Leh (Ladakhi: ) is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (e), reflecting due weight in the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (h) through (i) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (j) below). (a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories."; (b) (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state."; (c) C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partlv by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947"; (d) Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China." (e) Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir."; (f) (g) (h) Quote: "J&K: Jammu and Kashmir. The former princely state that is the subject of the Kashmir dispute. Besides IJK (Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The larger and more populous part of the former princely state. It has a population of slightly over 10 million, and comprises three regions: Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.) and AJK ('Azad" (Free) Jammu and Kashmir. The more populous part of Pakistani-controlled J&K, with a population of approximately 2.5 million.), it includes the sparsely populated "Northern Areas" of Gilgit and Baltistan, remote mountainous regions which are directly administered, unlike AJK, by the Pakistani central authorities, and some high-altitude uninhabitable tracts under Chinese control." (i) Quote: "Kashmir's identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised “Line of Control” still separating Pakistani-held Azad (“Free”) Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir."; (j) Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'." It is the largest city and the joint capital of Ladakh. Leh, located in the Leh district, has been the capital of Ladakh since the medieval period and was historically capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh.
The seat of the kingdom, Leh Palace, the former residence of the royal family of Ladakh, was built in the 17th-century and is frequently contrasted with the Potala Palace in Tibet. Leh is at an altitude of , and is connected via National Highway 1 to Srinagar in the southwest and to Manali in the south via the Leh-Manali Highway (part of National Highway 3).
Etymology
The original name of the town was not sLel, as it is nowadays spelled, but sLes, which denotes an "encampment of nomads" (pastureland). These [Tibetan] nomads probably visited the Leh valley at the time when it began to be irrigated by Dard colonisers. The most ancient part of the ruins, atop rNam-rgyal-rtse-mo hill, are called 'aBrog-pal-mkhar (Dard castle).Francke (1914), p. 68. See also, ibid, p. 45.
History
Leh was for centuries an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet, Kashmir, India and China. The main goods carried were salt, grain, pashm or cashmere wool, charas or cannabis resin from the Tarim Basin, indigo, silk yarn and Banaras brocade.
Although there are a few indications that the Chinese knew of a trade route through Ladakh to India as early as the Kushan period (1st to 3rd centuries AD),Hill (2009), pp. 200-204. and certainly by the Tang dynasty,Francke (1977 edition), pp. 76-78 little is actually known of the history of the region before the end of the 10th century, when Tibetan prince Skyid lde nyima gon (or Kyide Nyimagon), a grandson of the anti-Buddhist Tibetan king, Langdarma (r. c. 838 to 841), founded the kingdom. He conquered Western Tibet, although his army originally numbered only 300 men. Several towns and castles are said to have been founded by Nyimagon, and he apparently ordered the construction of the primary sculptures at Shey. "In an inscription, he says he had them made for the religious benefit of the Tsenpo (the dynastical name of his father and ancestors), and of all the people of Ngaris (Western Tibet). This shows that already in this generation Langdarma's opposition to Buddhism had disappeared."Francke (1914), pp. 89-90. Shey, 15 km east of modern Leh, was the ancient seat of the Ladakhi kings.
During the reign of Delegs Namgyal (1660–1685),Francke (1977 edition), p. 20. the Nawab of Kashmir, then a province in the Mughal Empire, arranged for the Mongol army to temporarily leave Ladakh, though it returned later. As payment for assisting Delegs Namgyal in the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal war of 1679–1684, the Nawab made a number of onerous demands. One of the least was construction of a large Sunni Muslim mosque in Leh, at the upper end of the bazaar below Leh Palace. The mosque reflects a mixture of Muslim and Tibetan architecture and can accommodate more than 500 people. This was apparently not the first mosque in Leh; there are two smaller ones that are said to be older.Francke (1977 edition), pp. 120-123.
Administration The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) is in charge of governance in Leh. It has 30 councillors, 4 nominated and 26 elected. The Chief Executive Councillor heads and chairs this council. The Deputy Commissioner of Leh also holds the power of chief executive officer of the LAHDC.
Geography
Topography The city is located on the bank of the Indus River. The mountains dominate the landscape around the Leh, as it is at an altitude of . Peaks such as Nanga Sago can reach well above . The principal access roads include the Srinagar-Leh highway and the Leh-Manali Highway. Both roads are only open on a seasonal basis. Although the roads from Srinagar and Manali are often blocked by snow in winter, the local roads in the Indus Valley usually remain open due to the low levels of snowfall.
Climate
Leh has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk) with long, cold winters from late November to early March, with minimum temperatures well below freezing for most of the winter. The city gets occasional snowfall during winter, which is very cold by Indian standards, mainly due to its high elevation. The weather in the remaining months is generally fine and warm during the day. Average annual rainfall is only , with summer months seeing the most precipitation due to rare residual monsoon systems that enter the Himalayas. In 2010, the city experienced flash floods that killed more than 100 people.
Since climate data was recorded in 1951, Leh's climate has significantly changed, with average temperatures rising by and yearly precipitation decreasing by .
Demographics
Population
As of the 2011 India census, Leh had a population of 30,870. Males constituted 70% of the population and females 30%, due to a large presence of transient labourers, traders and government employees. The child sex ratio was 987. Leh had an average literacy rate of 90%, higher than the national average of 74.04%; male literacy was 94.89%, and female literacy was 78.85%. In Leh, 5.5% of the population was under 6 years of age.
Ethnicity The people of Leh belong to Ladakhi ethnicity who speak Ladakhi, a Tibetic language.
Religion
Buddhism is the largest religion in Leh City, followed by over 43% of people. Hinduism is the second-largest religion with 35% adherents. Islam and Sikhism form 15% and 2.7% of the population respectively. The Muslim presence here also dates back to the annexation of Ladakh by Kashmir, after the Fifth Dalai Lama came to Ladakh from Tibet. Since then, there has been further migration from the Kashmir Valley, due to trade and recently to the transfer of tourism from the Kashmir Valley to Ladakh.
Since the 8th century, people of different religions, particularly Buddhism and Islam, have lived in Leh. They co-inhabited the region from the early Namgyal dynasty and there are no records of any conflict between them. Meer Izzut-oollah wrote in the early 19th century:
This mosque was built by Ibraheem Khan (in the mid 17th century), who was a man of noble family in the service of the descendants of Timur. In his time the Kalimaks (Calmuck Tartars), having invaded and obtained possession of the greater portion of Tibet [Ladakh], the Raja of that country claimed protection from the Emperor of Hindustan. Ibraheem Khan was accordingly deputed by that monarch to his assistance, and in a short time succeeded in expelling the invaders and placing the Raja once more on his throne. The Raja embraced the Mahomedan faith, and formally acknowledged himself as a feudatory of the Emperor, who honored him with the title of Raja Akibut Muhmood Khan, which title to the present day is borne by the Ruler of Kashmir.Travels in Central Asia by Meer Izzut-oollah in the Years 1812-13. Translated by Captain Henderson. Calcutta, 1872, p. 12.
In recent times, Muslims heading to Leh from neighbouring Kargil and Kashmir has increased due to better opportunities. A growing pattern in the city and surrounding areas shows more Buddhist women choosing to marry Muslim men.
Other religions such as Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism do exist in Leh. The small Christian community in Leh descend from Tibetan Buddhists converted by German Moravian missionaries, who established a church at Keylong in Lahaul in the 1860s, and were allowed to open another mission in Leh in 1885 and had a sub-branch in Khalatse. They stayed until Indian Independence in 1947. In spite of their successful medical and educational activities, they were able to make only a few converts.Rizvi (1996), p. 212.
Economy
Agriculture
Leh is located at an average elevation of about 3500 metres, which means that only one crop a year can be grown there, while two can be grown at Khalatse. By the time crops are being sown at Leh in late May, they are already half-grown at Khalatse. The main crop is grim (naked barley, Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum Hook. f., an ancient form of domesticated barley with an easier-to-remove hull. Tsampa, the staple food in Ladakh, is made from this barley.Rizvi (1996), p. 38. The water for agriculture of Ladakh comes from the Indus, which runs low in March and April when barley-fields have the greatest need for irrigation. Grapes, apricots, currants, walnuts, and apples are also grown in the arid temperate climate.
Banking
List of functioning banks in Leh:
State Bank of India, Leh HDFC Bank, Leh Axis Bank, Leh IDBI Bank, Leh
Media and communications