KACHCHH, RANN OF

Kachchh also spelled Kutch, Cutch, or Kachh saline mudflats, west-central India and southern Pakistan. The Great Rann covers an area of about 7,000 square miles (18,000 square km) and lies almost entirely within Gujarat state, India, along the border with Pakistan. The Little Rann of Kachchh extends northeast from the Gulf of Kachchh and occupies about 2,000 square miles (5,100 square km) in Gujarat state. Originally an extension of the Arabian Sea, the Rann of Kachchh has been closed off by centuries of silting. During the time of Alexander the Great it was a navigable lake, but it is now an extensive mudflat, inundated during monsoon seasons. Settlement is limited to low, isolated hills. In 1965 a dispute arose over the India-Pakistan boundary line toward the western end of the Great Rann. Fighting broke out in April and ended only when Great Britain intervened to secure a cease-fire. On the report of the United Nations secretary-general to the Security Council, the dispute was referred to an international tribunal, which in 1968 awarded about 10 percent of the border area to Pakistan and about 90 percent to India; the partition was effected in 1969.