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History of Ladakh
Ladakh Tourism >> History of Ladakh
The region of Ladakh once formed part of the erstwhile Kingdom of Ladakh and
for nearly 900 years from the middle of the 10 th century existed as an independent
kingdom. After 1531, it was periodically attacked by the Muslims from Kashmir,
until it was finally annexed to Kashmir in the mid 19th century. The early colonizers
of Ladakh included:- the Indo-Aryan Mons from across the Himalayan range, the
Darads from the extreme western Himalayas, and the itinerant nomads from the
Tibetan highlands. While Mons are believed to have carried north-Indian Buddhism
to these highland valleys, the Darads and Baltis of the lower Indus Valley are
credited with the introduction of farming and the Tibetans with the tradition
of herding. Its valleys, by virtue of their contiguity with Kashmir, Kishtwar
and Kulu, served as the initial receptacles of successive ethnic and cultural
waves emanating from across the Great Himalayan range.
Its political fortunes ebbed and flowed over the centuries, and the kingdom,
was at its best in the early 17th century under the famous king Sengge Namgyal,
whose rule extended across Spiti and western Tibet up to the Mayumla beyond
the sacred sites of Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar.
During this period Ladakh became recognized as the best trade route between
the Pubjab and Central Asia. The merchants and pilgrims who made up the majority
of travellers during this period of time, travelled on foot or horseback , taking
about 16 days to reach Srinagar; though a man in hurry, riding non-stop and
with changes of horse arranged ahead of time all along the route, could do it
in as little as three days. These merchants who dealt in textiles and spices,
raw silk and carpets, dyestuffs and narcotics entrusted their goods to relays
of pony transporters who took about two months to carry them from Amritsar to
the Central Asian towns of Yarkand and Knotan. On this long route, Leh was the
half-way house, and developed into a bustling entreport, it bazaars thronged
with merchants from far countries. This was before the wheel as a means of transport
was introduced into Ladakh, which happened only when the Srinagar- Leh motor-road
was constructed as recently as the early 1960s.
The 434 km Srinagar-Leh highway follows the historic trade route, thus giving
travellers a glimpse of villages that are historically and culturally important.
The famous pashm (better known as cashmere) was produced in the high altitudes
of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet and transported thorough Leh to Srinagar
where skilled artisans transformed it into shawls known the world over for their
softness and warmth. Ironically, it was this lucrative trade, that finally spelt
the doom of the independent kingdom. It attracted the covetous gaze of Gulab
Singh, the ruler of Jammu in the early 19th century, and in 1834, he sent his
general Zorawar Singh to invade Ladakh. Hence, followed a decade of war and
turmoul, which ended with the emergence of the British as the paramount power
in north India. Ladakh, together with the neighbouring province of Baltistan,
was incorporated into the newly created State of Jammu & Kashmir. Just over
a century later, this union was disturbed by the partition of India, Baltistan
becoming part of Pakistan, while Ladakh remained in India as part of the State
of Jammu & Kashmir.
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