Ladakh History, Geography, Economy, Polity and Districts

The name Ladakh in Ladakhi means "land of high passes", it connected India with the Silk Road. Ladakh is pronounced in many Tibetan districts and Ladakh is a transliteration of the Persian spelling. This region was earlier known as Maryam. Rock carvings found in many parts of Ladakh suggest that the region has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. The earliest inhabitants of Ladakh included a mixed Indo-Aryan population of Mons and Dards, which are noted in the works of Herodotus and classical writers as well as the Indian Puranas. Around the first century, Ladakh used to be a part of the Kushan Empire. Buddhism spread from Kashmir to western Ladakh in the second century. The 7th century Buddhist traveler Xuanzang describes the region in his accounts. The word Xuanzang of Ladakh is Mo-lo-so, which scholars have reconstructed as Malasa, or Marasa, which is believed to be the original name of the region. Between Kashmir and Zhangjhung, Ladakh is believed to have been alternately under the control of one or the other of these powers. Scholars find strong influences of the Zhangzung language and culture from the central part of the Indus Valley in the southeast. It is said that the king of Ladakh was Zhangzhuang.

In February 2019, Ladakh became a separate revenue and administrative division within Jammu and Kashmir, formerly part of the Kashmir division. As a division, Ladakh was provided its own divisional commissioner and inspector general of police. Leh was initially chosen as the headquarters of the new division, although following protests, it was announced that Leh and Kargil would jointly serve as divisional headquarters, each hosting an additional divisional commissioner who would The Divisional Commissioner and the Inspector General of Police will assist.

Ladakh is the highest plateau in India with most of it being over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft). It extends from the Himalayas to the Kunlun range and includes the upper Indus River Valley. It includes Baltistan, Indus Valley, Zanskar, Lahaul and Spiti in the south, Rudok and Gule in the east, Aksaichin and Nubra Valley across Khardungla in the north. Ladakh borders Tibet in the east, Lahaul and Spiti in the south, Jammu and Kashmir and Baltistan in the west and the Trans Kunlun region of Jinjiang on that side of the Karakoram Pass in the far north. The Indus River is the lifeline of Ladakh. Most of the historical and current places such as Leh, She, Basgo, Tingmosgung are situated along the Indus shore. After Indo-Pak war of 1947, only this part of Indus flows from Ladakh.

Indus is a revered river in Hinduism, which flows only in Ladakh. The Siachen Glacier is in the eastern Karakoram borderline in the Himalayan Mountains along the Indo-Pakistan border. The Karakoram border forms a great water zone that separates China from the Indian subcontinent and is also known as the "Third Pole". The 70-km-long glacier is the longest in Karakoram and the second longest glacier on earth except the poles. It rises from 3620 meters at its mouth to 5753 meters high at the Indira point on the China border. The pass and some high peaks near it are in the possession of both countries.

Ladakh's most prominent food items are thukpa (noodle soup) and tsampa, known as napkins (roasted barley flour) in Ladakhi as Ladakh moves towards a cash-based economy, from the plains of India. Foods are becoming common. Like other parts of Central Asia, tea in Ladakh is traditionally made with strong green tea, butter and salt.

Religious mask dances are an important part of the cultural life of Ladakh. The Hemis Math is a major center of the Drukpa tradition of Buddhism, which hosts an annual mask dance ceremony in the form of all the major Ladakhi monasteries. The dances usually tell the story of the battle between good and evil, ending with the former's final victory. Weaving is an important part of traditional life in eastern Ladakh. Both women and men weave on looms separately.

• Himachal Pradesh
• Jammu and Kashmir