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Ladakh

March 29, 2023

Ladakh (/ləˈdɑːk/)[7] is a region administered by India as a union territory[8] which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947.[9][10] Ladakh is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south, both the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north. It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range to the north to the main Great Himalayas to the south.[11][12] The eastern end, consisting of the uninhabited Aksai Chin plains, is claimed by the Indian Government as part of Ladakh, and has been under Chinese control since 1962.[13]

Ladakh
Union Territory
( Region administered by India )
Emblem of Ladakh
Etymology: "land of high passes" in Lhasa Tibetan
Location of Ladakh in India
Coordinates: 34°00′N 77°30′E / 34.0°N 77.5°E / 34.0; 77.5
Administering countryIndia
RegionNorth India
Formation31 October 2019[1]
CapitalLeh
Kargil (Winter)
Largest CityLeh
DistrictsKargil district
Leh district
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Ladakh
 • Lieutenant GovernorB. D. Mishra
 • Chief SecretaryUmang Narula, IAS
 • Lok Sabha1 seat
Jamyang Tsering Namgyal
High CourtHigh Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
Area
[2]
 • Total59,146 km2 (22,836 sq mi)
 • Rank17th
Dimensions
 • Length650 km (400 mi)
 • Width240 km (150 mi)
Elevation
6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Highest elevation
(Saltoro Kangri[3])
7,742 m (25,400 ft)
Lowest elevation
(Indus River)
2,550 m (8,370 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total274,000
 • Rank35th
 • Density2.8/km2 (7/sq mi)
 • Urban
78.07%
 • Rural
21.93%
DemonymLadakhi
Language
 • OfficialHindi and English[4]
GDP
 • Total (2021)₹1.30 crore (US$160,000)
 • Per capita₹17,500 (US$220)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeIN-LA
Vehicle registrationLA[5]
HDI (2011)0.616
Literacy (2011)77.20 %
Websiteladakh.nic.in
Symbols of Ladakh
BirdBlack-necked crane[6]
MammalSnow leopard
List of State Symbols

In the past, Ladakh gained importance from its strategic location at the crossroads of important trade routes,[14] but as Chinese authorities closed the borders between Tibet Autonomous Region and Ladakh in the 1960s, international trade dwindled. Since 1974, the Government of India has successfully encouraged tourism in Ladakh. As Ladakh is strategically important, the Indian military maintains a strong presence in the region.

The largest town in Ladakh is Leh, followed by Kargil, each of which headquarters a district.[15] The Leh district contains the Indus, Shyok and Nubra river valleys. The Kargil district contains the Suru, Dras and Zanskar river valleys. The main populated regions are the river valleys, but the mountain slopes also support pastoral Changpa nomads. The main religious groups in the region are Muslims (mainly Shia) (46%), Buddhists (mainly Tibetan Buddhists) (40%), and Hindus (12%) with the remaining 2% made of other religions.[16][17] Ladakh is one of the most sparsely populated regions in India. Its culture and history are closely related to those of Tibet.[18]

Ladakh was established as a union territory of India on 31 October 2019, following the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act. Prior to that, it was part of the Jammu and Kashmir state. Ladakh is both the largest and the second least populous union territory of India.[19][citation needed]

Names

The classical name in Tibetan: ལ་དྭགས, Wylie: La dwags, THL: la dak means the "land of high passes". Ladak is its pronunciation in several Tibetan dialects. The English spelling Ladakh is derived from Persian: ladāx.[20][21]

The region was previously known as Maryul.

Medieval Islamic scholars called Ladakh the Great Tibet (derived from Turko-Arabic Ti-bat, meaning "highland"); Baltistan and other trans-Himalayan states in Kashmir's vicinity were referred to as "Little Tibets".[22][23][a]

It has also been called Ma-Lo-Pho (by Hiuen Tsang) or Lal Bhumi. Names in the local language include Kanchapa (Land of snow) and Ripul (Country of mountains).[citation needed]

History

Main article: History of Ladakh

Ancient history

 
South Asia in 565 CE

Rock carvings found in many parts of Ladakh indicate that the area has been inhabited from Neolithic times.[25] Ladakh's earliest inhabitants consisted of nomads known as Kampa.[26] Later settlements were established by Mons from Kullu and Brokpas who originated from Gilgit.[26] Around the 1st century, Ladakh was a part of the Kushan Empire. Buddhism spread into western Ladakh from Kashmir in the 2nd century. The 7th-century Buddhist traveller Xuanzang describes the region in his accounts.[27] Xuanzang's term of Ladakh is Mo-lo-so, which has been reconstructed by academics as *Malasa, *Marāsa, or *Mrāsa, which is believed to have been the original name of the region.[28][29]

For much of the first millennium, western Tibet comprised Zhangzhung kingdom(s), which practised the Bon religion. Sandwiched between Kashmir and Zhangzhung, Ladakh is believed to have been alternatively under the control of one or other of these powers. Academics find strong influences of Zhangzhung language and culture in "upper Ladakh" (from the middle section of the Indus valley to the southeast).[30] The penultimate king of Zhangzhung is said to have been from Ladakh.[31]

From around 660 CE, Central Tibet and China started contesting the "four garrisons" of the Tarim Basin (present day Xinjiang), a struggle that lasted three centuries. Zhangzhung fell victim to Tibet's ambitions in c. 634 and disappeared. India's Karkota Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate too joined the contest for Xinjiang soon afterwards. Baltistan and Ladakh were at the centre of these struggles.[32] Academics infer from the slant of Ladakhi chronicles that Ladakh may have owed its primary allegiance to Tibet during this time, but that it was more political than cultural. Ladakh remained Buddhist and its culture was not yet Tibetan.[33]

Early medieval history

Further information: Maryul
 
The empire of Kyide Nyimagon divided among his three sons, c. 930 CE. The border between Ladakh/Maryul and Guge-Purang is shown in a thin dotted line, north of Gartok

In the 9th century, Tibet's ruler Langdarma was assassinated and Tibet fragmented. Kyide Nyimagon, Langdarma's great-grandson, fled to West Tibet c. 900 CE, and founded a new West Tibetan kingdom at the heart of the old Zhangzhung, now called Ngari in the Tibetan language.

 
Royal drinking scene at Alchi Monastery, Ladakh, circa 1200 CE. The king wears a decorated Qabā', of Turco-Persian style. It is similar to another royal scene at nearby Mangyu Monastery.[34]

Nyimagon's eldest son, Lhachen Palgyigon, is believed to have conquered the regions to the north, including Ladakh and Rutog. After the death of Nyimagon, his kingdom was divided among his three sons, Palgyigon receiving Ladakh, Rutog, Thok Jalung and an area referred to as Demchok Karpo (a holy mountain near the present-day Demchok village). The second son received Guge–Purang (called "Ngari Korsum") and the third son received Zanskar and Spiti (to the southwest of Ladakh). This three-way division of Nyimagon's empire was recognised as historic and remembered in the chronicles of all the three regions as a founding narrative.

He gave to each of his sons a separate kingdom, viz., to the eldest Dpal-gyi-gon, Maryul of Mngah-ris, the inhabitants using black bows; ru-thogs [Rutog] of the east and the Gold-mine of Hgog [possibly Thok Jalung]; nearer this way Lde-mchog-dkar-po [Demchok Karpo]; ...

[citation needed]

The first West Tibetan dynasty of Maryul founded by Palgyigon lasted five centuries, being weakened towards its end by the conquests of the Mongol/Mughal noble Mirza Haidar Dughlat. Throughout this period the region was called "Maryul", possibly from the original proper name *Mrasa (Xuangzhang's, Mo-lo-so), but in the Tibetan language it was interpreted to mean "lowland" (the lowland of Ngari). Maryul remained staunchly Buddhist during this period, having participated in the second diffusion of Buddhism from India to Tibet via Kashmir and Zanskar.

Medieval history

Main article: Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh
 
Jama Masjid of Leh next to the Leh Palace

Between the 1380s and early 1510s, many Islamic missionaries propagated Islam and proselytised the Ladakhi people. Sayyid Ali Hamadani, Sayyid Muhammad Nur Baksh and Mir Shamsuddin Iraqi were three important Sufi missionaries who propagated Islam to the locals. Mir Sayyid Ali was the first one to make Muslim converts in Ladakh and is often described as the founder of Islam in Ladakh. Several mosques were built in Ladakh during this period, including in Mulbhe, Padum and Shey, the capital of Ladakh.[35][36] His principal disciple, Sayyid Muhammad Nur Baksh also propagated Islam to Ladakhis and the Balti people rapidly converted to Islam. Noorbakshia Islam is named after him and his followers are only found in Baltistan and Ladakh. During his youth, Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin expelled the mystic Sheikh Zain Shahwalli for showing disrespect to him. The sheikh then went to Ladakh and proselytised many people to Islam. In 1505, Shamsuddin Iraqi, a noted Shia scholar, visited Kashmir and Baltistan. He helped in spreading Shia Islam in Kashmir and converted the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Baltistan to his school of thought.[36]

 
Thikse Monastery, Ladakh

It is unclear what happened to Islam after this period and it seems to have received a setback. Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat who invaded and briefly conquered Ladakh in 1532, 1545 and 1548, does not record any presence of Islam in Leh during his invasion although Shia Islam and Noorbakshia Islam continued to flourish in other regions of Ladakh.[35][36]

King Bhagan reunited and strengthened Ladakh and founded the Namgyal dynasty (Namgyal means "victorious" in several Tibetan languages). The Namgyals repelled most Central Asian raiders and temporarily extended the kingdom as far as Nepal.[25] During the Balti invasion led by Raja Ali Sher Khan Anchan, many Buddhist temples and artefacts were damaged. Ali Sher Khan took the king and his soldiers as captives. Jamyang Namgyal was later restored to the throne by Ali Sher Khan and given the hand of a Muslim princess in marriage. Her name was Gyal Khatun or Argyal Khatoom. She was to be the first queen and her son was to become the next ruler. Historical accounts differ upon who her father was. Some identify Ali's ally and Raja of Khaplu Yabgo Shey Gilazi as her father, while others identify Ali himself as the father.[37][38][39][40][41][42] In the early 17th century efforts were made to restore the destroyed artefacts and gonpas by Sengge Namgyal, the son of Jamyang and Gyal. He expanded the kingdom into Zangskar and Spiti. Despite a defeat of Ladakh by the Mughals, who had already annexed Kashmir and Baltistan, Ladakh retained its independence.

 
The empire of kings Tsewang Namgyal and Jamyang Namgyal, about 1560–1600 CE
 
Cham dance during Dosmoche festival in Leh Palace

Islam begins to take root in the Leh area in the beginning of the 17th century after the Balti invasion and the marriage of Gyal to Jamyang. A large group of Muslim servants and musicians were sent along with Gyal to Ladakh and private mosques were built where they could pray. The Muslim musicians later settled in Leh. Several hundred Baltis migrated to the kingdom and according to oral tradition many Muslim traders were granted land to settle. Many other Muslims were invited over the following years for various purposes.[43]

In the late 17th century, Ladakh sided with Bhutan in its dispute with Tibet which, among other reasons, resulted in its invasion by the Tibetan Central Government. This event is known as the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal war of 1679–1684.[44] Kashmiri historians assert that the king converted to Islam in return for the assistance by Mughal Empire after this, however, Ladakhi chronicles do not mention such a thing. The king agreed to pay tribute to the Mughals in return for defending the kingdom.[45][46] The Mughals, however, withdrew after being paid off by the 5th Dalai Lama.[47] With the help of reinforcements from Galdan Boshugtu Khan, Khan of the Zungar Empire, the Tibetans attacked again in 1684. The Tibetans were victorious and concluded a treaty with Ladakh then they retreated back to Lhasa in December 1684. The Treaty of Tingmosgang in 1684 settled the dispute between Tibet and Ladakh but severely restricted Ladakh's independence.

Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir

Main article: Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)
 
The disputed territory of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir: divided between Pakistan (green), India (blue) and China (yellow)

In 1834, the Sikh Zorawar Singh, a general of Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu, invaded and annexed Ladakh to Jammu under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire. After the defeat of the Sikhs in the First Anglo-Sikh War, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was established as a separate princely state under British suzerainty. The Namgyal family was given the jagir of Stok, which it nominally retains to this day. European influence began in Ladakh in the 1850s and increased. Geologists, sportsmen, and tourists began exploring Ladakh. In 1885, Leh became the headquarters of a mission of the Moravian Church.

Ladakh was administered as a wazarat under Dogra rule, with a governor termed wazir-e-wazarat. It had three tehsils, based at Leh, Skardu and Kargil. The headquarters of the wazarat was at Leh for six months of the year and at Skardu for six months. When the legislative assembly, called Praja Sabha, was established in 1934, Ladakh was given two nominated seats in the assembly.

Ladakh was claimed as part of Tibet by Phuntsok Wangyal, a Tibetan Communist leader.[48]

Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir

Main article: Jammu and Kashmir (state)

At the time of the partition of India in 1947, the Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession to India. Pakistani raiders from Gilgit had reached Ladakh and military operations were initiated to evict them. The wartime conversion of the pony trail from Sonamarg to Zoji La by army engineers permitted tanks to move up and successfully capture the pass. The advance continued. Dras, Kargil and Leh were liberated and Ladakh cleared of the infiltrators.[49]

In 1949, China closed the border between Nubra and Xinjiang, blocking old trade routes. In 1955 China began to build roads connecting Xinjiang and Tibet through the Aksai Chin area. The Indian effort to retain control of Aksai Chin led to the Sino-Indian War of 1962, which India lost. China also built the Karakoram highway jointly with Pakistan. India built the Srinagar-Leh Highway during this period, cutting the journey time between Srinagar and Leh from 16 days to two. The route, however, remains closed during the winter months due to heavy snowfall. Construction of a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) tunnel across Zoji La pass is under consideration to make the route functional throughout the year.[25][50]

 
National Highway No 1

The Kargil War of 1999, codenamed "Operation Vijay" by the Indian Army, saw infiltration by Pakistani troops into parts of Western Ladakh, namely Kargil, Dras, Mushkoh, Batalik and Chorbatla, overlooking key locations on the Srinagar-Leh highway. Extensive operations were launched in high altitudes by the Indian Army with considerable artillery and air force support. Pakistani troops were evicted from the Indian side of the Line of Control which the Indian government ordered was to be respected and which was not crossed by Indian troops. The Indian government was criticised by the Indian public because India respected geographical co-ordinates more than India's opponents: Pakistan and China.[51][page needed]

The Ladakh region was divided into the Kargil and Leh districts in 1979. In 1989, there were violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims. Following demands for autonomy from the Kashmiri-dominated state government, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was created in the 1990s. Leh and Kargil districts now each have their own locally elected Hill Councils with some control over local policy and development funds. In 1991, a Peace Pagoda was erected in Leh by Nipponzan Myohoji.

There was a heavy presence of Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police forces in Ladakh. These forces and People's Liberation Army forces from China have, since the 1962 Sino-Indian War, had frequent stand-offs along the Ladakh portion of the Line of Actual Control. Out of the 857-kilometre-long (533 mi) border in Ladakh, only 368 km (229 mi) is the International Border, and the remaining 489 km (304 mi) is the Line of Actual Control.[52][53] The stand-off involving the most troops was in September 2014 in the disputed Chumar region when 800 to 1,000 Indian troops and 1,500 Chinese troops came into close proximity to each other.[54]

Ladakh Division

On 8 February 2019, Ladakh became a separate Revenue and Administrative Division within Jammu and Kashmir, having previously been part of the Kashmir Division. As a division, Ladakh was granted its own Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police.[55]

Leh was initially chosen to be the headquarters of the new division however, following protests, it was announced that Leh and Kargil will jointly serve as the divisional headquarters, each hosting an Additional Divisional Commissioner to assist the Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police who will spend half their time in each town.[56]

Union territory of Ladakh

See also: Ladakh Union Territory Front
 
Ladakh (L) shown in the wider Kashmir region

The people of Ladakh had been demanding Ladakh to be constituted as a separate territory since 1930s, because of perceived unfair treatment by Kashmir and Ladakh's cultural differences with predominantly Muslim Kashmir valley, while some people in Kargil opposed union territory status for Ladakh.[25][57] The first organized agitation was launched against Kashmir's "dominance" in the year 1964. In late 1980s, a much larger mass agitation was launched to press their demand for union territory status.[58]

In August 2019, a reorganisation act was passed by the Parliament of India which contained provisions to reconstitute Ladakh as a union territory, separate from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir on 31 October 2019.[1][59][60][61] Under the terms of the act, the union territory is administered by a Lieutenant Governor acting on behalf of the Central Government of India and does not have an elected legislative assembly or chief minister. Each district within the union territory continues to elect an autonomous district council as done previously.[62]

The demand for Ladakh as separate union territory was first raised by the parliamentarian Kushok Bakula Rinpoche around 1955, which was later carried forward by another parliamentarian Thupstan Chhewang.[63] The former Jammu and Kashmir state use to obtain large allocation of annual funds from the union government based on the fact that the large geographical area of the Ladakh (comprising 65% of total area), but Ladakh was allocated only 2% of the state budget based on its relative population.[63] Within the first year of the formation of Ladakh as separate union territory, its annual budget allocation has increased 4 times from ₹57 crore to ₹232 crore.[63]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Ladakh
 
Map of the central Ladakh region

Ladakh is the highest plateau in India with most of it being over 3,000 m (9,800 ft).[17] It extends from the Himalayan to the Kunlun[64] Ranges and includes the upper Indus River valley.

 
The confluence of the Indus (flowing left-to-right) and Zanskar (coming in from top) rivers.
 
The Ladakh region has high altitude
 
View of Leh Town Along with Stok Kangri

Historically, the region included the Baltistan (Baltiyul) valleys (now mostly in Pakistani administered part of Kashmir), the entire upper Indus Valley, the remote Zanskar, Lahaul and Spiti to the south, much of Ngari including the Rudok region and Guge in the east, Aksai Chin in the northeast, and the Nubra Valley to the north over Khardong La in the Ladakh Range. Contemporary Ladakh borders Tibet to the east, the Lahaul and Spiti regions to the south, the Vale of Kashmir, Jammu and Baltiyul regions to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north. The historic but imprecise divide between Ladakh and the Tibetan Plateau commences in the north in the intricate maze of ridges east of Rudok including Aling Kangri and Mavang Kangri, and continues southeastward toward northwestern Nepal. Before partition, Baltistan, now under Pakistani control, was a district in Ladakh. Skardu was the winter capital of Ladakh while Leh was the summer capital.

The mountain ranges in this region were formed over 45 million years by the folding of the Indian Plate into the more stationary Eurasian Plate. The drift continues, causing frequent earthquakes in the Himalayan region.[b][65] The peaks in the Ladakh Range are at a medium altitude close to the Zoji-la (5,000–5,500 m or 16,400–18,000 ft) and increase toward southeast, culminating in the twin summits of Nun-Kun (7,000 m or 23,000 ft).

The Suru and Zanskar valleys form a great trough enclosed by the Himalayas and the Zanskar Range. Rangdum is the highest inhabited region in the Suru valley, after which the valley rises to 4,400 m (14,400 ft) at Pensi-la, the gateway to Zanskar. Kargil, the only town in the Suru valley, is the second most important town in Ladakh. It was an important staging post on the routes of the trade caravans before 1947, being more or less equidistant, at about 230 kilometres from Srinagar, Leh, Skardu and Padum. The Zangskar valley lies in the troughs of the Stod and the Lungnak rivers. The region experiences heavy snowfall; the Pensi-la is open only between June and mid-October. Dras and the Mushkoh Valley form the western extremity of Ladakh.

The Indus River is the backbone of Ladakh. Most major historical and current towns – Shey, Leh, Basgo and Tingmosgang (but not Kargil), are close to the Indus River. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the stretch of the Indus flowing through Ladakh became the only part of this river, which is greatly venerated in the Hindu religion and culture, that still flows through India.

The Siachen Glacier is in the eastern Karakoram Range in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India-Pakistan border. The Karakoram Range forms a great watershed that separates China from the Indian subcontinent and is sometimes called the "Third Pole." The glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge immediately to the west and the main Karakoram Range to the east. At 76 km (47 mi) long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world's non-polar areas. It falls from an altitude of 5,753 m (18,875 ft) above sea level at its source at Indira Col on the China border down to 3,620 m (11,880 ft) at its snout. Saser Kangri is the highest peak in the Saser Muztagh, the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram Range in India, Saser Kangri I having an altitude of 7,672 m (25,171 ft).

The Ladakh Range has no major peaks; its average height is a little less than 6,000 m (20,000 ft), and few of its passes are less than 5,000 m (16,000 ft). The Pangong range runs parallel to the Ladakh Range for about 100 km (62 mi) northwest from Chushul along the southern shore of the Pangong Lake. Its highest point is about 6,700 m (22,000 ft) and the northern slopes are heavily glaciated. The region comprising the valley of the Shayok and Nubra rivers is known as Nubra. The Karakoram Range in Ladakh is not as mighty as in Baltistan. The massifs to the north and east of the Nubra–Siachen line include the Apsarasas Group (highest point at 7,245 m or 23,770 ft) the Rimo Muztagh (highest point at 7,385 m or 24,229 ft) and the Teram Kangri Group (highest point at 7,464 m or 24,488 ft) together with Mamostong Kangri (7,526 m or 24,692 ft) and Singhi Kangri (7,202 m or 23,629 ft). North of the Karakoram lies the Kunlun. Thus, between Leh and eastern Central Asia there is a triple barrier – the Ladakh Range, Karakoram Range, and Kunlun. Nevertheless, a major trade route was established between Leh and Yarkand.

 
Monthly average temperature in Leh

Ladakh is a high altitude desert as the Himalayas create a rain shadow, generally denying entry to monsoon clouds. The main source of water is the winter snowfall on the mountains. Recent flooding in the region (e.g., the 2010 floods) has been attributed to abnormal rain patterns and retreating glaciers, both of which have been found to be linked to global climate change.[66] The Leh Nutrition Project, headed by Chewang Norphel, also known as the "Glacier Man", creates artificial glaciers as one solution for retreating glaciers.[67][68]

The regions on the north flank of the Himalayas – Dras, the Suru valley and Zangskar – experience heavy snowfall and remain cut off from the rest of the region for several months in the year, as the whole region remains cut off by road from the rest of the country. Summers are short, though they are long enough to grow crops. The summer weather is dry and pleasant. Temperature ranges are from 3 to 35 °C (37 to 95 °F) in summer and minimums range from −20 to −35 °C (−4 to −31 °F) in winter.[69]

Zanskar is the main river of the region along with its tributaries. The Zanskar gets frozen during winter and the famous Chadar trek takes place on this magnificent frozen river.

Flora and fauna

Main article: Wildlife of Ladakh
 
The black-necked crane comes to India every year for breeding. Photograph has been taken at Tso Kar, Ladakh.

Vegetation is extremely sparse in Ladakh except along streambeds and wetlands, on high slopes, and irrigated places. About 1250 plant species, including crops, were reported from Ladakh.[70] The plant Ladakiella klimesii, growing up to 6,150 metres (20,180 ft) above sea level, was first described here and named after this region.[71] The first European to study the wildlife of this region was William Moorcroft in 1820, followed by Ferdinand Stoliczka, an Austrian-Czech palaeontologist, who carried out a massive expedition there in the 1870s. There are many lakes in Ladakh such as Kyago Tso.

The bharal or blue sheep is the most abundant mountain ungulate in the Ladakh region, although it is not found in some parts of Zangskar and Sham areas.[72] The Asiatic ibex is a mountain goat that is distributed in the western part of Ladakh. It is the second most abundant mountain ungulate in the region with a population of about 6000 individuals. It is adapted to rugged areas where it easily climbs when threatened.[73] The Ladakhi Urial is another unique mountain sheep that inhabits the mountains of Ladakh. The population is declining, however, and there are not more than 3000 individuals left in Ladakh.[74] The urial is endemic to Ladakh, where it is distributed only along two major river valleys: the Indus and Shayok. The animal is often persecuted by farmers whose crops are allegedly damaged by it. Its population declined precipitously in the last century due to indiscriminate shooting by hunters along the Leh-Srinagar highway. The Tibetan argali or Nyan is the largest wild sheep in the world, standing 1.1 to 1.2 metres (3.5 to 4 ft) at the shoulder with the horn measuring 900–1,000 mm (35–39 in). It is distributed on the Tibetan plateau and its marginal mountains encompassing a total area of 2.5 million km2 (0.97 million sq mi). There is only a small population of about 400 animals in Ladakh. The animal prefers open and rolling terrain as it runs, unlike wild goats that climb into steep cliffs, to escape from predators.[75] The endangered Tibetan antelope, known as chiru in Indian English, or Ladakhi tsos, has traditionally been hunted for its wool (shahtoosh) which is a natural fibre of the finest quality and thus valued for its light weight and warmth and as a status symbol. The wool of chiru must be pulled out by hand, a process done after the animal is killed. The fibre is smuggled into Kashmir and woven into exquisite shawls by Kashmiri workers. Ladakh is also home to the Tibetan gazelle, which inhabits the vast rangelands in eastern Ladakh bordering Tibet.[76]

 
Wild animals of Ladakh
 
Yaks in Ladakh

The kiang, or Tibetan wild ass, is common in the grasslands of Changthang, numbering about 2,500 individuals. These animals are in conflict with the nomadic people of Changthang who hold the Kiang responsible for pasture degradation.[77] There are about 200 snow leopards in Ladakh of an estimated 7,000 worldwide. The Hemis High Altitude National Park in central Ladakh is an especially good habitat for this predator as it has abundant prey populations. The Eurasian lynx, is another rare cat that preys on smaller herbivores in Ladakh. It is mostly found in Nubra, Changthang and Zangskar.[78] The Pallas's cat, which looks somewhat like a house cat, is very rare in Ladakh and not much is known about the species. The Tibetan wolf, which sometimes preys on the livestock of the Ladakhis, is the most persecuted amongst the predators.[79] There are also a few brown bears in the Suru Valley and the area around Dras. The Tibetan sand fox has been discovered in this region.[80] Among smaller animals, marmots, hares, and several types of pika and vole are common.[81]

Flora

Scant precipitation makes Ladakh a high-altitude desert with extremely scarce vegetation over most of its area. Natural vegetation mainly occurs along water courses and on high altitude areas that receive more snow and cooler summer temperatures. Human settlements, however, are richly vegetated due to irrigation.[82] Natural vegetation commonly seen along watercourses includes seabuckthorn (Hippophae spp.), wild roses of pink or yellow varieties, tamarisk (Myricaria spp.), caraway, stinging nettles, mint, Physochlaina praealta, and various grasses.[83]

Administration

Main articles: Administration of Ladakh and Politics of Ladakh

Under the terms of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, Ladakh is administered as a union territory without a legislative assembly or elected government. The head of government is a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the President of India who is assisted by civil servants of the Indian Administrative Service.[85]

Districts

Main article: List of districts of Ladakh

Ladakh is divided into two districts:

Name of district Headquarters Area (km2) Population
2011 Census
Kargil district Kargil 14,036 140,802
Leh district Leh 45,110 133,487
Total 2 59,146 274,289

Autonomous District Councils

Each district of Ladakh is administered by an autonomous district council, they are:

The two autonomous district councils work with village panchayats to take decisions on economic development, healthcare, education, land use, taxation, and local governance which are further reviewed at the block headquarters in the presence of the chief executive councillor and executive councillors.[86] The government of Jammu and Kashmir looks after law and order, the judicial system, communications and the higher education in the region.

The two autonomous district councils continue to exist following the formation of the union territory of Ladakh on 31 October 2019.[62]

Law enforcement and justice

Ladakh is under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.[87] The union territory of Ladakh has its own police force headed by a director general of police.[88]

Ladakh in the Parliament of India

Ladakh sends one member (MP) to the lower house of the Indian parliament the Lok Sabha. The MP for the Ladakh constituency in the current Lok Sabha is Jamyang Tsering Namgyal from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[89][90]

Economy

 
Street market in Leh
 
Preparing apricots. Alchi Monastery.

The land is irrigated by a system of channels which funnel water from the ice and snow of the mountains. The principal crops are barley and wheat. Rice was previously a luxury in the Ladakhi diet, but, subsidised by the government, has now become a cheap staple.[17]

Naked barley (Ladakhi: nas, Urdu: grim) was traditionally a staple crop all over Ladakh. Growing times vary considerably with altitude. The extreme limit of cultivation is at Korzok, on the Tso-moriri lake, at 4,600 m (15,100 ft), which has what are widely considered to be the highest fields in the world.[17]

A minority of Ladakhi people were also employed as merchants and caravan traders, facilitating trade in textiles, carpets, dyestuffs and narcotics between Punjab and Xinjiang. However, since the Chinese Government closed the borders between Tibet Autonomous Region and Ladakh, this international trade has completely dried up.[25][91]

Indus river flowing in the Ladakh region is endowed with vast hydropower potential. Solar and wind power potentials are also substantial. Though the region is a remote hilly area without all-weather roads, the area is also rich in limestone deposits to manufacture cement from the locally available cheap electricity for various construction needs.[92]

Since 1974, the Indian Government has encouraged a shift in trekking and other tourist activities from the troubled Kashmir region to the relatively unaffected areas of Ladakh. Although tourism employs only 4% of Ladakh's working population, it now accounts for 50% of the region's GNP.[25]

This era is recorded in Arthur Neves The Tourist's Guide to Kashmir, Ladakh, and Skardo, first published in 1911.[91]

Transportation

 
A vehicle on the Himalaya Highway 3

There are about 1,800 km (1,100 mi) of roads in Ladakh of which 800 km (500 mi) are surfaced.[93] The majority of roads in Ladakh are looked after by the Border Roads Organisation. There are two main roads that connect Ladakh with the rest of the country, NH1 connecting Srinagar to Kargil and Leh, and NH3 connecting Manali to Leh. A third road to Ladakh is the Nimmu–Padam–Darcha road, which is under construction.[94]

There is an airport in Leh, Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, from which there are daily flights to Delhi and weekly flights to Srinagar and Jammu. There are two airstrips at Daulat Beg Oldie and Fukche for military transport.[95] The airport at Kargil, Kargil Airport, was intended for civilian flights but is currently used by the Indian Army. The airport is a political issue for the locals who argue that the airport should serve its original purpose, i.e., should open up for civilian flights. Since past few years the Indian Air Force has been operating AN-32 air courier service to transport the locals during the winter seasons to Jammu, Srinagar and Chandigarh.[96][97] A private aeroplane company Air Mantra landed a 17-seater aircraft at the airport, in presence of dignitaries like the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, marking the first ever landing by a civilian airline company at Kargil Airport.[98][99]

Demographics

Population of Leh and Kargil districts
Year[c] Leh District Kargil District
Population Percentage change Females per 1000 males Population Percentage change Females per 1000 males
1951 40,484 — 1011 41,856 — 970
1961 43,587 0.74 1010 45,064 0.74 935
1971 51,891 1.76 1002 53,400 1.71 949
1981 68,380 2.80 886 65,992 2.14 853
2001 117,637 2.75 805 115,287 2.83 901
2011 133,487 690 140,802 810

The sex ratio for Leh district declined from 1011 females per 1000 males in 1951 to 805 in 2001, while for Kargil district it declined from 970 to 901.[100] The urban sex ratio in both the districts is about 640. The adult sex ratio reflects large numbers of mostly male seasonal and migrant labourers and merchants. About 84% of Ladakh's population lives in villages.[101] The average annual population growth rate from 1981 to 2001 was 2.75% in Leh District and 2.83% in Kargil district.[100]

Religion

Religions in Ladakh (2011)[102]

  Islam (46.41%)
  Buddhism (39.65%)
  Hinduism (12.11%)
  Sikhism (0.83%)
  Christianity (0.46%)
  Jainism (0.05%)
  Other (0.02%)
  Religion not stated (0.47%)

The Dras and Dha-Hanu regions are habitated by Brokpa, Drokpa, Dard and Shinu tribes and Shina people respectively, who are predominately followers of Islam while small minorities follow Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism.[103] The region's population is split roughly in half between the districts of Leh and Kargil. 76.87% population of Kargil is Muslim (mostly Shia),[104][102] with a total population of 140,802, while that of Leh is 66.40% Buddhist, with a total population of 133,487, as per the 2011 census.[102][105][106] Majority Ladakhis, Changpa and Brokpa follow Buddhism.

An increasing number of Muslim men and Ladakhi Buddhist women are marrying each other following a decline in the population of Buddhist men in Ladakh, leaving more Buddhist women without a spouse.[107][108]

Language

Languages of Ladakh (2011 census)[109]

  Ladakhi (37.78%)
  Purkhi (33.61%)
  Hindi (8.94%)
  Shina (5.06%)
  Balti (3.58%)
  Tibetan (2.33%)
  Punjabi (1.01%)
  Others (7.69%)

The predominant mother-tongue in Leh district is Ladakhi (also called Bauti), a Tibetic language.[109] Purkhi, sometimes considered a dialect of Balti, is the predominant mother-tongue of Kargil district.[109][110] Educated Ladakhis usually know Hindi, Urdu and often English. Within Ladakh, there is a range of dialects, so that the language of the Chang-pa people may differ markedly from that of the Purig-pa in Kargil, or the Zangskaris, but they are all mutually comprehensible. Most Ladakhi people (especially the younger generations) speak fluently in English and in Hindi too, due to the languages education at school.[111] Administrative work and education are carried out in English.[112]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Ladakh

Ladakhi culture is similar to Tibetan culture.[113]

Cuisine

Ladakhi food has much in common with Tibetan food, the most prominent foods being thukpa (noodle soup) and tsampa, known in Ladakhi as ngampe (roasted barley flour). Edible without cooking, tsampa makes useful trekking food. Strictly Ladakhi dishes include skyu and chutagi, both heavy and rich soup pasta dishes, skyu being made with root vegetables and meat, and chutagi with leafy greens and vegetables.[114] As Ladakh moves toward a cash-based economy, foods from the plains of India are becoming more common.[115] As in other parts of Central Asia, tea in Ladakh is traditionally made with strong green tea, butter, and salt. It is mixed in a large churn and known as gurgur cha, after the sound it makes when mixed. Sweet tea (cha ngarmo) is common now, made in the Indian style with milk and sugar. Most of the surplus barley that is produced is fermented into chang, an alcoholic beverage drunk especially on festive occasions.[116]

Music and dance

Main article: Music of Ladakh
 
Dancer in masked dance festival
 
Jabro Dance

The music of Ladakhi Buddhist monastic festivals, like Tibetan music, often involves religious chanting in Tibetan as an integral part of the religion. These chants are complex, often recitations of sacred texts or in celebration of various festivals. Yang chanting, performed without metrical timing, is accompanied by resonant drums and low, sustained syllables. Religious mask dances are an important part of Ladakh's cultural life. Hemis monastery, a leading centre of the Drukpa tradition of Buddhism, holds an annual masked dance festival, as do all major Ladakhi monasteries. The dances typically narrate a story of the fight between good and evil, ending with the eventual victory of the former.[117] Weaving is an important part of traditional life in eastern Ladakh. Both women and men weave, on different looms.[118]

Sport

 
Sul-ma, woman's woollen dress (detail), Ladakh, late 19th-early 20th century

The most popular sport in Ladakh is ice hockey, which is played only on natural ice generally mid-December through mid-February.[119] Cricket is also very popular.[citation needed]

Archery is a traditional sport in Ladakh, and many villages hold archery festivals, which are as much about traditional dancing, drinking and gambling, as they are about the sport. The sport is conducted with strict etiquette, to the accompaniment of the music of surna and daman (shehnai and drum). Polo, the other traditional sport of Ladakh, is indigenous to Baltistan and Gilgit, and was probably introduced into Ladakh in the mid-17th century by King Singge Namgyal, whose mother was a Balti princess.[120]

Polo, popular among the Baltis, is an annual affair in Drass region of Kargil district.[121][122][123][124]

The Ladakh Marathon is a high-altitude marathon held in Leh every year since 2012. Held at a height of 11,500 to 17,618 feet (3,505 to 5,370 m), it is one of the world's highest marathons.[125]

 
First ever Khelo India Winter Games in Ladakh

Social status of women

 
Woman wearing traditional Ladakhi hat

A feature of Ladakhi society that distinguishes it from the rest of the state is the high status and relative emancipation enjoyed by women compared to other rural parts of India. Fraternal polyandry and inheritance by primogeniture were common in Ladakh until the early 1940s when these were made illegal by the government of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the practice remained in existence into the 1990s especially among the elderly and the more isolated rural populations.[126] Another custom is known as khang-bu, or 'little house', in which the elders of a family, as soon as the eldest son has sufficiently matured, retire from participation in affairs, yielding the headship of the family to him and taking only enough of the property for their own sustenance.[17]

 
Ladakhi Perak Headdress courtesy the Wovenosuls collection

Traditional medicine

Main article: Traditional Tibetan medicine

Tibetan medicine has been the traditional health system of Ladakh for over a thousand years. This school of traditional healing contains elements of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, combined with the philosophy and cosmology of Tibetan Buddhism. For centuries, the only medical system accessible to the people have been the amchi, traditional doctors following the Tibetan medical tradition. Amchi medicine remains a component of public health, especially in remote areas.[127]

Programmes by the government, local and international organisations are working to develop and rejuvenate this traditional system of healing.[127][128] Efforts are underway to preserve the intellectual property rights of amchi medicine for the people of Ladakh. The government has also been trying to promote the sea buckthorn in the form of juice and jam, as some claim it possess medicinal properties.

The National Research Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in Leh is an institute for research into traditional medicine and a hospital providing traditional treatments.[129]

Education

According to the 2001 census, the overall literacy rate in Leh District is 62% (72% for males and 50% for females), and in Kargil District 58% (74% for males and 41% for females).[130] Traditionally there was little or nothing by way of formal education except in the monasteries. Usually, one son from every family was obliged to master the Tibetan script in order to read the holy books.[17]

The Moravian Mission opened a school in Leh in October 1889, and the Wazir-i Wazarat (ex officio Joint Commissioner with a British officer) of Baltistan and Ladakh ordered that every family with more than one child should send one of them to school. This order met with great resistance from the local people who feared that the children would be forced to convert to Christianity. The school taught Tibetan, Urdu, English, Geography, Sciences, Nature study, Arithmetic, Geometry and Bible study.[131] It is still in existence today. The first local school to provide western education was opened by a local Society called "Lamdon Social Welfare Society" in 1973. Later, with support from Dalai Lama and some international organisations, the school, now known as Lamdon Model Senior Secondary School, has grown to accommodate approximately two thousand pupils in several branches. It prides itself on preserving Ladakhi tradition and culture.[132]

Schools are well distributed throughout Ladakh but 75% of them provide only primary education. 65% of children attend school, but absenteeism of both students and teachers remains high. In both districts the failure rate at school-leaving level (class X) had for many years been around 85%–95%, while of those managing to scrape through, barely half succeeded in qualifying for college entrance (class XII). Before 1993, students were taught in Urdu until they were 14, after which the medium of instruction shifted to English.

As of January 2022, there were 904 Government run schools in Ladakh and 113 publicly run private schools in Ladakh [133]

In 1994 the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) launched Operation New Hope (ONH), a campaign to provide "culturally appropriate and locally relevant education" and make government schools more functional and effective.[134] Central Institute of Buddhist Studies a Deemed University in Leh is the oldest institution in this reason which mainly focuses on Buddhist philosphy but also offer degrees in different fields.[135]

The University of Ladakh with its two campuses (One each in Kargil & Leh) and its constituent colleges enables students to pursue higher education without having to leave Ladakh.[136] A central University has also been approved to be set up in Ladakh by the Union Cabinet.[137] The Indian Astronomical Observatory is located in Hanle and is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.[138]

In December 2019, the union minister of state for home affairs Mr G Kishan Reddy, in a written response has stated in Parliament that the Government of India has approved to establish a Medical College and National Research Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in the district of Leh.[139]

In August 2021, the Parliament of India amended the Central Universities Act to establish a central university in Ladakh named "Sindhu Central University".[140][141]

Media

See also: Ladakh International Film Festival

The government radio broadcaster All India Radio (AIR)[142] and government television station Doordarshan[143] have stations in Leh that broadcast local content for a few hours a day. Beyond that, Ladakhis produce feature films that are screened in auditoriums and community halls. They are often made on fairly modest budgets.[144] On 14 December 2021, the first FM radio station in Ladakh was established in Leh.[145]

There are a handful of private news outlets.

  • Reach Ladakh Bulletin,[146] a biweekly newspaper in English, is the only print media published by and for Ladakhis.
  • Rangyul or Kargil Number is a newspaper published from Kashmir covering Ladakh in English and Urdu.
  • Ladags Melong, an initiative of SECMOL, was published from 1992 to 2005 in English and Ladakhi.
  • Sintic Magazine, a lifestyle and tourist magazine of Ladakh, was started in 2018 in English.

Some publications that cover Jammu and Kashmir as a whole provide some coverage of Ladakh.

Gallery

  •  

    Khardung La

  •  

    Shingo La

  •  

    Shanti Stupa, Leh

  •  

    Thiksey Monastery

  •  

    Likir Monastery

  •  

    Trees in the Indus Valley near Leh

  •  

    Nubra Valley view with reflection

  •  

    Carved stone tablets, each with the inscription "Om Mani Padme Hum" along the paths of Zanskar

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The extension of the term "Tibet" to the modern day Tibet is due to the Europeans in India in the 18th century.[24]
  2. ^ All of Indian Ladakh is placed in high risk Zone VIII, while areas from Kargil and Zanskar southwestward are in lower risk zones on the earthquake hazard scale.
  3. ^ Census was not carried out in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991 due to militancy

References

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Sources

  • Emmer, Gerhard (2007), "Dga' Ldan Tshe Dbang Dpal Bzang Po and the Tibet-Ladakh-Mugha1 War of 1679–84", Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the IATS, 2003. Volume 9: The Mongolia-Tibet Interface: Opening New Research Terrains in Inner Asia, BRILL, pp. 81–108, ISBN 978-90-474-2171-9
  • Fisher, Margaret W.; Rose, Leo E.; Huttenback, Robert A. (1963), , Praeger, ASIN B0007DVVG2, archived from the original on 27 August 2017
  • Francke, August Hermann (1907), A History of Western Tibet, S. W. Partridge & Co, ISBN 9788120610439 – via archive.org
  • Francke, August Hermann (1992) [first published 1926]. Antiquities of Indian Tibet. Volume 38; Volume 50 of New imperial series. Asian Educational Services. p. 94. ISBN 81-206-0769-4.
  • Handa, O. C. (2001), Buddhist Western Himalaya: A politico-religious history, Indus Publishing, ISBN 978-81-7387-124-5
  • Jina, Prem Singh (1996), Ladakh: The Land and the People, Indus Publishing, ISBN 978-81-7387-057-6
  • Lo Bue, Erberto; Bray, John, eds. (2014), "Introduction", Art and Architecture in Ladakh: Cross-cultural Transmissions in the Himalayas and Karakoram, BRILL, ISBN 978-90-04-27180-7
    • Dorjay, Phuntsog (2014), "Embedded in Stone—Early Buddhist Rock Art of Ladakh", Ibid, pp. 35–67, ISBN 9789004271807
    • Howard, Neil; Howard, Kath (2014), "Historic Ruins in the Gya Valley, Eastern Ladakh, and a Consideration of Their Relationship to the History of Ladakh and Maryul", Ibid, pp. 68–99, ISBN 9789004271807
  • Petech, Luciano (1977), The Kingdom of Ladakh, c. 950–1842 A.D. (PDF), Instituto Italiano Per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente – via academia.edu[dead link]
  • Jina, Prem Singh (1 January 1995). Famous Western Expolorers to Ladakh. Indus Publishing. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-81-7387-031-6.

Further reading

  • Allan, Nigel J. R. 1995 Karakorum Himalaya: Sourcebook for a Protected Area. . ISBN 969-8141-13-8
  • Cunningham, Alexander. 1854. Ladak: Physical, Statistical, and Historical; with notices of the surrounding countries. Reprint: Sagar Publications, New Delhi. 1977.
  • Desideri, Ippolito (1932). An Account of Tibet: The Travels of Ippolito Desideri 1712–1727. Ippolito Desideri. Edited by Filippo De Filippi. Introduction by C. Wessels. Reproduced by Rupa & Co, New Delhi. 2005
  • Drew, Federic. 1877. The Northern Barrier of India: a popular account of the Jammoo and Kashmir Territories with Illustrations. 1st edition: Edward Stanford, London. Reprint: Light & Life Publishers, Jammu. 1971.
  • Francke, A. H. (1914), 1920, 1926. Antiquities of Indian Tibet. Vol. 1: Personal Narrative; Vol. 2: The Chronicles of Ladak and Minor Chronicles, texts and translations, with Notes and Maps. Reprint: 1972. S. Chand & Co., New Delhi. (Google Books)
  • Gielen, U. P. 1998. "Gender roles in traditional Tibetan cultures". In L. L. Adler (Ed.), International handbook on gender roles (pp. 413–437). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
  • Gillespie, A. (2007). Time, Self and the Other: The striving tourist in Ladakh, north India 28 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. In Livia Simao and Jaan Valsiner (eds) Otherness in question: Development of the self. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
  • Gillespie, A. (2007). In the other we trust: Buying souvenirs in Ladakh, north India 23 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. In Ivana Markova and Alex Gillespie (Eds.), Trust and distrust: Sociocultural perspectives. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
  • The Road to Lamaland by Martin Louis Alan Gompertz
  • Magic Ladakh by Martin Louis Alan Gompertz
  • Gordon, T. E. 1876. The Roof of the World: Being the Narrative of a Journey over the high plateau of Tibet to the Russian Frontier and the Oxus sources on Pamir. Edinburgh. Edmonston and Douglas. Reprint: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company. Tapei. 1971.
  • Ham, Peter Van. 2015. Indian Tibet Tibetan India: The Cultural Legacy of the Western Himalayas. Niyogi Books. ISBN 9789383098934.
  • Halkias, Georgios (2009) "Until the Feathers of the Winged Black Raven Turn White: Sources for the Tibet-Bashahr Treaty of 1679–1684", in Mountains, Monasteries and Mosques, ed. John Bray. Supplement to Rivista Orientali, pp. 59–79.Until the Feathers of the Winged Black Raven Turn White: Sources for the Tibet-Bashahr Treaty of 1679–1684 5 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  • Halkias, Georgios (2010). The Muslim Queens of the Himalayas: Princess Exchange in Ladakh and Baltistan. In Islam-Tibet: Interactions along the Musk Routes, eds. Anna Akasoy et al. Ashgate Publications, 231–252. The Muslim Queens of the Himalayas: Princess Exchanges in Baltistan and Ladakh 5 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  • Harvey, Andrew. 1983. A Journey in Ladakh. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York.
  • Pandit, K. N. (1986). Ladakh, life & culture. Srinagar, Kashmir, India: Centre of Central Asian Studies, Kashmir University.
  • Knight, E. F. 1893. Where Three Empires Meet: A Narrative of Recent Travel in: Kashmir, Western Tibet, Gilgit, and the adjoining countries. Longmans, Green, and Co., London. Reprint: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company, Taipei. 1971.
  • Knight, William, Henry. 1863. Diary of a Pedestrian in Cashmere and Thibet. Richard Bentley, London. Reprint 1998: Asian Educational Services, New Delhi.
  • Moorcroft, William and Trebeck, George. 1841. Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara ... from 1819 to 1825, Vol. II. Reprint: New Delhi, Sagar Publications, 1971.
  • Norberg-Hodge, Helena. 2000. Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh. Rider Books, London.
  • Peissel, Michel. 1984. The Ants' Gold: The Discovery of the Greek El Dorado in the Himalayas. Harvill Press, London.
  • Rizvi, Janet. 1998. Ladakh, Crossroads of High Asia. Oxford University Press. 1st edition 1963. 2nd revised edition 1996. 3rd impression 2001. ISBN 0-19-564546-4.
  • Sen, Sohini. 2015. Ladakh: A Photo Travelogue. Niyogi Books. ISBN 9789385285028.
  • Trekking in Zanskar & Ladakh: Nubra Valley, Tso Moriri & Pangong Lake, Step By step Details of Every Trek: a Most Authentic & Colourful Trekkers' guide with maps 2001–2002
  • Zeisler, Bettina. (2010). "East of the Moon and West of the Sun? Approaches to a Land with Many Names, North of Ancient India and South of Khotan." In: The Tibet Journal, Special issue. Autumn 2009 vol XXXIV n. 3-Summer 2010 vol XXXV n. 2. "The Earth Ox Papers", edited by Roberto Vitali, pp. 371–463.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ladakh.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Ladakh.
 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ladakh.
  • Government of Ladakh official website

March 29, 2023
ladakh, ɑː, region, administered, india, union, territory, which, constitutes, part, larger, kashmir, region, been, subject, dispute, between, india, pakistan, china, since, 1947, bordered, tibet, autonomous, region, east, indian, state, himachal, pradesh, sou. Ladakh l e ˈ d ɑː k 7 is a region administered by India as a union territory 8 which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India Pakistan and China since 1947 9 10 Ladakh is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south both the Indian administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan administered Gilgit Baltistan to the west and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range to the north to the main Great Himalayas to the south 11 12 The eastern end consisting of the uninhabited Aksai Chin plains is claimed by the Indian Government as part of Ladakh and has been under Chinese control since 1962 13 LadakhUnion Territory Region administered by India Emblem of LadakhEtymology land of high passes in Lhasa TibetanLocation of Ladakh in IndiaCoordinates 34 00 N 77 30 E 34 0 N 77 5 E 34 0 77 5Administering countryIndiaRegionNorth IndiaFormation31 October 2019 1 CapitalLeh Kargil Winter Largest CityLehDistrictsKargil district Leh districtGovernment BodyGovernment of Ladakh Lieutenant GovernorB D Mishra Chief SecretaryUmang Narula IAS Lok Sabha1 seat Jamyang Tsering NamgyalHigh CourtHigh Court of Jammu and Kashmir and LadakhArea 2 Total59 146 km2 22 836 sq mi Rank17thDimensions Length650 km 400 mi Width240 km 150 mi Elevation6 000 m 20 000 ft Highest elevation Saltoro Kangri 3 7 742 m 25 400 ft Lowest elevation Indus River 2 550 m 8 370 ft Population 2011 Total274 000 Rank35th Density2 8 km2 7 sq mi Urban78 07 Rural21 93 DemonymLadakhiLanguage OfficialHindi and English 4 GDP Total 2021 1 30 crore US 160 000 Per capita 17 500 US 220 Time zoneUTC 05 30 IST ISO 3166 codeIN LAVehicle registrationLA 5 HDI 2011 0 616Literacy 2011 77 20 Websiteladakh wbr nic wbr inSymbols of LadakhEmblem of LadakhBirdBlack necked crane 6 MammalSnow leopardList of State SymbolsIn the past Ladakh gained importance from its strategic location at the crossroads of important trade routes 14 but as Chinese authorities closed the borders between Tibet Autonomous Region and Ladakh in the 1960s international trade dwindled Since 1974 the Government of India has successfully encouraged tourism in Ladakh As Ladakh is strategically important the Indian military maintains a strong presence in the region The largest town in Ladakh is Leh followed by Kargil each of which headquarters a district 15 The Leh district contains the Indus Shyok and Nubra river valleys The Kargil district contains the Suru Dras and Zanskar river valleys The main populated regions are the river valleys but the mountain slopes also support pastoral Changpa nomads The main religious groups in the region are Muslims mainly Shia 46 Buddhists mainly Tibetan Buddhists 40 and Hindus 12 with the remaining 2 made of other religions 16 17 Ladakh is one of the most sparsely populated regions in India Its culture and history are closely related to those of Tibet 18 Ladakh was established as a union territory of India on 31 October 2019 following the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act Prior to that it was part of the Jammu and Kashmir state Ladakh is both the largest and the second least populous union territory of India 19 citation needed Contents 1 Names 2 History 2 1 Ancient history 2 2 Early medieval history 2 3 Medieval history 2 4 Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir 2 5 Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir 2 5 1 Ladakh Division 2 6 Union territory of Ladakh 3 Geography 3 1 Flora and fauna 3 1 1 Flora 4 Administration 4 1 Districts 4 1 1 Autonomous District Councils 4 2 Law enforcement and justice 4 3 Ladakh in the Parliament of India 5 Economy 6 Transportation 7 Demographics 7 1 Religion 7 2 Language 8 Culture 8 1 Cuisine 8 2 Music and dance 8 3 Sport 8 4 Social status of women 8 5 Traditional medicine 9 Education 10 Media 11 Gallery 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 14 1 Citations 14 2 Sources 15 Further reading 16 External linksNamesThe classical name in Tibetan ལ ད གས Wylie La dwags THL la dak means the land of high passes Ladak is its pronunciation in several Tibetan dialects The English spelling Ladakh is derived from Persian ladax 20 21 The region was previously known as Maryul Medieval Islamic scholars called Ladakh the Great Tibet derived from Turko Arabic Ti bat meaning highland Baltistan and other trans Himalayan states in Kashmir s vicinity were referred to as Little Tibets 22 23 a It has also been called Ma Lo Pho by Hiuen Tsang or Lal Bhumi Names in the local language include Kanchapa Land of snow and Ripul Country of mountains citation needed HistoryMain article History of Ladakh Ancient history South Asia in 565 CE Rock carvings found in many parts of Ladakh indicate that the area has been inhabited from Neolithic times 25 Ladakh s earliest inhabitants consisted of nomads known as Kampa 26 Later settlements were established by Mons from Kullu and Brokpas who originated from Gilgit 26 Around the 1st century Ladakh was a part of the Kushan Empire Buddhism spread into western Ladakh from Kashmir in the 2nd century The 7th century Buddhist traveller Xuanzang describes the region in his accounts 27 Xuanzang s term of Ladakh is Mo lo so which has been reconstructed by academics as Malasa Marasa or Mrasa which is believed to have been the original name of the region 28 29 For much of the first millennium western Tibet comprised Zhangzhung kingdom s which practised the Bon religion Sandwiched between Kashmir and Zhangzhung Ladakh is believed to have been alternatively under the control of one or other of these powers Academics find strong influences of Zhangzhung language and culture in upper Ladakh from the middle section of the Indus valley to the southeast 30 The penultimate king of Zhangzhung is said to have been from Ladakh 31 From around 660 CE Central Tibet and China started contesting the four garrisons of the Tarim Basin present day Xinjiang a struggle that lasted three centuries Zhangzhung fell victim to Tibet s ambitions in c 634 and disappeared India s Karkota Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate too joined the contest for Xinjiang soon afterwards Baltistan and Ladakh were at the centre of these struggles 32 Academics infer from the slant of Ladakhi chronicles that Ladakh may have owed its primary allegiance to Tibet during this time but that it was more political than cultural Ladakh remained Buddhist and its culture was not yet Tibetan 33 Early medieval history Further information Maryul The empire of Kyide Nyimagon divided among his three sons c 930 CE The border between Ladakh Maryul and Guge Purang is shown in a thin dotted line north of Gartok In the 9th century Tibet s ruler Langdarma was assassinated and Tibet fragmented Kyide Nyimagon Langdarma s great grandson fled to West Tibet c 900 CE and founded a new West Tibetan kingdom at the heart of the old Zhangzhung now called Ngari in the Tibetan language Royal drinking scene at Alchi Monastery Ladakh circa 1200 CE The king wears a decorated Qaba of Turco Persian style It is similar to another royal scene at nearby Mangyu Monastery 34 Nyimagon s eldest son Lhachen Palgyigon is believed to have conquered the regions to the north including Ladakh and Rutog After the death of Nyimagon his kingdom was divided among his three sons Palgyigon receiving Ladakh Rutog Thok Jalung and an area referred to as Demchok Karpo a holy mountain near the present day Demchok village The second son received Guge Purang called Ngari Korsum and the third son received Zanskar and Spiti to the southwest of Ladakh This three way division of Nyimagon s empire was recognised as historic and remembered in the chronicles of all the three regions as a founding narrative He gave to each of his sons a separate kingdom viz to the eldest Dpal gyi gon Maryul of Mngah ris the inhabitants using black bows ru thogs Rutog of the east and the Gold mine of Hgog possibly Thok Jalung nearer this way Lde mchog dkar po Demchok Karpo citation needed The first West Tibetan dynasty of Maryul founded by Palgyigon lasted five centuries being weakened towards its end by the conquests of the Mongol Mughal noble Mirza Haidar Dughlat Throughout this period the region was called Maryul possibly from the original proper name Mrasa Xuangzhang s Mo lo so but in the Tibetan language it was interpreted to mean lowland the lowland of Ngari Maryul remained staunchly Buddhist during this period having participated in the second diffusion of Buddhism from India to Tibet via Kashmir and Zanskar Ladakh horsemen depicted in Alchi Monastery circa 13th century CE The nine Statue of Maitreya at Likir Monastery Leh districtMedieval history Main article Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh Jama Masjid of Leh next to the Leh Palace Between the 1380s and early 1510s many Islamic missionaries propagated Islam and proselytised the Ladakhi people Sayyid Ali Hamadani Sayyid Muhammad Nur Baksh and Mir Shamsuddin Iraqi were three important Sufi missionaries who propagated Islam to the locals Mir Sayyid Ali was the first one to make Muslim converts in Ladakh and is often described as the founder of Islam in Ladakh Several mosques were built in Ladakh during this period including in Mulbhe Padum and Shey the capital of Ladakh 35 36 His principal disciple Sayyid Muhammad Nur Baksh also propagated Islam to Ladakhis and the Balti people rapidly converted to Islam Noorbakshia Islam is named after him and his followers are only found in Baltistan and Ladakh During his youth Sultan Zain ul Abidin expelled the mystic Sheikh Zain Shahwalli for showing disrespect to him The sheikh then went to Ladakh and proselytised many people to Islam In 1505 Shamsuddin Iraqi a noted Shia scholar visited Kashmir and Baltistan He helped in spreading Shia Islam in Kashmir and converted the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Baltistan to his school of thought 36 Thikse Monastery Ladakh It is unclear what happened to Islam after this period and it seems to have received a setback Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat who invaded and briefly conquered Ladakh in 1532 1545 and 1548 does not record any presence of Islam in Leh during his invasion although Shia Islam and Noorbakshia Islam continued to flourish in other regions of Ladakh 35 36 King Bhagan reunited and strengthened Ladakh and founded the Namgyal dynasty Namgyal means victorious in several Tibetan languages The Namgyals repelled most Central Asian raiders and temporarily extended the kingdom as far as Nepal 25 During the Balti invasion led by Raja Ali Sher Khan Anchan many Buddhist temples and artefacts were damaged Ali Sher Khan took the king and his soldiers as captives Jamyang Namgyal was later restored to the throne by Ali Sher Khan and given the hand of a Muslim princess in marriage Her name was Gyal Khatun or Argyal Khatoom She was to be the first queen and her son was to become the next ruler Historical accounts differ upon who her father was Some identify Ali s ally and Raja of Khaplu Yabgo Shey Gilazi as her father while others identify Ali himself as the father 37 38 39 40 41 42 In the early 17th century efforts were made to restore the destroyed artefacts and gonpas by Sengge Namgyal the son of Jamyang and Gyal He expanded the kingdom into Zangskar and Spiti Despite a defeat of Ladakh by the Mughals who had already annexed Kashmir and Baltistan Ladakh retained its independence The empire of kings Tsewang Namgyal and Jamyang Namgyal about 1560 1600 CE Cham dance during Dosmoche festival in Leh Palace Islam begins to take root in the Leh area in the beginning of the 17th century after the Balti invasion and the marriage of Gyal to Jamyang A large group of Muslim servants and musicians were sent along with Gyal to Ladakh and private mosques were built where they could pray The Muslim musicians later settled in Leh Several hundred Baltis migrated to the kingdom and according to oral tradition many Muslim traders were granted land to settle Many other Muslims were invited over the following years for various purposes 43 In the late 17th century Ladakh sided with Bhutan in its dispute with Tibet which among other reasons resulted in its invasion by the Tibetan Central Government This event is known as the Tibet Ladakh Mughal war of 1679 1684 44 Kashmiri historians assert that the king converted to Islam in return for the assistance by Mughal Empire after this however Ladakhi chronicles do not mention such a thing The king agreed to pay tribute to the Mughals in return for defending the kingdom 45 46 The Mughals however withdrew after being paid off by the 5th Dalai Lama 47 With the help of reinforcements from Galdan Boshugtu Khan Khan of the Zungar Empire the Tibetans attacked again in 1684 The Tibetans were victorious and concluded a treaty with Ladakh then they retreated back to Lhasa in December 1684 The Treaty of Tingmosgang in 1684 settled the dispute between Tibet and Ladakh but severely restricted Ladakh s independence Likir Monastery Ladakh Phyang Gompa Ladakh Hemis Monastery in the 1870sPrincely state of Jammu and Kashmir Main article Jammu and Kashmir princely state The disputed territory of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir divided between Pakistan green India blue and China yellow In 1834 the Sikh Zorawar Singh a general of Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu invaded and annexed Ladakh to Jammu under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire After the defeat of the Sikhs in the First Anglo Sikh War the state of Jammu and Kashmir was established as a separate princely state under British suzerainty The Namgyal family was given the jagir of Stok which it nominally retains to this day European influence began in Ladakh in the 1850s and increased Geologists sportsmen and tourists began exploring Ladakh In 1885 Leh became the headquarters of a mission of the Moravian Church Ladakh was administered as a wazarat under Dogra rule with a governor termed wazir e wazarat It had three tehsils based at Leh Skardu and Kargil The headquarters of the wazarat was at Leh for six months of the year and at Skardu for six months When the legislative assembly called Praja Sabha was established in 1934 Ladakh was given two nominated seats in the assembly Ladakh was claimed as part of Tibet by Phuntsok Wangyal a Tibetan Communist leader 48 Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir Main article Jammu and Kashmir state At the time of the partition of India in 1947 the Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession to India Pakistani raiders from Gilgit had reached Ladakh and military operations were initiated to evict them The wartime conversion of the pony trail from Sonamarg to Zoji La by army engineers permitted tanks to move up and successfully capture the pass The advance continued Dras Kargil and Leh were liberated and Ladakh cleared of the infiltrators 49 In 1949 China closed the border between Nubra and Xinjiang blocking old trade routes In 1955 China began to build roads connecting Xinjiang and Tibet through the Aksai Chin area The Indian effort to retain control of Aksai Chin led to the Sino Indian War of 1962 which India lost China also built the Karakoram highway jointly with Pakistan India built the Srinagar Leh Highway during this period cutting the journey time between Srinagar and Leh from 16 days to two The route however remains closed during the winter months due to heavy snowfall Construction of a 6 5 km 4 0 mi tunnel across Zoji La pass is under consideration to make the route functional throughout the year 25 50 National Highway No 1 The Kargil War of 1999 codenamed Operation Vijay by the Indian Army saw infiltration by Pakistani troops into parts of Western Ladakh namely Kargil Dras Mushkoh Batalik and Chorbatla overlooking key locations on the Srinagar Leh highway Extensive operations were launched in high altitudes by the Indian Army with considerable artillery and air force support Pakistani troops were evicted from the Indian side of the Line of Control which the Indian government ordered was to be respected and which was not crossed by Indian troops The Indian government was criticised by the Indian public because India respected geographical co ordinates more than India s opponents Pakistan and China 51 page needed The Ladakh region was divided into the Kargil and Leh districts in 1979 In 1989 there were violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims Following demands for autonomy from the Kashmiri dominated state government the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was created in the 1990s Leh and Kargil districts now each have their own locally elected Hill Councils with some control over local policy and development funds In 1991 a Peace Pagoda was erected in Leh by Nipponzan Myohoji There was a heavy presence of Indian Army and Indo Tibetan Border Police forces in Ladakh These forces and People s Liberation Army forces from China have since the 1962 Sino Indian War had frequent stand offs along the Ladakh portion of the Line of Actual Control Out of the 857 kilometre long 533 mi border in Ladakh only 368 km 229 mi is the International Border and the remaining 489 km 304 mi is the Line of Actual Control 52 53 The stand off involving the most troops was in September 2014 in the disputed Chumar region when 800 to 1 000 Indian troops and 1 500 Chinese troops came into close proximity to each other 54 Ladakh Division On 8 February 2019 Ladakh became a separate Revenue and Administrative Division within Jammu and Kashmir having previously been part of the Kashmir Division As a division Ladakh was granted its own Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police 55 Leh was initially chosen to be the headquarters of the new division however following protests it was announced that Leh and Kargil will jointly serve as the divisional headquarters each hosting an Additional Divisional Commissioner to assist the Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police who will spend half their time in each town 56 Union territory of Ladakh See also Ladakh Union Territory Front Ladakh L shown in the wider Kashmir region The people of Ladakh had been demanding Ladakh to be constituted as a separate territory since 1930s because of perceived unfair treatment by Kashmir and Ladakh s cultural differences with predominantly Muslim Kashmir valley while some people in Kargil opposed union territory status for Ladakh 25 57 The first organized agitation was launched against Kashmir s dominance in the year 1964 In late 1980s a much larger mass agitation was launched to press their demand for union territory status 58 In August 2019 a reorganisation act was passed by the Parliament of India which contained provisions to reconstitute Ladakh as a union territory separate from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir on 31 October 2019 1 59 60 61 Under the terms of the act the union territory is administered by a Lieutenant Governor acting on behalf of the Central Government of India and does not have an elected legislative assembly or chief minister Each district within the union territory continues to elect an autonomous district council as done previously 62 The demand for Ladakh as separate union territory was first raised by the parliamentarian Kushok Bakula Rinpoche around 1955 which was later carried forward by another parliamentarian Thupstan Chhewang 63 The former Jammu and Kashmir state use to obtain large allocation of annual funds from the union government based on the fact that the large geographical area of the Ladakh comprising 65 of total area but Ladakh was allocated only 2 of the state budget based on its relative population 63 Within the first year of the formation of Ladakh as separate union territory its annual budget allocation has increased 4 times from 57 crore to 232 crore 63 GeographyMain article Geography of Ladakh Map of the central Ladakh region Ladakh is the highest plateau in India with most of it being over 3 000 m 9 800 ft 17 It extends from the Himalayan to the Kunlun 64 Ranges and includes the upper Indus River valley The confluence of the Indus flowing left to right and Zanskar coming in from top rivers The Ladakh region has high altitude View of Leh Town Along with Stok Kangri Historically the region included the Baltistan Baltiyul valleys now mostly in Pakistani administered part of Kashmir the entire upper Indus Valley the remote Zanskar Lahaul and Spiti to the south much of Ngari including the Rudok region and Guge in the east Aksai Chin in the northeast and the Nubra Valley to the north over Khardong La in the Ladakh Range Contemporary Ladakh borders Tibet to the east the Lahaul and Spiti regions to the south the Vale of Kashmir Jammu and Baltiyul regions to the west and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north The historic but imprecise divide between Ladakh and the Tibetan Plateau commences in the north in the intricate maze of ridges east of Rudok including Aling Kangri and Mavang Kangri and continues southeastward toward northwestern Nepal Before partition Baltistan now under Pakistani control was a district in Ladakh Skardu was the winter capital of Ladakh while Leh was the summer capital The mountain ranges in this region were formed over 45 million years by the folding of the Indian Plate into the more stationary Eurasian Plate The drift continues causing frequent earthquakes in the Himalayan region b 65 The peaks in the Ladakh Range are at a medium altitude close to the Zoji la 5 000 5 500 m or 16 400 18 000 ft and increase toward southeast culminating in the twin summits of Nun Kun 7 000 m or 23 000 ft The Suru and Zanskar valleys form a great trough enclosed by the Himalayas and the Zanskar Range Rangdum is the highest inhabited region in the Suru valley after which the valley rises to 4 400 m 14 400 ft at Pensi la the gateway to Zanskar Kargil the only town in the Suru valley is the second most important town in Ladakh It was an important staging post on the routes of the trade caravans before 1947 being more or less equidistant at about 230 kilometres from Srinagar Leh Skardu and Padum The Zangskar valley lies in the troughs of the Stod and the Lungnak rivers The region experiences heavy snowfall the Pensi la is open only between June and mid October Dras and the Mushkoh Valley form the western extremity of Ladakh The Indus River is the backbone of Ladakh Most major historical and current towns Shey Leh Basgo and Tingmosgang but not Kargil are close to the Indus River After the Indo Pakistani War of 1947 the stretch of the Indus flowing through Ladakh became the only part of this river which is greatly venerated in the Hindu religion and culture that still flows through India The Siachen Glacier is in the eastern Karakoram Range in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India Pakistan border The Karakoram Range forms a great watershed that separates China from the Indian subcontinent and is sometimes called the Third Pole The glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge immediately to the west and the main Karakoram Range to the east At 76 km 47 mi long it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second longest in the world s non polar areas It falls from an altitude of 5 753 m 18 875 ft above sea level at its source at Indira Col on the China border down to 3 620 m 11 880 ft at its snout Saser Kangri is the highest peak in the Saser Muztagh the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram Range in India Saser Kangri I having an altitude of 7 672 m 25 171 ft The Ladakh Range has no major peaks its average height is a little less than 6 000 m 20 000 ft and few of its passes are less than 5 000 m 16 000 ft The Pangong range runs parallel to the Ladakh Range for about 100 km 62 mi northwest from Chushul along the southern shore of the Pangong Lake Its highest point is about 6 700 m 22 000 ft and the northern slopes are heavily glaciated The region comprising the valley of the Shayok and Nubra rivers is known as Nubra The Karakoram Range in Ladakh is not as mighty as in Baltistan The massifs to the north and east of the Nubra Siachen line include the Apsarasas Group highest point at 7 245 m or 23 770 ft the Rimo Muztagh highest point at 7 385 m or 24 229 ft and the Teram Kangri Group highest point at 7 464 m or 24 488 ft together with Mamostong Kangri 7 526 m or 24 692 ft and Singhi Kangri 7 202 m or 23 629 ft North of the Karakoram lies the Kunlun Thus between Leh and eastern Central Asia there is a triple barrier the Ladakh Range Karakoram Range and Kunlun Nevertheless a major trade route was established between Leh and Yarkand Monthly average temperature in Leh Ladakh is a high altitude desert as the Himalayas create a rain shadow generally denying entry to monsoon clouds The main source of water is the winter snowfall on the mountains Recent flooding in the region e g the 2010 floods has been attributed to abnormal rain patterns and retreating glaciers both of which have been found to be linked to global climate change 66 The Leh Nutrition Project headed by Chewang Norphel also known as the Glacier Man creates artificial glaciers as one solution for retreating glaciers 67 68 The regions on the north flank of the Himalayas Dras the Suru valley and Zangskar experience heavy snowfall and remain cut off from the rest of the region for several months in the year as the whole region remains cut off by road from the rest of the country Summers are short though they are long enough to grow crops The summer weather is dry and pleasant Temperature ranges are from 3 to 35 C 37 to 95 F in summer and minimums range from 20 to 35 C 4 to 31 F in winter 69 Zanskar is the main river of the region along with its tributaries The Zanskar gets frozen during winter and the famous Chadar trek takes place on this magnificent frozen river Flora and fauna Main article Wildlife of Ladakh The black necked crane comes to India every year for breeding Photograph has been taken at Tso Kar Ladakh Vegetation is extremely sparse in Ladakh except along streambeds and wetlands on high slopes and irrigated places About 1250 plant species including crops were reported from Ladakh 70 The plant Ladakiella klimesii growing up to 6 150 metres 20 180 ft above sea level was first described here and named after this region 71 The first European to study the wildlife of this region was William Moorcroft in 1820 followed by Ferdinand Stoliczka an Austrian Czech palaeontologist who carried out a massive expedition there in the 1870s There are many lakes in Ladakh such as Kyago Tso The bharal or blue sheep is the most abundant mountain ungulate in the Ladakh region although it is not found in some parts of Zangskar and Sham areas 72 The Asiatic ibex is a mountain goat that is distributed in the western part of Ladakh It is the second most abundant mountain ungulate in the region with a population of about 6000 individuals It is adapted to rugged areas where it easily climbs when threatened 73 The Ladakhi Urial is another unique mountain sheep that inhabits the mountains of Ladakh The population is declining however and there are not more than 3000 individuals left in Ladakh 74 The urial is endemic to Ladakh where it is distributed only along two major river valleys the Indus and Shayok The animal is often persecuted by farmers whose crops are allegedly damaged by it Its population declined precipitously in the last century due to indiscriminate shooting by hunters along the Leh Srinagar highway The Tibetan argali or Nyan is the largest wild sheep in the world standing 1 1 to 1 2 metres 3 5 to 4 ft at the shoulder with the horn measuring 900 1 000 mm 35 39 in It is distributed on the Tibetan plateau and its marginal mountains encompassing a total area of 2 5 million km2 0 97 million sq mi There is only a small population of about 400 animals in Ladakh The animal prefers open and rolling terrain as it runs unlike wild goats that climb into steep cliffs to escape from predators 75 The endangered Tibetan antelope known as chiru in Indian English or Ladakhi tsos has traditionally been hunted for its wool shahtoosh which is a natural fibre of the finest quality and thus valued for its light weight and warmth and as a status symbol The wool of chiru must be pulled out by hand a process done after the animal is killed The fibre is smuggled into Kashmir and woven into exquisite shawls by Kashmiri workers Ladakh is also home to the Tibetan gazelle which inhabits the vast rangelands in eastern Ladakh bordering Tibet 76 Wild animals of Ladakh Yaks in Ladakh The kiang or Tibetan wild ass is common in the grasslands of Changthang numbering about 2 500 individuals These animals are in conflict with the nomadic people of Changthang who hold the Kiang responsible for pasture degradation 77 There are about 200 snow leopards in Ladakh of an estimated 7 000 worldwide The Hemis High Altitude National Park in central Ladakh is an especially good habitat for this predator as it has abundant prey populations The Eurasian lynx is another rare cat that preys on smaller herbivores in Ladakh It is mostly found in Nubra Changthang and Zangskar 78 The Pallas s cat which looks somewhat like a house cat is very rare in Ladakh and not much is known about the species The Tibetan wolf which sometimes preys on the livestock of the Ladakhis is the most persecuted amongst the predators 79 There are also a few brown bears in the Suru Valley and the area around Dras The Tibetan sand fox has been discovered in this region 80 Among smaller animals marmots hares and several types of pika and vole are common 81 Flora Scant precipitation makes Ladakh a high altitude desert with extremely scarce vegetation over most of its area Natural vegetation mainly occurs along water courses and on high altitude areas that receive more snow and cooler summer temperatures Human settlements however are richly vegetated due to irrigation 82 Natural vegetation commonly seen along watercourses includes seabuckthorn Hippophae spp wild roses of pink or yellow varieties tamarisk Myricaria spp caraway stinging nettles mint Physochlaina praealta and various grasses 83 Administration Banner of the Administration of Ladakh 84 Main articles Administration of Ladakh and Politics of Ladakh Under the terms of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act Ladakh is administered as a union territory without a legislative assembly or elected government The head of government is a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the President of India who is assisted by civil servants of the Indian Administrative Service 85 Districts Main article List of districts of Ladakh Ladakh is divided into two districts Name of district Headquarters Area km2 Population 2011 CensusKargil district Kargil 14 036 140 802Leh district Leh 45 110 133 487Total 2 59 146 274 289Autonomous District Councils Each district of Ladakh is administered by an autonomous district council they are Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Kargil Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council LehThe two autonomous district councils work with village panchayats to take decisions on economic development healthcare education land use taxation and local governance which are further reviewed at the block headquarters in the presence of the chief executive councillor and executive councillors 86 The government of Jammu and Kashmir looks after law and order the judicial system communications and the higher education in the region The two autonomous district councils continue to exist following the formation of the union territory of Ladakh on 31 October 2019 62 Law enforcement and justice Ladakh is under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh 87 The union territory of Ladakh has its own police force headed by a director general of police 88 Ladakh in the Parliament of India Ladakh sends one member MP to the lower house of the Indian parliament the Lok Sabha The MP for the Ladakh constituency in the current Lok Sabha is Jamyang Tsering Namgyal from the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP 89 90 Economy Street market in Leh Preparing apricots Alchi Monastery The land is irrigated by a system of channels which funnel water from the ice and snow of the mountains The principal crops are barley and wheat Rice was previously a luxury in the Ladakhi diet but subsidised by the government has now become a cheap staple 17 Naked barley Ladakhi nas Urdu grim was traditionally a staple crop all over Ladakh Growing times vary considerably with altitude The extreme limit of cultivation is at Korzok on the Tso moriri lake at 4 600 m 15 100 ft which has what are widely considered to be the highest fields in the world 17 A minority of Ladakhi people were also employed as merchants and caravan traders facilitating trade in textiles carpets dyestuffs and narcotics between Punjab and Xinjiang However since the Chinese Government closed the borders between Tibet Autonomous Region and Ladakh this international trade has completely dried up 25 91 Indus river flowing in the Ladakh region is endowed with vast hydropower potential Solar and wind power potentials are also substantial Though the region is a remote hilly area without all weather roads the area is also rich in limestone deposits to manufacture cement from the locally available cheap electricity for various construction needs 92 Since 1974 the Indian Government has encouraged a shift in trekking and other tourist activities from the troubled Kashmir region to the relatively unaffected areas of Ladakh Although tourism employs only 4 of Ladakh s working population it now accounts for 50 of the region s GNP 25 This era is recorded in Arthur Neves The Tourist s Guide to Kashmir Ladakh and Skardo first published in 1911 91 Transportation A vehicle on the Himalaya Highway 3 There are about 1 800 km 1 100 mi of roads in Ladakh of which 800 km 500 mi are surfaced 93 The majority of roads in Ladakh are looked after by the Border Roads Organisation There are two main roads that connect Ladakh with the rest of the country NH1 connecting Srinagar to Kargil and Leh and NH3 connecting Manali to Leh A third road to Ladakh is the Nimmu Padam Darcha road which is under construction 94 Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport There is an airport in Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport from which there are daily flights to Delhi and weekly flights to Srinagar and Jammu There are two airstrips at Daulat Beg Oldie and Fukche for military transport 95 The airport at Kargil Kargil Airport was intended for civilian flights but is currently used by the Indian Army The airport is a political issue for the locals who argue that the airport should serve its original purpose i e should open up for civilian flights Since past few years the Indian Air Force has been operating AN 32 air courier service to transport the locals during the winter seasons to Jammu Srinagar and Chandigarh 96 97 A private aeroplane company Air Mantra landed a 17 seater aircraft at the airport in presence of dignitaries like the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah marking the first ever landing by a civilian airline company at Kargil Airport 98 99 DemographicsPopulation of Leh and Kargil districts Year c Leh District Kargil DistrictPopulation Percentage change Females per 1000 males Population Percentage change Females per 1000 males1951 40 484 1011 41 856 9701961 43 587 0 74 1010 45 064 0 74 9351971 51 891 1 76 1002 53 400 1 71 9491981 68 380 2 80 886 65 992 2 14 8532001 117 637 2 75 805 115 287 2 83 9012011 133 487 690 140 802 810The sex ratio for Leh district declined from 1011 females per 1000 males in 1951 to 805 in 2001 while for Kargil district it declined from 970 to 901 100 The urban sex ratio in both the districts is about 640 The adult sex ratio reflects large numbers of mostly male seasonal and migrant labourers and merchants About 84 of Ladakh s population lives in villages 101 The average annual population growth rate from 1981 to 2001 was 2 75 in Leh District and 2 83 in Kargil district 100 Religion Religions in Ladakh 2011 102 Islam 46 41 Buddhism 39 65 Hinduism 12 11 Sikhism 0 83 Christianity 0 46 Jainism 0 05 Other 0 02 Religion not stated 0 47 The Dras and Dha Hanu regions are habitated by Brokpa Drokpa Dard and Shinu tribes and Shina people respectively who are predominately followers of Islam while small minorities follow Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism 103 The region s population is split roughly in half between the districts of Leh and Kargil 76 87 population of Kargil is Muslim mostly Shia 104 102 with a total population of 140 802 while that of Leh is 66 40 Buddhist with a total population of 133 487 as per the 2011 census 102 105 106 Majority Ladakhis Changpa and Brokpa follow Buddhism An increasing number of Muslim men and Ladakhi Buddhist women are marrying each other following a decline in the population of Buddhist men in Ladakh leaving more Buddhist women without a spouse 107 108 Language Languages of Ladakh 2011 census 109 Ladakhi 37 78 Purkhi 33 61 Hindi 8 94 Shina 5 06 Balti 3 58 Tibetan 2 33 Punjabi 1 01 Others 7 69 The predominant mother tongue in Leh district is Ladakhi also called Bauti a Tibetic language 109 Purkhi sometimes considered a dialect of Balti is the predominant mother tongue of Kargil district 109 110 Educated Ladakhis usually know Hindi Urdu and often English Within Ladakh there is a range of dialects so that the language of the Chang pa people may differ markedly from that of the Purig pa in Kargil or the Zangskaris but they are all mutually comprehensible Most Ladakhi people especially the younger generations speak fluently in English and in Hindi too due to the languages education at school 111 Administrative work and education are carried out in English 112 CultureMain article Culture of Ladakh Ladakhi culture is similar to Tibetan culture 113 Cuisine Thukpa Ladakhi food has much in common with Tibetan food the most prominent foods being thukpa noodle soup and tsampa known in Ladakhi as ngampe roasted barley flour Edible without cooking tsampa makes useful trekking food Strictly Ladakhi dishes include skyu and chutagi both heavy and rich soup pasta dishes skyu being made with root vegetables and meat and chutagi with leafy greens and vegetables 114 As Ladakh moves toward a cash based economy foods from the plains of India are becoming more common 115 As in other parts of Central Asia tea in Ladakh is traditionally made with strong green tea butter and salt It is mixed in a large churn and known as gurgur cha after the sound it makes when mixed Sweet tea cha ngarmo is common now made in the Indian style with milk and sugar Most of the surplus barley that is produced is fermented into chang an alcoholic beverage drunk especially on festive occasions 116 Music and dance Main article Music of Ladakh Dancer in masked dance festival Jabro Dance The music of Ladakhi Buddhist monastic festivals like Tibetan music often involves religious chanting in Tibetan as an integral part of the religion These chants are complex often recitations of sacred texts or in celebration of various festivals Yang chanting performed without metrical timing is accompanied by resonant drums and low sustained syllables Religious mask dances are an important part of Ladakh s cultural life Hemis monastery a leading centre of the Drukpa tradition of Buddhism holds an annual masked dance festival as do all major Ladakhi monasteries The dances typically narrate a story of the fight between good and evil ending with the eventual victory of the former 117 Weaving is an important part of traditional life in eastern Ladakh Both women and men weave on different looms 118 Sport Sul ma woman s woollen dress detail Ladakh late 19th early 20th century The most popular sport in Ladakh is ice hockey which is played only on natural ice generally mid December through mid February 119 Cricket is also very popular citation needed Archery is a traditional sport in Ladakh and many villages hold archery festivals which are as much about traditional dancing drinking and gambling as they are about the sport The sport is conducted with strict etiquette to the accompaniment of the music of surna and daman shehnai and drum Polo the other traditional sport of Ladakh is indigenous to Baltistan and Gilgit and was probably introduced into Ladakh in the mid 17th century by King Singge Namgyal whose mother was a Balti princess 120 Polo popular among the Baltis is an annual affair in Drass region of Kargil district 121 122 123 124 The Ladakh Marathon is a high altitude marathon held in Leh every year since 2012 Held at a height of 11 500 to 17 618 feet 3 505 to 5 370 m it is one of the world s highest marathons 125 First ever Khelo India Winter Games in Ladakh Social status of women Woman wearing traditional Ladakhi hatA feature of Ladakhi society that distinguishes it from the rest of the state is the high status and relative emancipation enjoyed by women compared to other rural parts of India Fraternal polyandry and inheritance by primogeniture were common in Ladakh until the early 1940s when these were made illegal by the government of Jammu and Kashmir However the practice remained in existence into the 1990s especially among the elderly and the more isolated rural populations 126 Another custom is known as khang bu or little house in which the elders of a family as soon as the eldest son has sufficiently matured retire from participation in affairs yielding the headship of the family to him and taking only enough of the property for their own sustenance 17 Ladakhi Perak Headdress courtesy the Wovenosuls collection Traditional medicine Main article Traditional Tibetan medicine Tibetan medicine has been the traditional health system of Ladakh for over a thousand years This school of traditional healing contains elements of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine combined with the philosophy and cosmology of Tibetan Buddhism For centuries the only medical system accessible to the people have been the amchi traditional doctors following the Tibetan medical tradition Amchi medicine remains a component of public health especially in remote areas 127 Programmes by the government local and international organisations are working to develop and rejuvenate this traditional system of healing 127 128 Efforts are underway to preserve the intellectual property rights of amchi medicine for the people of Ladakh The government has also been trying to promote the sea buckthorn in the form of juice and jam as some claim it possess medicinal properties The National Research Institute for Sowa Rigpa in Leh is an institute for research into traditional medicine and a hospital providing traditional treatments 129 EducationAccording to the 2001 census the overall literacy rate in Leh District is 62 72 for males and 50 for females and in Kargil District 58 74 for males and 41 for females 130 Traditionally there was little or nothing by way of formal education except in the monasteries Usually one son from every family was obliged to master the Tibetan script in order to read the holy books 17 The Moravian Mission opened a school in Leh in October 1889 and the Wazir i Wazarat ex officio Joint Commissioner with a British officer of Baltistan and Ladakh ordered that every family with more than one child should send one of them to school This order met with great resistance from the local people who feared that the children would be forced to convert to Christianity The school taught Tibetan Urdu English Geography Sciences Nature study Arithmetic Geometry and Bible study 131 It is still in existence today The first local school to provide western education was opened by a local Society called Lamdon Social Welfare Society in 1973 Later with support from Dalai Lama and some international organisations the school now known as Lamdon Model Senior Secondary School has grown to accommodate approximately two thousand pupils in several branches It prides itself on preserving Ladakhi tradition and culture 132 Schools are well distributed throughout Ladakh but 75 of them provide only primary education 65 of children attend school but absenteeism of both students and teachers remains high In both districts the failure rate at school leaving level class X had for many years been around 85 95 while of those managing to scrape through barely half succeeded in qualifying for college entrance class XII Before 1993 students were taught in Urdu until they were 14 after which the medium of instruction shifted to English As of January 2022 there were 904 Government run schools in Ladakh and 113 publicly run private schools in Ladakh 133 In 1994 the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh SECMOL launched Operation New Hope ONH a campaign to provide culturally appropriate and locally relevant education and make government schools more functional and effective 134 Central Institute of Buddhist Studies a Deemed University in Leh is the oldest institution in this reason which mainly focuses on Buddhist philosphy but also offer degrees in different fields 135 Indian Astronomical Observatory near Leh The University of Ladakh with its two campuses One each in Kargil amp Leh and its constituent colleges enables students to pursue higher education without having to leave Ladakh 136 A central University has also been approved to be set up in Ladakh by the Union Cabinet 137 The Indian Astronomical Observatory is located in Hanle and is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics 138 In December 2019 the union minister of state for home affairs Mr G Kishan Reddy in a written response has stated in Parliament that the Government of India has approved to establish a Medical College and National Research Institute for Sowa Rigpa in the district of Leh 139 In August 2021 the Parliament of India amended the Central Universities Act to establish a central university in Ladakh named Sindhu Central University 140 141 MediaSee also Ladakh International Film Festival The government radio broadcaster All India Radio AIR 142 and government television station Doordarshan 143 have stations in Leh that broadcast local content for a few hours a day Beyond that Ladakhis produce feature films that are screened in auditoriums and community halls They are often made on fairly modest budgets 144 On 14 December 2021 the first FM radio station in Ladakh was established in Leh 145 There are a handful of private news outlets Reach Ladakh Bulletin 146 a biweekly newspaper in English is the only print media published by and for Ladakhis Rangyul or Kargil Number is a newspaper published from Kashmir covering Ladakh in English and Urdu Ladags Melong an initiative of SECMOL was published from 1992 to 2005 in English and Ladakhi Sintic Magazine a lifestyle and tourist magazine of Ladakh was started in 2018 in English Some publications that cover Jammu and Kashmir as a whole provide some coverage of Ladakh The Daily Excelsior claims to be The largest circulated daily of Jammu and Kashmir 147 Epilogue a monthly magazine covering Jammu and Kashmir 148 Kashmir Times a daily newspaper covering Jammu and Kashmir 149 Gallery Khardung La Shingo La Shanti Stupa Leh Thiksey Monastery Likir Monastery Trees in the Indus Valley near Leh Nubra Valley view with reflection Carved stone tablets each with the inscription Om Mani Padme Hum along the paths of ZanskarSee alsoLadakh Buddhist Association Ladakh Scouts Ladakh Union Territory Front Emblem of Ladakh Polyandry in TibetNotes The extension of the term Tibet to the modern day Tibet is due to the Europeans in India in the 18th century 24 All of Indian Ladakh is placed in high risk Zone VIII while areas from Kargil and Zanskar southwestward are in lower risk zones on the earthquake hazard scale Census was not carried out in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991 due to militancyReferencesCitations a b The Gazette of India PDF egazette nic in Retrieved 3 January 2021 MHA nic in MHA nic in Archived from the original on 8 December 2008 Retrieved 21 June 2012 Saltoro Kangri India Pakistan peakbagger com Retrieved 9 August 2019 Ganai Naseer 19 January 2022 Urdu No More Official Language Of Ladakh Outlook India Retrieved 8 April 2022 Part II Section 3 Sub section ii PDF Gazette of India Extraordinary Controller of Publications Delhi 110054 p 2 25 November 2019 Khajuria Sanjay 1 September 2021 Snow leopard Black necked crane declared state animal and birds in Ladakh The Times of India OED Online December 2020 Ladakhi n Oxford University Press retrieved 6 March 2021 leˈdɑːki A native or inhabitant of Ladakh a district of eastern Kashmir Attested use 1911 Encycl Brit XVI 59 1 It sc Ladakh was however conquered and annexed in 1834 1841 by Gulab Singh of Jammu the unwarlike Ladakhis even with nature fighting on their side and against indifferent generalship being no match for the Dogra troops Ladakh Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica 1 March 2021 retrieved 2 April 2022 Ladakh large area of the northern and eastern Kashmir region northwestern Indian subcontinent Administratively Ladakh is divided between Pakistan northwest as part of Gilgit Baltistan and India southeast as part of Ladakh union territory until October 31 2019 part of Jammu and Kashmir state in addition China administers portions of northeastern Ladakh Akhtar Rais Kirk William Jammu and Kashmir State India Encyclopaedia Britannica retrieved 7 August 2019 subscription required Quote Jammu and Kashmir state of India located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the vicinity of the Karakoram and westernmost Himalayan mountain ranges From 1947 to 2019 Ladakh was part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir which has been the subject of dispute between India Pakistan and China since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 Jan Osma鈔czyk Edmund Osmanczyk Edmund Jan 2003 Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements G to M Taylor amp Francis pp 1191 ISBN 978 0 415 93922 5 Quote Jammu and Kashmir Territory in northwestern India subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan It has borders with Pakistan and China Jina Ladakh 1996 Kashmir options Maps showing the options and pitfalls of possible solutions The Future of Kashmir In Depth Kashmir Flashpoint BBC News 19 May 2011 Retrieved 16 April 2013 Fantasy frontiers The Economist 8 February 2012 Retrieved 24 September 2014 Rizvi Janet 2001 Trans Himalayan Caravans Merchant Princes and Peasant Traders in Ladakh Oxford India Paperbacks Osada et al 2000 p 298 Sandhu Kamaljit Kaur 4 June 2019 Government planning to redraw Jammu and Kashmir assembly constituency borders Sources India Today a b c d e f Rizvi Janet 1996 Ladakh Crossroads of High Asia Oxford University Press Pile Tim 1 August 2019 Ladakh the good bad and ugly sides to India s Little Tibet high in the Himalayas South Chinan Morning Post ProQuest 2267352786 Ladakh IBEF Francke August Hermann 1926 Antiquities of Indian Tibet Volume II Calcutta Superintendent Government Printing Press pp 93 ISBN 978 81 206 0769 9 Quote Ladakh the Persian transliteration of the Tibetan La dvags is warranted by the pronunciation of the word in several Tibetan districts The terminal gs has the sound of the guttural gh or even kh in various Tibetan dialects Volume II page 93 Art and Architecture in Ladakh Cross cultural Transmissions in the Himalayas and Karakoram BRILL 2014 pp 3 ISBN 978 90 04 27180 7 Quote The single most important source of Ladakhi history is the La dvags rgyal rabs the royal chronicle of Ladakh which dates back to the 17th century Petech Luciano 1977 The Kingdom of Ladakh c 950 1842 A D PDF Instituto Italiano Per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente p 22 via academia edu dead link Pirumshoev H S Dani Ahmad Hasan 2003 The Pamirs Badakhshan and the Trans Pamir States PDF in Chahryar Adle Irfan Habib eds History of Civilizations of Central Asia Vol V Development in contrast From the sixteenth to the mid nineteenth century UNESCO pp 238 239 ISBN 978 92 3 103876 1 Under Aurangzeb 1659 1707 Mughal suzerainty was also acknowledged by Ladakh Great Tibet in 1665 though it was contested in 1681 3 by the Oirat or Kalmuk Qalmaq rulers of Tibet Bogle George Manning Thomas 2010 Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet And of the Journey of Thomas Manning to Lhasa Cambridge University Press p 26 ISBN 978 1 108 02255 2 a b c d e f Loram Charlie 2004 2000 Trekking in Ladakh 2nd ed Trailblazer Publications a b Zutshi Rattan 13 January 2016 My Journey of Discovery Partridge Publishing p 126 ISBN 978 1 4828 4140 4 Petech The Kingdom of Ladakh 1977 p 7 Xuanzang describes a journey from Ch u lu to Kuluta Kullu to Lo hu lo Lahul then goes on saying that from there to the north for over 2000 li the road is very difficult with cold wind and flying snow thus one arrives in the kingdom of Mo lo so Petech states geographically speaking the region thus indicated is unmistakably Ladakh Petech The Kingdom of Ladakh 1977 pp 7 8 Howard amp Howard Historic Ruins in the Gya Valley 2014 p 86 Zeisler Bettina 2011 Kenhat The Dialects of Upper Ladakh and Zanskari Himalayan Languages and Linguistics Studies in Phonology Semantics Morphology and Syntax BRILL p 293 ISBN 978 90 04 21653 2 While the whole of Ladakh and adjacent regions were originally populated by speakers of Eastern Iranian Scythian Lower Ladakh as well as Baltistan was also subject to several immigration waves of Indoaryan Dardic speakers and other groups from Central Asia Upper Ladakh and the neighbouring regions to the east by contrast seem to have been populated additionally by speakers of a non Tibetan Tibeto Burman language namely West Himalayan Old Zhangzhung Bellezza John Vincent 2014 The Dawn of Tibet The Ancient Civilization on the Roof of the World Rowman amp Littlefield Publishers p 101 ISBN 978 1 4422 3462 8 Fisher Rose amp Huttenback Himalayan Battleground 1963 pp 12 15 Ladakh s geographical position leaves no room for doubt that its ancient caravan routes must have often served as a path first for conquest and then for retreat of the opposing armies as they alternated between victory and defeat Fisher Rose amp Huttenback Himalayan Battleground 1963 pp 15 16 Flood Finbarr Barry 2017 A Turk in the Dukhang Comparative Perspectives on Elite Dress in Medieval Ladakh and the Caucasus Interaction in the Himalayas and Central Asia Austrian Academy of Science Press 231 243 a b Howard Neil 1997 History of Ladakh Recent Research on Ladakh 6 Motilal Banarsidass p 122 ISBN 9788120814325 a b c Sheikh Abdul Ghani 1995 A Brief History of Muslims in Ladakh Recent Research on Ladakh 4 amp 5 Motilal Banarsidass p 189 ISBN 9788120814042 Buddhist Western Himalaya A politico religious history Indus Publishing 1 January 2001 ISBN 9788173871245 Retrieved 19 December 2016 via Google Books Kaul Shridhar Kaul H N 1992 Ladakh Through the Ages Towards a New Identity ISBN 9788185182759 Jina Prem Singh 1996 Ladakh ISBN 9788173870576 Osmaston Henry Denwood Philip 1995 Recent Research on Ladakh 4 amp 5 ISBN 9788120814042 Bora Nirmala 2004 Ladakh ISBN 9788179750124 Kaul H N 1998 Rediscovery of Ladakh ISBN 9788173870866 Osmaston Henry Denwood Philip 1995 Recent Research on Ladakh 4 amp 5 ISBN 9788120814042 See the following studies 1 Halkias T Georgios 2009 Until the Feathers of the Winged Black Raven Turn White Sources for the Tibet Bashahr Treaty of 1679 1684 in Mountains Monasteries and Mosques ed John Bray Supplement to Rivista Orientali pp 59 79 2 Emmer Gerhard 2007 Dga ldan tshe dbang dpal bzang po and the Tibet Ladakh Mughal War of 1679 84 in The Mongolia Tibet Interface Opening new Research Terrains in Inner Asia eds Uradyn Bulag Hildegard Diemberger Leiden Brill pp 81 107 3 Ahmad Zahiruddin 1968 New Light on the Tibet Ladakh Mughal War of 1679 84 East and West XVIII 3 pp 340 361 4 Petech Luciano 1947 The Tibet Ladakhi Moghul War of 1681 83 The Indian Historical Quarterly XXIII 3 pp 169 199 Sali M L 1998 India China Border Dispute ISBN 9788170249641 Kaul H N 1998 Rediscovery of Ladakh ISBN 9788173870866 Johan Elverskog 6 June 2011 Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road University of Pennsylvania Press pp 223 ISBN 978 0 8122 0531 2 Gray Tuttle Kurtis R Schaeffer 12 March 2013 The Tibetan History Reader Columbia University Press pp 603 ISBN 978 0 231 14468 1 Menon P M amp Proudfoot C L The Madras Sappers 1947 1980 1989 Thomson Press Faridabad India Dash Dipak K 16 July 2012 Government may clear all weather tunnel to Leh today The Times of India Retrieved 27 July 2020 Bammi Y M Kargil 1999 the impregnable conquered 2002 Natraj Publishers Dehradun Stobdan Phunchok 26 May 2020 As China intrudes across LAC India must be alert to a larger strategic shift The Indian Express Retrieved 26 July 2020 Stobdan Phunchok 28 May 2020 Ladakh concern overrides LAC dispute The Tribune Chandigarh Retrieved 26 July 2020 Kulkarni Pranav 26 September 2014 Ground report Half of Chinese troops leave rest to follow The Indian Express Retrieved 12 December 2014 Notification Jammu 8 February 2019 Archived 26 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine Government of Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh division headquarters to shuttle between Leh and Kargil Governor Malik 15 February 2019 Kargil Council For Greater Ladakh The Statesman 9 August 2003 2003 Retrieved 22 August 2006 Ladakh had been demanding UT status for a long time Retrieved 11 May 2021 Article 370 revoked Updates Jammu amp Kashmir is now a Union Territory Lok Sabha passes bifurcation bill Business Today India 6 August 2019 Retrieved 27 July 2020 Already Rajya Sabha Clears J amp K As Union Territory Instead Of State Archived 6 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine NDTV 5 August 2019 The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 PDF Ministry of Home Affairs no Bill No XXIX of 2019 2019 archived from the original PDF on 6 May 2021 retrieved 8 August 2019 a b LAHDC Act would continue and the Amendments of 2018 to be protected Governor Daily Excelsior 30 August 2019 Retrieved 27 July 2020 a b c One year of union territory status Ladakh brims with hope Archived 3 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine Times of India 3 August 2020 The Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak published in 1890 Compiled under the direction of the Quarter Master General in India in the Intelligence Branch in fact unequivocally states inter alia in pages 520 and 364 that Khotan is a province in the Chinese Empire lying to the north of the Eastern Kuenlun Kun Lun range which here forms the boundary of Ladak and The eastern range forms the southern boundary of Khotan and is crossed by two passes the Yangi or Elchi Diwan crossed in 1865 by Johnson and the Hindutak Diwan crossed by Robert Schlagentweit in 1857 Multi hazard Map of India PDF United Nations Development Program 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 31 October 2014 Retrieved 31 October 2014 Strzepek Kenneth M Joel B Smith 1995 As Climate Changes International Impacts and Implications Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 46796 4 OneWorld South Asia Glacier man Chewang Norphel brings water to Ladakh 2 July 2007 Archived from the original on 2 July 2007 Edugreen teri res in Edugreen teri res in Retrieved 21 June 2012 Climate in Ladakh LehLadakhIndia com Retrieved 3 March 2008 Dvorsky Miroslav 2018 A field guide to the flora of Ladakh Prague Academia ISBN 978 80 200 2826 6 German Dmitry A Al Shehbaz Ihsan A 1 December 2010 Nomenclatural novelties in miscellaneous Asian Brassicaceae Cruciferae Nordic Journal of Botany 28 6 646 651 doi 10 1111 j 1756 1051 2010 00983 x ISSN 1756 1051 Namgail T Fox J L Bhatnagar Y V 2004 262 PDF Habitat segregation between sympatric Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans Himalaya Journal of Zoology London reg wur nl pp 57 63 Namgail T 2006 Winter Habitat Partitioning between Asiatic Ibex and Blue Sheep in Ladakh Northern India PDF Journal of Mountain Ecology 8 7 13 Namgail T 2006 Trans Himalayan large herbivores status conservation and niche relationships Report submitted to the Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx Zoo New York Namgail T Fox J L Bhatnagar Y V 2007 Habitat shift and time budget of the Tibetan argali the influence of livestock grazing PDF Ecological Research 22 25 31 doi 10 1007 s11284 006 0015 y S2CID 12451184 Namgail T Bagchi S Mishra C Bhatnagar Y V 2008 Distributional correlates of the Tibetan gazelle in northern India Towards a recovery programme PDF Oryx 42 107 112 doi 10 1017 s0030605308000768 Bhatnagar Y V Wangchuk R Prins H H van Wieren S E Mishra C 2006 Perceived conflicts between pastoralism and conservation of the Kiang Equus kiang in the Ladakh Trans Himalaya Environmental Management 38 6 934 941 doi 10 1007 s00267 005 0356 2 PMC 1705511 PMID 16955231 Namgail T 2004 Eurasian lynx in Ladakh Cat News 40 21 22 Namgail T Fox J L Bhatnagar Y V 2007 Carnivore caused livestock mortality in Trans Himalaya PDF Environmental Management 39 4 490 496 doi 10 1007 s00267 005 0178 2 PMID 17318699 S2CID 30967502 Namgail T Bagchi S Bhatnagar Y V Wangchuk R 2005 Occurrence of the Tibetan sand fox Vulpes ferrilata Hodgson in Ladakh A new record for the Indian sub Continent Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 102 217 219 Bagchi S Namgail T Ritchie M E 2006 Small mammalian herbivores as mediators of plant community dynamics in the high altitude arid rangelands of Trans Himalayas Biological Conservation 127 4 438 442 doi 10 1016 j biocon 2005 09 003 Vishwas S Kale 23 May 2014 Landscapes and Landforms of India Springer ISBN 9789401780292 Satish K Sharma 2006 Temperate Horticulture Current Scenario New India Publisher ISBN 9788189422363 Ladakh mountaineer successfully summits Mt Everest the Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh India New J amp K to be like Puducherry Here is how India s new Union territory J amp K will function The Economic Times 5 August 2019 Retrieved 16 April 2019 India Allrefer country study guide Archived from the original on 21 May 2011 Retrieved 21 August 2006 Kashmir updates Rajya Sabha passes bill that divides J amp K Ladakh with 125 votes in favour 61 against Business Today 5 October 2019 Retrieved 16 April 2021 Dixit Pranjal 6 August 2019 लद द ख क अपन ह ग ख क जम म कश म र प ल स भ द ल ल क तरह उप र ज यप ल क कर ग र प र ट Amar Ujala in Hindi Retrieved 16 April 2021 Khan Shri Hassan Member s Bioprofile Lok Sabha Archived from the original on 13 May 2013 Members of Parliament MPs of India 2014 Sixteenth Lok Sabha Members elections in Retrieved 28 September 2016 a b Weare Garry 2002 Trekking in the Indian Himalaya 4th ed Lonely Planet Distribution of Rocks and Minerals in J amp K state Retrieved 30 November 2017 State Development Report Jammu and Kashmir Chapter 3A PDF Planning Commission of India 2001 Archived from the original PDF on 30 November 2012 Retrieved 21 August 2006 LAC stand off BRO s new highway untraceable by enemy saves hours and gives 365 day connectivity The Times of India ANI 5 September 2020 Retrieved 7 September 2020 IAF craft makes successful landing near China border 4 November 2008 NDTV com NDTV com Archived from the original on 5 September 2012 Retrieved 21 June 2012 Air Courier Service From Kargil Begins Operation news outlookindia com Archived from the original on 17 May 2014 Retrieved 6 June 2013 IAF to start air services to Kargil during winter from December 6 NDTV com 3 December 2010 Retrieved 6 June 2013 Fayyaz Ahmed Ali 7 January 2013 Kargil gets first civil air connectivity The Hindu Retrieved 6 June 2013 GK News Network 2 January 2013 Air Mantra to operate flights to Kargil Greater Kashmir Archived from the original on 4 June 2013 Retrieved 6 June 2013 a b State Development Report Jammu and Kashmir Chapter 2 Demographics PDF Planning Commission of India 1999 Archived from the original PDF on 13 December 2011 Retrieved 21 August 2006 Rural population Education for all in India 1999 Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Retrieved 21 August 2006 a b c C 1 Population By Religious Community Jammu amp Kashmir Report Office of the Registrar General amp Census Commissioner India Retrieved 28 July 2020 Religion Data of Census 2011 XXXIII JK HP ST Retrieved 18 May 2020 Vijay Tarun 30 January 2008 Endangered Ladakh The Times of India Retrieved 27 July 2020 Kargil District Population Census 2011 2020 Jammu and Kashmir literacy sex ratio and density www census2011 co in Leh District Population Census 2011 2020 Jammu and Kashmir literacy sex ratio and density www census2011 co in Manish Sai Anzar Khalid 16 September 2017 Why Buddhist women are marrying Muslim men in Ladakh Business Standard New Delhi Leh Raj Suhasini Gettleman Jeffrey 12 October 2017 On the Run for Love Couple Bridges a Buddhist Muslim Divide The New York Times LADAKH REGION India a b c C 16 Population By Mother Tongue Jammu amp Kashmir Report Office of the Registrar General amp Census Commissioner India Retrieved 18 July 2020 Rather Ali Mohammad September 1999 Kargil The Post War Scenario Journal of Peace Studies International Center for Peace Studies 6 5 6 archived from the original on 1 December 2014 Ladakhi Language amp Phrasebook Leh Ladakh Taxi Booking About Ladakh BIRDING IN LADAKH Archived from the original on 16 August 2018 Retrieved 1 February 2022 Ladakh Festival a Cultural Spectacle EF News International Archived from the original on 2 May 2012 Retrieved 28 August 2006 Motup Sonam Food amp Cuisine 10 Best Dishes to Eat in Leh Ladakh Namgail T Jensen A Padmanabhan S Desor S Dolma R 2019 Dhontang Food in Ladakh Central Institute of Buddhist Studies Local Futures pp 1 44 ISBN 978 93 83802 15 9 Norberg Hodge Helena 2000 Ancient Futures Learning from Ladakh Oxford India Paperbacks Masks Reflections of Culture and Religion Dolls of India 12 January 2003 Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Retrieved 21 August 2006 Living Fabric Weaving Among the Nomads of Ladakh Himalaya Archived from the original on 29 June 2011 Retrieved 21 August 2006 Sherlip Adam Hockey Foundation Ladakh culture Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Archived from the original on 12 July 2006 Retrieved 21 August 2006 Lalit Group Organises Polo Tourney in Drass Celebrating 100 Years Sports Events Imperative To Showcase Talent Omar Greater Kashmir 10 July 2011 Archived from the original on 30 July 2013 Retrieved 6 June 2013 Khagta Himanshu 18 July 2011 Traditonal sic Polo in Drass Ladakh Himanshu Khagta Travel Photographer in India PhotoShelter Himanshu Khagta Archived from the original on 31 January 2021 Retrieved 6 June 2013 Manipur lifts Lalit Suri Polo Cup State Times 12 June 2012 Archived from the original on 17 May 2014 Retrieved 6 June 2013 Business Hotels in India Event Planning in India The Lalit Hotels Archived from the original on 14 March 2013 LAHDC organises 3rd Ladakh Marathon at Leh Business Standard News Business Standard India Business standard com Press Trust of India 15 September 2014 Retrieved 14 September 2015 Gielen Uwe 1998 Gender roles in traditional Tibetan cultures In L L Adler Ed International Handbook on Gender Roles Westport CT Greenwood 413 437 a b Plantlife org project on medicinal plants of importance to amchi medicine Plantlife org uk Archived from the original on 17 June 2009 Retrieved 21 June 2012 A government of India project in support of Sowa Rigpa amchi medicine Cbhi hsprod nic in Archived from the original on 22 February 2012 Retrieved 21 June 2012 Modi govt to promote Tibetan healing system with AIIMS like Sowa Rigpa hospital in Leh ThePrint 28 November 2019 Retrieved 3 August 2020 District specific Literates and Literacy Rates Education for all website 2001 Retrieved 21 August 2006 Ray John 2005 Ladakhi Histories Local and Regional Perspectives Leiden Netherlands Koninklijke Brill NV Leh Ladakh A History of Lamdon School PDF internationaledventures com The Lamdon Social Welfare Society Archived from the original on 26 March 2009 Profile Department of School Education UT Ladakh Ladakh GoI Justin Shilad 2009 2007 Education reform interrupted Himal Southasian Archived from the original on 11 November 2013 Retrieved 17 February 2008 The Central Institute of Buddhist Studies About Us Archived from the original on 10 March 2022 Retrieved 27 January 2022 Cabinet approves setting up central university in Ladakh 23 July 2021 New gamma ray telescope coming up in Ladakh to observe exploding stars black holes Firstpost 21 September 2018 Retrieved 5 October 2020 Two AIIMS like institutions 8 medical colleges in Jammu Kashmir Ladakh Govt The Indian Express 10 December 2019 Retrieved 11 December 2019 Parliament passes Bill to set up Central university in Ladakh The Hindu Sindhu Central University in Ladakh Hindustan Times AIR Leh Prasar Bharati Retrieved 2 August 2013 List of Doordarshan studios Archived from the original on 20 January 2011 Thaindia News Thaindian com 10 October 2009 Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 21 June 2012 Ladakh gets its first ever FM radio station The Indian Express 14 December 2021 Retrieved 15 December 2021 Deptt Information ReachLadakh com ReachLadakh com Archived from the original on 1 September 2020 Retrieved 21 June 2012 The Daily Excelsior Retrieved 21 June 2012 Epilogue s website Epilogue in Retrieved 21 June 2012 The Kashmir Times Retrieved 21 June 2012 Sources Emmer Gerhard 2007 Dga Ldan Tshe Dbang Dpal Bzang Po and the Tibet Ladakh Mugha1 War of 1679 84 Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the IATS 2003 Volume 9 The Mongolia Tibet Interface Opening New Research Terrains in Inner Asia BRILL pp 81 108 ISBN 978 90 474 2171 9 Fisher Margaret W Rose Leo E Huttenback Robert A 1963 Himalayan Battleground Sino Indian Rivalry in Ladakh Praeger ASIN B0007DVVG2 archived from the original on 27 August 2017 Francke August Hermann 1907 A History of Western Tibet S W Partridge amp Co ISBN 9788120610439 via archive org Francke August Hermann 1992 first published 1926 Antiquities of Indian Tibet Volume 38 Volume 50 of New imperial series Asian Educational Services p 94 ISBN 81 206 0769 4 Handa O C 2001 Buddhist Western Himalaya A politico religious history Indus Publishing ISBN 978 81 7387 124 5 Jina Prem Singh 1996 Ladakh The Land and the People Indus Publishing ISBN 978 81 7387 057 6 Lo Bue Erberto Bray John eds 2014 Introduction Art and Architecture in Ladakh Cross cultural Transmissions in the Himalayas and Karakoram BRILL ISBN 978 90 04 27180 7 Dorjay Phuntsog 2014 Embedded in Stone Early Buddhist Rock Art of Ladakh Ibid pp 35 67 ISBN 9789004271807 Howard Neil Howard Kath 2014 Historic Ruins in the Gya Valley Eastern Ladakh and a Consideration of Their Relationship to the History of Ladakh and Maryul Ibid pp 68 99 ISBN 9789004271807 Petech Luciano 1977 The Kingdom of Ladakh c 950 1842 A D PDF Instituto Italiano Per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente via academia edu dead link Jina Prem Singh 1 January 1995 Famous Western Expolorers to Ladakh Indus Publishing pp 123 ISBN 978 81 7387 031 6 Further readingAllan Nigel J R 1995 Karakorum Himalaya Sourcebook for a Protected Area IUCN ISBN 969 8141 13 8 Cunningham Alexander 1854 Ladak Physical Statistical and Historical with notices of the surrounding countries Reprint Sagar Publications New Delhi 1977 Desideri Ippolito 1932 An Account of Tibet The Travels of Ippolito Desideri 1712 1727 Ippolito Desideri Edited by Filippo De Filippi Introduction by C Wessels Reproduced by Rupa amp Co New Delhi 2005 Drew Federic 1877 The Northern Barrier of India a popular account of the Jammoo and Kashmir Territories with Illustrations 1st edition Edward Stanford London Reprint Light amp Life Publishers Jammu 1971 Francke A H 1914 1920 1926 Antiquities of Indian Tibet Vol 1 Personal Narrative Vol 2 The Chronicles of Ladak and Minor Chronicles texts and translations with Notes and Maps Reprint 1972 S Chand amp Co New Delhi Google Books Gielen U P 1998 Gender roles in traditional Tibetan cultures In L L Adler Ed International handbook on gender roles pp 413 437 Westport CT Greenwood Gillespie A 2007 Time Self and the Other The striving tourist in Ladakh north India Archived 28 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine In Livia Simao and Jaan Valsiner eds Otherness in question Development of the self Greenwich CT Information Age Publishing Inc Gillespie A 2007 In the other we trust Buying souvenirs in Ladakh north India Archived 23 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine In Ivana Markova and Alex Gillespie Eds Trust and distrust Sociocultural perspectives Greenwich CT Information Age Publishing Inc The Road to Lamaland by Martin Louis Alan Gompertz Magic Ladakh by Martin Louis Alan Gompertz Gordon T E 1876 The Roof of the World Being the Narrative of a Journey over the high plateau of Tibet to the Russian Frontier and the Oxus sources on Pamir Edinburgh Edmonston and Douglas Reprint Ch eng Wen Publishing Company Tapei 1971 Ham Peter Van 2015 Indian Tibet Tibetan India The Cultural Legacy of the Western Himalayas Niyogi Books ISBN 9789383098934 Halkias Georgios 2009 Until the Feathers of the Winged Black Raven Turn White Sources for the Tibet Bashahr Treaty of 1679 1684 in Mountains Monasteries and Mosques ed John Bray Supplement to Rivista Orientali pp 59 79 Until the Feathers of the Winged Black Raven Turn White Sources for the Tibet Bashahr Treaty of 1679 1684 Archived 5 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine Halkias Georgios 2010 The Muslim Queens of the Himalayas Princess Exchange in Ladakh and Baltistan In Islam Tibet Interactions along the Musk Routes eds Anna Akasoy et al Ashgate Publications 231 252 The Muslim Queens of the Himalayas Princess Exchanges in Baltistan and Ladakh Archived 5 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine Harvey Andrew 1983 A Journey in Ladakh Houghton Mifflin Company New York Pandit K N 1986 Ladakh life amp culture Srinagar Kashmir India Centre of Central Asian Studies Kashmir University Knight E F 1893 Where Three Empires Meet A Narrative of Recent Travel in Kashmir Western Tibet Gilgit and the adjoining countries Longmans Green and Co London Reprint Ch eng Wen Publishing Company Taipei 1971 Knight William Henry 1863 Diary of a Pedestrian in Cashmere and Thibet Richard Bentley London Reprint 1998 Asian Educational Services New Delhi Moorcroft William and Trebeck George 1841 Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab in Ladakh and Kashmir in Peshawar Kabul Kunduz and Bokhara from 1819 to 1825 Vol II Reprint New Delhi Sagar Publications 1971 Norberg Hodge Helena 2000 Ancient Futures Learning from Ladakh Rider Books London Peissel Michel 1984 The Ants Gold The Discovery of the Greek El Dorado in the Himalayas Harvill Press London Rizvi Janet 1998 Ladakh Crossroads of High Asia Oxford University Press 1st edition 1963 2nd revised edition 1996 3rd impression 2001 ISBN 0 19 564546 4 Sen Sohini 2015 Ladakh A Photo Travelogue Niyogi Books ISBN 9789385285028 Trekking in Zanskar amp Ladakh Nubra Valley Tso Moriri amp Pangong Lake Step By step Details of Every Trek a Most Authentic amp Colourful Trekkers guide with maps 2001 2002 Zeisler Bettina 2010 East of the Moon and West of the Sun Approaches to a Land with Many Names North of Ancient India and South of Khotan In The Tibet Journal Special issue Autumn 2009 vol XXXIV n 3 Summer 2010 vol XXXV n 2 The Earth Ox Papers edited by Roberto Vitali pp 371 463 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ladakh Wikiquote has quotations related to Ladakh Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ladakh Government of Ladakh official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ladakh amp oldid 1147131636, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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