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About Leh Ladakh
About Leh Ladakh
Geographical
Background of Ladakh
Ladakh lies in the eastern half of Jammu and Kashmir
State
in the far north of India. It shares its much disputed north-western border
with Pakistan, while to the north lies the Chinese province of Sinkiang, and
to the east, Chinese-occupied Tibet.Covering an area of about 60,000 sq km and
ranging in elevation from 2600m to 7670m (8500ft to 25,165ft), it is the largest
and highest district in India. A further 37,000 sq km of north-east Ladakh,
an area called the Aksai Chin is currently illegally occupied by China. Ladakh
is sandwiched between two vast mountain systems: the Himalaya to the south and
the Karakoram to the north. It is the latter range which provides the region
with its highest peak, Saser Kangri (7670mJ 25,165ft). Between the two ranges
are the Ladakh and Zanskar Mountains, north and south of the Indus Valley respectively.
These run north-west to south-east, almost as far as Nepal in the case of the
Zanskar Mountains and have peaks mainly between 5000m and 6000m.
Geographic regions of Ladakh
Central Ladakh - Ladakh's heartland is the central Indus Valley. This
runs from Khalsi in the west to Upshi in the east, bounded by the Ladakh Mountains
to the north and the Zanskar Mountains
to the south.
Nubra - This region of deep valleys and high mountains, to the north
of the Ladakh Range, encompasses the Nubra and Shyok river valleys and the eastern
end of the Karakoram Mountains. It can be reached by road from Leh over the
5602m (18,38Oft) Khardung La, reputedly the highest motorable road in the world.
Pangong - The area east of Upshi and north of the Indus River around
the vast and brackish Pangong Tso.
Rupshu - This dry, high-altitude plateau (4000-55OOm) is in the south-east
of Ladakh. If you're travelling up from Manali by bus, it's the first region
you see. It's the western fringe of the much larger area of Chang Tang, which
spreads east into Tibet for about 1500km to the province of Qinghai in China,
and whose landscape is characterised by vast plains, rolling mountains and brackish
lakes.
Zanskar - Between the Great Himalayan
Range and the jagged mountains of the Zanskar Range is the 300km long valley
of Zanskar.
Western Ladakh - The area around the town of Kargil is sometimes referred
to as Lower Ladakh. It comprises a number of river valleys, principally the
Sum, Drass, Wakha and the Indus, downstream of Khalsi. The altitude here is
lower than the rest of Ladakh so vegetation is much more varied. Further to
the west is the Zoji La, Ladakh's western gateway, which takes you over the
Great Himalayan Range into Kashmir.
People of Ladakh
The 200,000 strong population of Ladakh is a result of the blending of many
different races, in particular the Tibetans and the Dards.
Tibetans
The nomadic and semi-nomadic
Changpa people of the Rupshu plateau are pure Tibetans and it is probably
herders like them who first populated Ladakh. Through centuries of experience
they have mastered the art of not only living but thriving in one of the most
hostile environments on earth. Since the early 1960s their numbers have increased
as Chang Tang nomads from across the Tibetan border flee the occupation of their
homeland by the Chinese. Leh has also provided a home from home for about 3500
refugees who live in the various camps around the city.
The looks and the way of life of both the
Ladakhis of central Ladakh
and, perhaps even more so, the
Zanskaris, reflect a strong influence
from central Tibet. Moving west, this influence diminishes and is replaced by
that of the Dards. The one exception to this is the
Baltis who live around
Kargil and the Suru Valley. They have Tibetan origins, speak a language that
has Tibetan links and were once Buddhists, though today they are devout Shiite
Muslims.
Dards
These people originate from Gilgit in Pakistan. They now live in Drass and the
Dha-Hanu area. Although originally Buddhist, the Dards around Drass have embraced
Islam and have been strongly influenced by their Kashmiri neighbours. Those
in the Dha-Hanu area, known as Brokpa, have preserved their Buddhist faith and
retain many of their original customs and traditions. In most villages in Ladakh
you'll fmd another group of Dards, the Mons, descendants of Ladakh's early settlers.
Whilst these people represent Ladakh's lower class the segregation is nothing
like as severe as that found in the Indian caste system. Their traditional roles
as musicians, blacksmiths and carpenters are highly valued in the community.
Others
Some of the constant visitors to Ladakh over the centuries have inevitably settled
here. This is particularly true of Leh, where you can find small communities
of Kashmiris and central Asians whose forefathers came when it was an important
city on the great trade routes across Asia. Thousands of Indian military personnel
are the most recent incomers.
Ladakh Religious Background
Tibetan Buddhism
Ladakh is one of the few places where you can
see
this branch of Mahayana Buddhism, sometimes also called
Lamaism, being
practised as it would have been in Tibet before the brutal Chinese suppression.
Buddhism has penneated Ladakhi and Tibetan culture since the 7th century AD.
Tibetan Buddhism is a mystical religion which absorbed many of the magical and
superstitious features of Tibet's previous shamanistic Bon religion, along with
elements of Hindu Tantrism. With an array of deities, beliefs, rituals and symbols
it's incredibly complex, but to most Ladakhis, who don't concern themselves
too much with these difficulties, it becomes a practical and down-to-earth philosophy
which emphasises one thing - compassion.
Lamas It is usual for most families
to have at least one son who is a lama (monk). At an early age he will be sent
to the
gompa (monastery) to which his village is attached where he will be educated
in the religious teachings. Monks are highly respected in the community and
spend a lot of their time away from the gompa performing religious ceremonies
in the villages. The heads of gompas are called
kushoks and are reincarnations
of previous venerated lamas. The head of Tibetan Buddhism and traditional political
ruler of Tibet is the
Dalai Lama, an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara,
the bodhisattva of compassion. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th in a succession
that originated in the 14th century and lives in exile in Dharamsala, Himachal
Pradesh.
The lamas of Tibetan Buddhism are divided into four main sects. The oldest is
the
Nyingmapa (the Ancient Order or Red Hat sect) and was founded by
the great sage Padmasarnbhava in the 8th century. Next carne the
Sakyapa
sect, followed by the last of the Red Hat schools, the
Kagyupa. The most
recent order is the
Gelukpa, more commonly known as the Yellow Hat sect,
who came from a reform movement in the 1400s and which is led by the Dalai Lama.
All these sects are represented in Ladakh, but the most common are the Kagyupa
and Gelukpa.
Islam
Although Ladakh is usually described as a Buddhist region, there is a large
minority of Muslims (about 45%). Constant invasion by Islamic forces in the
west of Ladakh gradually led to the conversion of the previously Buddhist people.
Most Ladakhi Muslims still live in Kargil District where they account for 85%
of the population. Here they are puritanical Shiites. Leh also supports a small
population of Muslims, mainly Sunnis, who are descended from immigrant Kashmiri
and central Asian traders.
Christianity
There is a small community of Christians in Leh. Most belong to the top rungs
of Ladakhi society and were converted by Moravian missionaries who first came
to Ladakh in 1885. They built two churches, one in Leh and one in Shey.
Education
For almost 50 years the education system in Ladakh has
been
in chaos. It is based on the Indian education system which is a poor copy of
the British system. Schools are now well distributed throughout Ladakh but 75%
of them are primary only (5-11 years). These are attended by about 65% of the
children, but there is a high level of absenteeism, especially in the busy agricultural
seasons when the children's help is needed on the farms. As there are fewer
middle and high schools, study beyond the age of II often involves leaving home.
Low salaries (Rs.1500-3500 per month) attract poor quality teachers, most of
whom have to be recruited from outside Ladakh. Teacher absenteeism is also a
problem and it is not unheard of for teachers to charge for private tuition
on subjects that they themselves failed to teach in school. As if this were
not enough, the Western-biased curriculum teaches the pupils nothing of their
own land or history and they aren't even taught in Ladakhi. Until the age of
14 they learn in Urdu and after that in English. They then have only two years
to master this new language before taking the all important matriculation exam,
in English. This is their passport to jobs and further education: 95% fail it.
It seems that for the vast majority, schooling has served only to alienate them
from their native culture.
The long-term outlook is a little more promising. In 1993 the
Students' Educational
and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) launched 'Operation New Hope',
a campaign to provide 'culturally appropriate and locally relevant education'
by a number of means which include producing Ladakhi textbooks, adopting one
language for the teaching of maths and science at all ages, and the regular
training of teachers. A government degree college has been opened in Leh, thus
providing further education students with the option of staying in Ladakh, rather
than having to move to Delhi or Kashmir.
Other Links :
Festivals of Ladakh
Culture of Ladakh
Short History of Ladakh
Wildlife in Ladakh
Ladakh Tourism
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