fair share of alien legends. Himachal Pradesh is renowned for its breathtaking snowy hills and the occasional sightings of UFOs. This foreign reference is so standard in old Himalayan folklore that ordinary Himachalis no longer take it seriously. Besides Himachal, UFOs have been sighted in Delhi (1951), Bihar (1954), and Kolkata (2007). Ladakh, including the Kongka La Pass, Spiti, and Chandratal Lake, has frequently been in the news for UFO sightings. In 2012, ITBP reported several incidents in the Ladakh region.

Below are some credible sightings and excerpts from reports published in various magazines.

• In 2004, in the Lahaul-Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh, less than 100 km south of Ladakh, one of the most apparent UFO sightings ever occurred. A five-member group of geologists and glaciologists, led by Dr. Anil Kulkarni of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad, was on a research trip through the barren Samudra Tapu Valley. They filmed a four-foot-tall robot-like figure walking along the valley 50 m from them. The humanoid object then rapidly took to the air and disappeared. The encounter lasted 40 minutes.

The picture was taken by Dr. Kulkrni’s team.

• The Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) have reported Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. An ITBP unit based in Thakung, near Pangong Tso Lake, reported over 100 sightings of luminous objects between August 1 and October 15, 2012. They described seeing “Unidentified Luminous Objects” both day and night. The yellowish spheres appear to lift off the horizon on the Chinese side and slowly traverse the sky for three to five hours before disappearing. These were not unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones, or even low-earth-orbiting satellites, according to Army officials who studied the hazy photographs of the ITBP.

Mysterious yellow spheres

• In September 2012, the Army relocated a mobile ground-based radar unit and a spectrum analyzer, which detects frequencies emitted by any object, to a mountaintop near the 160-km-long, ribbon-shaped Pangong Lake, located between India and China. The radar could not detect the visually tracked object, indicating it was non-metallic. The spectrum analyzer showed no signals being emitted from them. The Army also flew a reconnaissance drone toward the floating object, but it proved futile. The drone reached its maximum altitude but lost sight of the floating object.
• In late September 2012, a team of astronomers from the Indian Astronomical Observatory at Hanle, 150 km south of the lake, studied the airborne phenomena for three days. The team spotted the flying objects but could not conclusively identify them. However, they stated that the phenomenon was “non-celestial” and ruled out meteors and planets as the cause.
• Local people share stories of sightings that have occurred over decades. Even local folklore includes the legend of Banshira, also known as the small people (sometimes called aliens). Many old Himachali people claim to have witnessed banshiras in earlier days. The pilgrimage to the Himalayas often recounts stories of mystical sightings in the Ladakh region.
• Various Armies deployed in the Ladakh region often get spooked by mysterious lights. Soldiers placed in Siachen also reported the same incident.

Being placed between Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and China-occupied Aksai Chin, the Ladakh region is strategically significant for the Indian military. The remote location and harsh environment make it suitable for various mystical sightings. Reports from the Indian Army and the ITBP often reach senior military officials and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), but they are usually buried and forgotten. Even the detailed information prepared by Dr. Kulkarni regarding the 2004 incident was sent to numerous international organizations, including the PMO. But the result was the same as before: futile. The topic of UFOs is perceived as ridiculous among military, scientific, and government personnel. Many eyewitnesses prefer to remain silent out of fear of ridicule.

Some alien enthusiasts say Kongka La Pass is a UFO base. People observe strange flying objects taking off and landing at specific locations in certain regions. Despite the heavy security along the India-China border, neither country patrols the Kong Ka area. The location is off-limits to journalists, local people, and scientists. To clear the air on UFO speculation, the Indian Army suggested Chinese lanterns as a possible explanation for the mysterious glowing lights.

In the US, the military and governments allegedly have developed a secret alien base and lab to reverse engineer many foreign technologies for military use. The area is popularly known as Area 51. Scientist Boyd Bushman has admitted to working with aliens in Area 51. The claim’s veracity is questionable for many nonbelievers. Recently, even after the confirmation of the Navy and Pentagon regarding UFO sightings, the maximum percentage of people scoffed at this path-breaking proclamation as a hoax. On the contrary, the UK government has publicly documented all its UFO sightings on the official website for public view.

Dr. Boyd Bushman showed the picture. Of the aliens he interacted with in Area 51

Whatever the reason for covering up, the general public should examine the UFO sightings with an open mind and find a rational explanation. Rationality, scientific temper, and transparency should be essential to dealing with the unknown. After all, it is unthinkable that not a single planet has a human-like population in the vast stretch of the galaxy. We are not allowing the Indian side of the Himalayas to remain full of unsolved mysteries.

It may also be worth noting that a Nazi expedition brought back a tiny statue from Tibet in the 1930s, which has since been confirmed to be of extraterrestrial origin. Who knows?!