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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[clarification needed] many traditions and culture from its neighbours and combining them all gave rise to a unique tradition and culture of its own.
The first glimpse of political history is found in thekharosthi inscription of "Uvima Kavthisa" discovered near theK'a-la-rtse (Khalatse) bridge on the Indus, showing that in around the 1st century, Ladakh was a part of theKushan Empire. A few other shortBrahmi and Kharosthi inscriptions have been found in Ladakh.[citation needed]
The Chinese pilgrim monkXuanzang, c. 634 CE, described a journey fromChuluduo (Kūluta,Kulu) toLuohuluo (Lahul) and then states that, "[f]rom here, the road, leading to the north, for over one thousand, eight hundred or nine hundredli by perilous paths and over mountains and valleys, takes one to the country of Lāhul. Going further to the north over two thousand li along a route full of difficulties and obstacles, in cold winds and wafting snowflakes, one could reach the country of Marsa (also known as Sanbohe)."[1] The kingdom ofMoluosuo, orMar-sa, would seem to be synonymous withMar-yul, a common name for Ladakh. Elsewhere, the text remarks thatMo-lo-so, also calledSan-po-ho borders withSuvarnagotra orSuvarnabhumi (Land of Gold), identical with the Kingdom of Women (Strirajya). According toTucci, theZhangzhung kingdom, or at least its southern districts, were known by this name by the 7th-century Indians. In 634/5 Zhangzhung acknowledged Tibetan suzernaity for the first time, and in 653 a Tibetan commissioner (mnan) was appointed there. Regular administration was introduced in 662, and an unsuccessful rebellion broke out in 677.
In the 8th century, Ladakh was caught between Tibetan expansion pressing from the east, and Chinese influence exerted from Central Asia through the passes. In 719 a census was taken, and in 724 the administration was reorganized. In 737, the Tibetans launched an attack against the king of Bru-za (Gilgit), who asked for Chinese help, but was ultimately forced to pay homage to Tibet. The Korean monkHyecho (704-787) (pinyin: Hui Chao), reached India by sea and returned to China in 727 via central Asia.[2] He referred to three kingdoms lying to the northeast of Kashmir which were:
"under the suzerainty of the Tibetans. . . . The country is narrow and small, and the mountains and valleys very rugged. There are monasteries and monks, and the people faithfully venerate theThree Jewels. As to the kingdom of Tibet to the East, there are no monasteries at all, and the Buddha's teaching is unknown; but, in [these] countries, the population consists of Hu; therefore, they are believers. (Petech, TheKingdom of Ladakh, p. 10)."[3]
Rizvi points out that this passage not only confirms that, in the early 8th century, the region of modernLadakh was under Tibetan suzerainty, but that the people belonged to non-Tibetan stock.
In 747, the hold of Tibet was loosened by the campaign of Chinese GeneralGao Xianzhi, who tried to re-open the direct communications between Central Asia and Kashmir. After Gao's defeat by the Qarluqs and Arabs on the Talas river (751), Chinese influence decreased rapidly and Tibetan influence resumed.
The geographical treatiseHudud-al-Alam (982) mentions Bolorian (Bolor = Bolu, Baltistan) Tibet, where people were chiefly merchants and lived in huts.Nestorian crosses carved into boulders, apparently due toSogdian Christian merchants found in Drangtse (Tangtse), andArabic inscriptions of about the same time are evidence of the importance of trade in this region. After the collapse of the Tibetan monarchy in 842, Tibetan suzerainty quickly vanished.
After the breakup of theTibetan Empire in 842, Nyima-Gon, a representative of the ancient Tibetan royal house founded the first Ladakh dynasty. Nyima-Gon's kingdom had its centre well to the east of present-day Ladakh. This was the period in which Ladakh underwent Tibetanization, eventually making Ladakh a country inhabited by a mixed population, the predominant racial strain of which was Tibetan. However, soon after the conquest, the dynasty, intent on establishing Buddhism, looked not to Tibet, but to north-west India, particularly Kashmir. This has been termed the Second Spreading of Buddhism in the region (the first one being in Tibet proper.)[citation needed] An early king,Lde-dpal-hkhor-btsan (c. 870 -900), swore an oath to develop theBön religion in Ladakh and was responsible for erecting eight early monasteries including the Upper Manahris monastery. He also encouraged the mass production of theHbum scriptures to spread religion.[5] Little, however is known about the early kings of Nyima-Gon's dynasty. The fifth king in line has a Sanskrit name,Lhachen Utpala, who conquered Kulu,Mustang, and parts ofBaltistan.[6]
Around the 13th century, due toislamic invasions, India ceased having anything to offer from a Buddhist point of view, and Ladakh began to seek and accept guidance in religious matters from Tibet.
Continual raids on Ladakh by the plundering Muslim states of Central Asia lead to the weakening and partial conversion of Ladakh.[7][8] Ladakh was divided, with Lower Ladakh ruled by King Takpabum fromBasgo and Temisgam, and Upper Ladakh by King Takbumde fromLeh andShey.Lhachen Bhagan, a later Basgo king, reunited Ladakh by overthrowing the king of Leh. He took on the surname Namgyal (meaning victorious) and founded a new dynasty which still survives today. King Tashi Namgyal (1555–1575) managed to repel most Central Asian raiders, and built a royal fort on the top of the Namgyal Peak. Tsewang Namgyal temporarily extended his kingdom as far as Nepal.[8]
During the reign ofJamyang Namgyal, Ladakh was invaded byBalti rulerAli Sher Khan Anchan in response to Jamyang's killing of some Muslim rulers of Baltistan. Many Buddhistgompas were damaged during Khan's invasion. Today, few gompas exist from before this period. The success of Khan's campaign impressed his enemies. According to some accounts, Jamyang secured a peace treaty and gave his daughter's hand in marriage to Ali Sher Khan. Jamyang was given the hand of a Muslim princess, Gyal Khatun's hand in marriage.Sengge Namgyal (1616–1642), known as the 'lion' king was the son of Jamyang and Gyal.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] He made efforts to restore Ladakh to its old glory by an ambitious and energetic building programme by rebuilding several gompas and shrines, the most famous of which isHemis. He also moved the royal headquarters fromShey Palace toLeh Palace and expanded the kingdom intoZanskar andSpiti, but was defeated by the Mughals, who had already occupied Kashmir and Baltistan. His sonDeldan Namgyal (1642–1694) had to placate the Mughal emperorAurangzeb by building a mosque in Leh.[7][8] However, he later with the help of the Mughal Army underFidai Khan, son of Mughal viceroy ofKashmir,Ibrahim Khan, defeated the5th Dalai Lamainvasion in the plains ofChargyal, situated between Neemoo andBasgo.[8]
Many Muslim missionaries propagated Islam during this period in Ladakh and proselytised many Ladakhi people. Many Balti Muslims settled in Leh after the marriage of Jamyang to Gyal. Muslims were also invited to the region for trading and other purposes.[16][17]
By the beginning of the 19th century, theMughal Empire had collapsed, andSikh rule had been established in Punjab and Kashmir. However theDogra region ofJammu remained under its Rajput rulers. RajaGulab Singh, acting under the suzerainty of the Sikh monarchRanjit Singh, sent his generalZorawar Singh to invade Ladakh in 1834. King Tshespal Namgyal was dethroned and exiled to Stok. Ladakh came under Dogra rule and was later incorporated into theprincely state ofJammu and Kashmir under British suzerainty. It still maintained considerable autonomy and relations with Tibet. During theDogra–Tibetan War (1841–42), Tibet invaded Ladakh and the Ladakhis attempted to overthrow the Dogras with Tibetan help, but all of them were defeated. The Namgyal family was given thejagir ofStok, 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 theMoravian Church.
Ladakh was administered as awazarat during the Dogra rule, with a governor termedwazir-e-wazarat. It had three tehsils, based at Leh,Skardu andKargil. The headquarters of thewazarat was at Leh for six months of the year and atSkardu for six months. When the legislative assembly calledPraja Sabha was established in 1934, Ladakh was given two nominated seats in the assembly.
| Maharaja | Administrators (a.k.a. Thanedar, Wazir Wazarat, Kardar, Governor) | Start | End | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gulab Singh (1846–1857) | Magna Thanedar[a] | 1846 | 1847 | [18][19] | ||
| Mehta Basti Ram | 1847 | 1860 | [20][19] | |||
| Ranbir Singh (1857–1885) | Mehta Mangal Singh[b] | 1860 | 1865 | [21][22] | ||
| Wazir Shibsarn | 1865 | 1867 | [21][23] | |||
| Sayyid Akbar Ali | 1867 | 1868 | [21][24] | |||
| Frederic Drew | 1868 | 1870 | [21][25] | |||
| William H. Johnson | 1870 | 1881/83[26] | [21][25] | |||
| Radha Krishen Kaul | 1885 | - | [27][25] | |||
| Pratap Singh (1885–1925) | Chaudhri Khushi Mohammad | 1908 | 1909 | [27][25] | ||
| Administrative borders of Ladakh, Gilgit and Baltistan undergo changes | ||||||
| - | - | - | ||||
| Hari Singh (1925–1952) | - | - | - | |||
| ||||||
Ladakh was claimed as part of Tibet byPhuntsok Wangyal, a Tibetan Communist leader.[28]
In 1947, partition left Ladakh a part of the Indian state ofJammu and Kashmir, to be administered from Srinagar. In 1948, Pakistani raiders invaded Ladakh and occupied Kargil and Zanskar, reaching within 30 km ofLeh.[8] Reinforcement troops were sent in by air, and a battalion ofGurkhas made its way slowly to Leh on foot from south. Kargil was a scene of fighting again in 1965, 1971, and 1999.
In 1949, China closed the border between Nubra andSinkiang, blocking the 1000-year-old trade route from India to Central Asia. In 1950, China invaded Tibet, and thousands of Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama sought refuge in India. In 1962, China occupiedAksai Chin, and promptly built roads connectingXinjiang andTibet, and theKarakoram Highway, jointly with Pakistan. India built the Srinagar-Leh highway during this period, cutting the journey time betweenSrinagar to Leh from 16 days to two. Simultaneously, China closed the Ladakh-Tibet border, ending the 700-year-old Ladakh-Tibet relationship.[8]
Since the early 1960s the number of immigrants from Tibet (including Changpa nomads) have increased as they flee the occupation of their homeland by the Chinese. Today, Leh has some 3,500 refugees from Tibet. They hold no passports, only customs papers. Some Tibetan refugees in Ladakh claim dual Tibetan/Indian citizenship, although their Indian citizenship is unofficial. Since partition Ladakh has been governed by the State government based in Srinagar, never to the complete satisfaction of the Ladakhis, who demand that Ladakh be directly governed fromNew Delhi as aUnion Territory. They allege continued apathy, Muslim bias, and corruption of the state government as reasons for their demands. In 1989, there were violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims, provoking the Ladakh Buddhist Council to call for a social and economic boycott of Muslims, which was lifted in 1992. In October 1993, the Indian government and the State government agreed to grant Ladakh the status of Autonomous Hill Council. In 1995, theLadakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was created.
In February 2019, Ladakh became a separateRevenue and Administrative Division within Jammu and Kashmir, having previously been part of theKashmir Division. As a division, Ladakh was granted its ownDivisional Commissioner andInspector General of Police.
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.[29]
In August 2019, areorganisation act was passed by theParliament of India which contained provisions to reconstitute Ladakh as aunion territory, separate from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir on 31 October 2019.[30][31][32][33] Under the terms of the act, the union territory was to be administered by aLieutenant Governor acting on behalf of the central Government of India and would not have an elected legislative assembly or chief minister. Each district within the new union territory will continue to elect anautonomous district council as done previously.[34]
) depicts routes ofZorawar Singh's Ladakhi and Balti campaigns. Arrows1 to 5 depict the start from Kishtawar in 1834, through Warwan to Suru Valley, then north to Dkarste and from there turning south east toKhalatse. ArrowsA to D depicts the conquest of Balti, reaching Skardu and back.Coloured labels represent southeast–wards conquests heading into Tibet and ending atTaklakot.[37]The main written source for Ladakhi history is the 17th centuryLadakh Chronicles.[39][40]: 1, 3 [41]: 7 The Ladakhi Chronicles are one of only two surviving pre-19th century literary sources from Ladakh, with the other being the 1663 biography of sTag-ts'ah-ras-pa.[40]: 1, 3 Only seven original manuscripts of the chronicles are known to have existed, of which only two survive to the modern day.[40]: 1–2
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