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Culture & History
Ladakh Culture
The traditional culture of Ladakh evolved from
Tibetan Buddhism. Evidence of this can be found in the many, centuries old,
monasteries that are found in almost every village throughout Ladakh. A large
population of monks provides for the religious and spiritual needs of the people,
and are the most respected members of society. Most Ladakhi homes have a small
chapel, even in the tents of the nomads, containing various religious objects
and sacred images. Other visible signs of the Buddhist faith are prayer flags,
stupas and mani walls. An infusion of more Tibetans has occurred as a result
of the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950’s.
The people in the Dha Hanu area and around Drass descended from the Buddhist
Dards, who originated in Gilgit, Pakistan. Those in the Dha Hanu area are called
Brokpas and still practice their
Buddhist
faith. Those around Drass have converted to Islam under the influence of nearby
Kashmir. In Kargil and the Suru Valley, the population is predominately Baltis.
This area was part of Baltistan until 1947. They have Tibetan origins, but were
converted to Islam in the 15th century and the majority of them are Shiite Muslims.
With its history as a trading center on the old caravan route, Leh has a mixture
of cultures living and working together. The most recent addition to this mix
is the Indian Armed Forces.
A Short History of Ladakh
With its location on the western edge of
the Tibetan plateau known as the Chang Tang, Ladakh’s first inhabitants were
probably the nomadic Changpas from western Tibet looking for good grazing for
their herds of yak and sheep on the high plateaus of eastern Ladakh. The Mons,
Aryans from northern India, moved into the valleys. The Dards, Aryans from Gilgit,
followed the Indus River upstream into Ladakh.
These groups were later overwhelmed by a large Tibetan migration after the breakup
of the Tibetan empire in 842. As a result of an ensuing power struggle among
the Tibetan aristocracy, some members of the royal class migrated from central
Tibet to the western region to establish their own kingdoms. Nyima-Gon, a member
of the ancient royal house gained control of Guge, Perang, Ladakh, Zanskar,
and Spiti. He gave Ladakh to his eldest son, Pal-gyi-Gon, who installed himself
as Ladakh’s first king. Ladakh was now aligned with Tibet, but existed as an
independent kingdom from about 950 AD until 1834, when it was invaded by the
Hindu Dogras. Ladakh, as well as Baltistan, then became part of the maharajah’s
state of Jammu and Kashmir until the Indo-Pak war in 1947.
Evidence of Ladakh’s period as an independent kingdom still exists today. The
first king, Pal-gyi-Gon, ruled from Shey, 15 km upstream from Leh. The ruins
of an early fort still exist above the Shey Palace, which was the home of the
Kings of Ladakh until the capital was moved to Leh in the late 1500’s. At one
point Ladakh was divided into two kingdoms with the upper kingdom being ruled
from Shey and the lower kingdom ruled from Bazgo. The ruins of the Bazgo palace
can still be seen above the present day town.
The nine-story Leh Palace dominates the town of Leh. It was the home of the
kings of the Namgyal dynasty that still exist today. The Lower Ladakhi king
overthrew the Upper Ladakhi king and united the two kingdoms in 1470 to better
defend the area from the ongoing Muslim invasions. He took on the name Namgyal
(meaning victorious). Later, King Tashi Namgyal (1555-1575) was more successful
in repelling the invaders. He built the Victory Fort along with the Temple of
the Guardian Deities (Gonkhang) on Namgyal Peak above Leh.
The Baltistan Muslims, led by Ali Mir, rolled through Ladakh in the early 17th
century destroying all Buddhist religious objects, including most monasteries,
in an attempt to convert the Ladakhis to Islam. The reigning king, Jamyang Namgyal,
was forced to marry Mir’s daughter to ensure future Islamic kings. However,
the Ladakhis’ strong Buddhist faith was impossible to conquer, and the royal
son, Sengge Namgyal became known as the “Lion King” (1616-1642). He built the
impressive Leh Palace and several monasteries including Hemis. He expanded the
kingdom into Zanskar, Spiti and Guge in Tibet. He was defeated in his attempt
to regain the western Ladakh provinces by the Mughal-Balti army. In 1639, he
achieved peace by promising to pay tribute to the Mughal Empire through the
governor of Kashmir. His son, King Deldan Namgyal, was forced to build the mosque
at the north end of the Leh bazaar and to actually pay some of the promised
tribute to placate the Mughals.
Meanwhile, the fifth Dalai Lama was not happy with the Ladakhi King’s support
of Bhutan and his association with the Mughals. In 1679 he sent a combined Mongol-Tibetan
army to conquer Ladakh. They overthrew the Ladakhi resistance at Guge and pushed
the Ladakhi army all the way back to the fort at Bazgo. Here the Ladakhis held
them off for three years until the long requested Kashmiri army showed up and
forced the Tibetan army to withdraw. As a consequence, King Deldan Namgyal was
forced to convert to Islam (at least in words) and send one of his sons to Kashmir
as a hostage to be brought up as a Muslim. The King also had to concede a monopoly
to Kashmir on the purchase of pashmina wool for their shawl industry. On the
other hand, Guge and Ruthok, two provinces in western Tibet, were ceded to Tibet
as a result of the Temosgang treaty in 1684. So, Ladakh had to pay dearly in
the 1864 treaty to both the Mughals as well as the Tibetans.
In 1834, the Raja of Jammu, the Gulab Singh, sent his Dogra army under the command
of Zorawar Singh into Ladakh through Zanskar. They marched up to Kargil, and
eventually all the way to Bazgo with little resistance. There the Ladakhi King
agreed to an annual tax, and to become part of the maharajah’s state. The royal
family was given the present Stok Palace.
After the easy victory over Ladakh, the Dogras then conquered Baltistan. They
then set their sights on the former Ladakhi controlled Kingdom of Guge. In 1841,
they marched up the Indus valley from Ladakh with new recruits from the conquered
territories. They plundered the monasteries and forts on their way to western
Tibet, all the way past Lake Manasarowar, including Mt Kailas. The Dogras now
had complete control over the pashmina wool producing areas. However, The Tibetans,
with backing form the Chinese empire, sent 10,000 troops to regain their territory.
In the ensuing battle, Zorawar Singh was killed and the few surviving Dogras
fled back to India.
Encouraged by the hope of regaining their independence after the death of Zorawar,
the Ladakhis blockaded the Dogra garrison in Leh in 1842 and declared Jigmet
Namgyal as their king. They were reinforced from Baltistan and from a contingent
of the Tibetan army. The Dogras responded by sending a 7000-man army with cannons.
Faced with such firepower, the Ladakhis slipped back to their villages and the
Tibetans fled to the east with the new king to join the rest of their army waiting
for them near Pangong Lake. The Dogras pursued them and defeated them in battle,
avenging the death of Zorawar Singh. A peace treaty between the Dogras and Tibetans
was agreed to in 1842. The Treaty of Leh restored the border back to where it
was in 1840, and still is today. The Tibetans agreed that the Dogras were the
legitimate rulers of Ladakh, while the Dogras abandoned all claim to western
Tibet. Jigmet Namgyal and his family were allowed to reside peacefully in Ladakh
in the village of Stok. Today, the royal palace there contains a museum with
royal family artifacts, photos and old Thankas.
When the Dogras purchased Kashmir from the British in 1846, Ladakh became part
of the new entity of Jammu and Kashmir and has remained so ever since. Under
the Dogra rule, Ladakh’s relations with Tibet and central Asia were allowed
to continue. The Buddhists still looked to Lhasa for religious guidance. The
centuries-old caravan trade continued with loads of pashmina, tea, silk, silver
ingots and other goods crossing and re-crossing Ladakh. Leh was the center of
this trade with its colonies of merchants from Yarkland, Kashmir, Punjab and
other areas. This was all changed by the overt actions of the Chinese. In 1949
they closed the border between Nubra and Sinkiang province, cutting off the
trade route between India and central Asia. The Chinese invasion and occupation
of Tibet in the 1950s closed the Tibetan border. It remains closed today. They
moved into and occupied 28,500 sq km of Ladakh’s Aksai Chin area. In 1962 they
attacked Ladakh’s borders, but were stopped by the Ladakhi militia.
In response to the attack by China and earlier skirmishes with Pakistan, India
began to establish a large military presence in Ladakh, and built a motor road
between Srinagar and Leh. In 1974, Ladakh was opened for the tourists, and tourism
along with the army provides employment and other opportunities for the local
people of Ladakh.
With the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir located in Srinagar since independence
and dominated by Muslims, Ladakhis felt that they were neglected and demanded
a Union Territory governed directly from New Delhi. Separation of Ladakh into
two districts in 1979, the Buddhist Leh District and the Muslim Kargil District,
did not help, particularly since Buddhist Zanskar was part of the Kargil District.
Finally, in 1995, the Indian Government approved the formation of the Ladakh
Autonomous Hill Development Council, which gave Ladakhis in the Leh District
some administrative and financial powers to develop their old and rich culture.
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