This page contains a number of selected links to Zanskar
and Ladakh internet resources. Apart from much smaller
neighbouring regions of Lahaul and Spiti (and Sikkim),
Ladakh and Zanskar are the only regions of predominantly
Tibetan culture which happened to belong politically
to India.
Zanskar and Ladakh have a long proud history as
independent West-Tibetan kingdoms, owing their worldly
wealth to the southern branch of the Silk Road.
The slow decline started after the 5th Dalai Lama
aggression in 1680 and following Kashmiri involvement,
when Ladakhis were forced to assume the political
influence of both Tibet and India.
After the Sikhs subdued Jammu and Kashmir,
they attacked north. In 1834 a large Dogra army lead by
Zorawar Singh was stopped by Ladakhis nearby Mulbekh.
After a short truce, Dogras took Zanskar by surprise and
then arrived directly by Leh, breaking all resistance.
According to a british-influenced treaty from 1842
the conquest of Ladakh and Zanskar has been confirmed
and both lands were included to the realm of maharajas
of Jammu and Kashmir.
Due to the Indian conflicts with
Pakistan and China over Kashmir and its boundaries,
Ladakh and Zanskar were off-limits for foreigners
until 1974. Not surprisingly, this long isolation
caused that the Tibetan tradition there is well-preserved
and still vibrant.
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