The Argon people are a community in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. [1]
Ladakh is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India and China since 1959. 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. The eastern end, consisting of the uninhabited Aksai Chin plains, is claimed by the Indian Government as part of Ladakh, but has been under Chinese control.
Leh is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the largest city and the joint capital of Ladakh. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh. The seat of the kingdom, Leh Palace, the former residence of the royal family of Ladakh, was built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace in Tibet. Since they were both constructed in a similar style and at roughly the same time, the Potala Palace in Tibet and Leh Palace, the royal residence, are frequently contrasted. Leh is at an altitude of 3,524 m (11,562 ft), and is connected via National Highway 1 to Srinagar in the southwest and to Manali in the south via the Leh-Manali Highway.
Leh district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir-region. Ladakh is an Indian-administered union territory. With an area of 45,110 km2, it is the second largest district in the country, second only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by Gilgit-Baltistan's Kharmang and Ghanche districts and Xinjiang's Kashgar Prefecture and Hotan Prefecture, to which it connects via the historic Karakoram Pass. Aksai Chin and Tibet are to the east, Kargil district to the west, and Lahul and Spiti to the south. The district headquarters is in Leh. It lies between 32 and 36 degree north latitude and 75 to 80 degree east longitude.
Ladakh has a long history with evidence of human settlement from as back as 9000 b.c. It has been a crossroad of high Asia for thousands of years and has seen many cultures, empires and technologies born in its neighbours. As a result of these developments Ladakh has imported many traditions and culture from its neighbours and combining them all gave rise to a unique tradition and culture of its own.
Shingo La is a mountain pass in India, on the state boundary between Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. It connects the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh with the Zanskar region of Ladakh. The Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road strategic road runs over the pass. The Shingo La Tunnel is planned under the pass. It is expected to be completed by 2025 and will reduce the Manali to Kargil distance by 522 km. This will provide an all-weather route to Ladakh, as an alternative to the Leh–Manali Highway.
The Dras River, also spelt Drass River, is a river in the Kargil district in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It originates below the Zoji La pas in the Great Himalayan range and flows northeast towards Kargil, where it joins the Suru River. The Shingo River, which flows in a parallel direction in Pakistan-administered Baltistan, also joins the Dras River. The combined river is alternatively called Suru, Drass and Shingo by various local groups.
The Kashmir-Raj Bodhi Mahasabha (KRMBS) was an organisation founded by Kashmiri neo-Buddhists (Navayana) in 1931. Co-founded by activist Shridhar Kaul, KRMBS was active in "modernization and reform" efforts, such as campaigning against polyandrous marriage practices, as well as representing the interests of the Buddhist community in Ladakh as well as Kashmiri Buddhists in general, although its founding members were not Ladakhi. Most of the members were recently converted Kashmiri Pandits who formed the organization to assert the establishment of and address the issues faced by the community. One reason for the foundation of was the lack of Buddhist representation in the Glancy Commission.
The Namgyal dynasty was a dynasty whose rulers were the monarchs of the former kingdom of Ladakh that lasted from 1460 to 1842 and were titled the Gyalpo of Ladakh. The Namgyal dynasty succeeded the first dynasty of Maryul and had several conflicts with the neighboring Mughal Empire and various dynasties of Tibet, including the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War. The dynasty eventually fell to the Sikh Empire and Dogras of Jammu. Most of its known history is written in the Ladakh Chronicles.
The Depsang Plains, a high-altitude gravelly plain in the northwest portion of the disputed Aksai Chin region of Kashmir, divided into Indian and Chinese administered portions by a Line of Actual Control. India controls the western portion of the plains as part of Ladakh, while the eastern portion is controlled by China and claimed by India. The Line of Control with Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan is 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of the Depsang Plains, with the Siachen Glacier in-between. Ladakh's traditional trade route to Central Asia passed through the Depsang Plains, with the Karakoram Pass lying directly to its north.
Himank, also known as Project HIMANK is a project of the Border Roads Organisation under the Ministry of Defence of India. It was established in August 1985 to facilitate the construction of road infrastructure in Ladakh and parts of Jammu and Kashmir under the India–China Border Roads project. The project is also involved in providing all year access to military bases and outposts in Siachen glacier, along the Line of actual control and areas near the Pangong Tso lake.
The Doda River or the Stod River is a river 79 kilometres (49 mi) long, which forms the Stod Valley in the Zanskar valley of the Leh district in the Union Territory of Ladakh in India.
Shey Monastery or Gompa and the Shey Palace complex are structures located on a hillock in Shey, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the south of Leh in Ladakh, northern India on the Leh-Manali road. Shey was the summer capital of Ladakh in the past. It contains a huge Shakyamuni Buddha statue. It is the second largest Buddha statue in Ladakh.
The Dogra–Tibetan war or Sino-Sikh war was fought from May 1841 to August 1842, between the forces of the Dogra Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu, under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire, and those of Tibet, under the protectorate of the Qing dynasty. Gulab Singh's commander was the able general Zorawar Singh Kahluria, who, after the conquest of Ladakh, attempted to extend its boundaries in order to control the trade routes into Ladakh. Zorawar Singh's campaign, suffering from the effects of inclement weather, suffered a defeat at Taklakot (Purang) and Singh was killed. The Tibetans then advanced on Ladakh. Gulab Singh sent reinforcements under the command of his nephew Jawahir Singh. A subsequent battle near Chushul in 1842 led to a Tibetan defeat. A treaty was signed in 1842 maintaining the status quo ante bellum.
The Beda people are a community of the Indian UT of Ladakh. They are mostly found in different parts Ladakh, where they practise their traditional occupation of musicianship. They are predominantly followers of the Muslim faith, although some are Buddhists. According to some scholars, they are an untouchable group, although others think that the situation is more nuanced.
The Garra people are a community found in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Ladakh Marathon is a marathon held in Leh, a town in the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh. It claims to be the highest marathon in the world, held at a height of 11,500 to 17,618 feet. The event's primary edition was held in 2012 and its latest edition was deferred to September 2022 due to COVID-19. In 2015 the marathon joined the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. It is the fifth marathon from India to receive international recognition.
Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, also known by his initials JTN, is an Indian politician who served as a Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha for Ladakh, India's largest parliamentary seat geographically. Namgyal was elected, on 9 November 2018, to be the youngest and 8th Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh. He belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Meenamarg is one the entry points in Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir in India. It is just east of Zoji La Pass. Meenamarg lies on the National Highway 1 between Srinagar and Leh. A full-fledged COVID-19 screening post was established in Meenamarg in 2020.
Akhone Asgar Ali Basharat is an author and poet from the Kargil district in the Union Territory of Ladakh in India. His writings are in the Balti language which is a Tibetic language natively spoken by the ethnic Balti people in the Baltistan region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, Nubra Valley of the Leh district and in the Kargil district of Ladakh, India. He had had no formal school/college education; instead, he had his early education in a madrassa established by his father at his home in 1972. The madrassa used to teach its students the Balti, Persian and Arabic languages. He became interested in writing poetry from around 1980 and his early writings were Naat and Manqabat.
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