A journey through the history of Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh
KASHMIR
THROUGH AGES
Acerca de
History of Ladakh
LADAKH
Leh (Ladakh) was known in the past by different names. It was called as Maryul or low land by some, Kha- chumpa by others. Fa-Hein referred to it as Kia-Chha and Hiuen Tsang as Ma-Lo-Pho. It is said that the first immigrants to this land appear to have been the Brokpas from Dadarstan, who inhabited the lower reaches of the Indus Valley popularly known as Sham. Another wave of immigrants who came from Karja (Kulu) were the Mons an Aryan type who first settled in Gia and spread to Rong, Shayok, Sakti Tangtse and Durbuk, the area extending from Martselang to Khaltsi. Gia was the seat of government of the first Mon ruler having been elected by the whole tribe. His kingdom included the villages mentioned above, all of which was inhabited by the Mons people He was known by the title Gyapacho, derived from his being the master of Gia.
Palace of the Kings of Ladakh
According to the Hui Ch’ao’s account, Buddhism had reached Ladakh several centuries before Indian saints took it to Tibet. This taking of Buddhism to Tibet is known as the “first spreading” of Buddhism in Tibet. In AD 747 the Northern Indian Buddhist monk and scholar Padma Sambhav went to Tibet. There he set up the first order of Lamas, or Monks. It was after this that Buddhism spread in Tibet. It is evident from the murals painted in 11th & 12th century that Kashmir was the flourishing centre of Buddhism. So when did Buddhism reach Ladakh? Possibly in the 1st century AD, and certainly by 2nd century. It is equally certain that it came through Kashmir to Ladakh and Tibet.(4)
Thiksey Monastery
Lalitaditya (AD 725-753), king of Kashmir, conquered Ladakh in eight century. The control of Tibet over Ladakh must have stared after the reign of King Lalitaditya. In the 8th century A.D Arabs also jumped into these wars and changed their sides between China and Tibet. In the 8th Century A.D itself, the Arabs conquered Kashghar and established their control over Central Asia which embraced Islam in the 9th century A.D and thus a buffer state came into being between Tibet and China, terminating the hostilities between the two warring countries. The greater Ladakh also fell into pieces.
Buddhism had suffered a setback in Tibet around 9th century, so Skitde Nemagon, the descendent of King and his grandson Yesh-es Od initiated its revival by sending young scholars like Rinchin and Atisa to Kashmir. This phase is known as the “second spreading” of Buddhism in Tibet.
In the 10th century AD, Skit Lde Nemagon, the ruler of Tibet, invaded Ladakh where there was no central authority. The lands divided in small principalities were at war with each other. Nemagon defeated them one by one and established a strong kingdom at Shey, 15 Kms from Leh, as its capital. Ladakh was an independent country since the middle of the 10th century. Those days Shey, the capital of Ladakh became to be known as Nariskorsoom, a country of three provinces.
The Tibetan empire under Yesh-es Od included Zanskar in Ladakh, Spiti & Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh by 11th century AD. After him his grandson, King Lha-chen Otpal (1125-1150), conquered Kullu (HP) and region of Baltistan. Otpal is known to have built castles and monasteries in the region.(4)
Baltit Fort, Ladakh
Buddhism travelled from central India to Tibet via Ladakh leaving its imprint in Ladakh. However, by the end of 13th century Tibetan Buddhism replaced the Kashmiri variant as the reason was obvious: by then Buddhism had disappeared from the Indian plains.
During the reign of Ladakhi King Lhachen Ngo Rub (1300-1325 AD), institutional link were established between monasteries of Ladakh and those of central Tibet. Ladakhis started sending young monks to Tibet for advance monastery training.
Likir Monastery
By 14th century the spiritual connection of Ladakh with Kashmir took a new turn. The descendent of King Lhachen Ngo, Rinchen went over to Kashmir, converted to Islam and became king of Kashmir. That laid the foundation stone of Islam and started aiding Turkistani saint Bulbul Shah, who took Islam to masses. Islamic missionaries also made a peaceful penetration of Islam in the early 16th century.
Between 14th to 16th century, Ladakh was raided and invaded several times by armies from Kashmir, Central Asia and Baltistan. Sultan Shihab ud Din(1352-74) wrested Baltistan from the ruler of Kashghar. His army also overran Leh, without much resistance. It withdrew to Kashmir after the King agreed to pay annual tribute in the form of wool, mainly Pashmina.
This was the time not only Kashmir but Baltistan and Central Asia had started converting to Islam, because of the mystic efforts of reformers and saints. In the latter half of 16th century, full scale conversion to Islam was seen in Kargil and the Northern Areas including Paskum, Mulbek ,Shakar Chiktan and the Suru Valley. Many chiefs of these converted areas called themselves as Sultans.
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 neighbouring 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 and Kashmir.
The Namgyal dynasty was founded by Bhagan, the son of Bhara in the kingdom of Maryul. His son Tashi Namgyal (1500-1532) reunited Leh. He also brought Guge(western Tibet) as well as large, recently Islamised, tracts of the present Kargil district under his control.
Namgyal Tsemo Monastery
Namgyal Tsemo Monastery or Namgyal Tsemo Gompa is a Buddhist monastery in Leh district, Ladakh. Founded in 1430 by King Tashi Namgyal of Ladakh, it has a three-story high gold statue of Maitreya Buddha and ancient manuscripts and frescoes.[3] It is situated near the Tsemo Castle.
But due to various attacks, the present Ladakh was divided into two provinces while the third comprised western Tibet. The area of Western Tibet slipped away from the kingdom but was reunited in 16th Century A.D. by the famous Ladakhi ruler Sengge Namgyal. Ladakh was an independent country since the middle of 10th century. King Singge Namgyal had consolidated the Ladakhi Empire into a strong kingdom. He was not only a strong monarch but a statesman, a diplomat and a builder. He built the historic 9- storeyed Leh palace and made the other neighbouring countries envy of such an elegant palace. He also promoted horse polo in Ladakh. Senge’s empire thus included the Mansarovar lake and the Kailash mountain.
The Mughals attacked and conquered the valley of Kashmir by 1586. They made agreement with the ruler Sengge Namgyal at Bodh Kharbu, to pay tribute to the Mughal Governer in Kashmir. In 1666 first mosque was built by Mughals in Leh town with the support of Chief of Skardu and Ladakh fell under Mughal empire in 1673. After Deldan’s conversion to Islam who was the descendent of Namgyal dynasty, Tibet’s regent sent the highest-ranking Drug Pa mont to Ladakh to draw up ground rules for the changed situation. This resulted in the Treaty of Tingno(s)gang (1684) named after the place where the Lama had received Deldan. Guge(Western Tibet) was wrested from Ladakh, the Pangong Lake got partitioned between Ladakh and Tibet.
In 1834, Gulab Singh sent Gen Zorawar singh to conquer Ladakh for his Maharaja. Zorawar’s Army travelled to Ladakh through Kistwar & Kargil and conquered Kargil, & Leh. Again in 1841, Gen Zorawar singh marched towards western Tibet into Guge. He took control over Taklakot Fort, the Mayum La pass and all areas between- including the Mansarovar and Rakas Tal lakes, and Mount Kailash, all three revered by the Hindus. The landmass under Sikhs was the largest spreading from Baltistan to Western Tibet. 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 during the 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.
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.
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 tunnel across Zoji La pass is under construction to make the route functional throughout the year.
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.
In the post-partition scenario, Pakistan and China illegally occupied 78,114 sq. km and 37,555 sq.km of the state, respectively while the remaining part of the state acceded to India. Pakistan also illegally gifted 5180 sq kms of this area to China. Ladakh, comprising the areas of present Leh and Kargil districts, became one of the seven districts of the State. In 1979 when the reorganization of the districts was carried out, the Ladakh district was divided into two full-fledged districts of Leh and Kargil.
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. 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.
In August 2019, a reorganization 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. 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 of Ladakh is administered by an autonomous district council, they are:
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh
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. 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.
Refrences:
-
Namgyal Tsemo Gompa". Buddhist-temples.com
-
Baker, Aryn (27 June 2005). "Best of Asia: Baltit Fort Hunza Valley, India". Time Asia. Archived from the original on 12 September 2005.
-
Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh by Parvez Dewan pg 60,61