Ladakhi
Flooding in Ladakh
The Siachen River has been acting very strangely over the past 20 years, threatening the 28 villages in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh that it flows through. The cause of its erratic behavior is global climate change. According to an article in Al Jazeera last week, the rapid melting of the Siachen Glacier is causing […]
Interfaith Marriages in Ladakh
Although Ladakh is roughly half Muslim and half Buddhist, the Ladakhis are becoming less tolerant about interfaith marriages, according to an article last week in the VOA News. Marriages between members of the two groups used to be accepted but they no longer are. The article, written by journalist Krithika Varagur, blames the steadily increasing […]
The Benefits Brought by Trekkers
Tourism offers many benefits to the mountain villages of Ladakh—far more than just infusions of outside cash, according to a report posted last week on a website from India. The author of the article visited the remote village of Rumbak, which is 6 miles from the end of the motor road in the Hemis National […]
Young Ladakhis Face Challenges
Young Ladakhis are coping with the changes that are sweeping their region by struggling to retain their identities, yet they are accepting new ways of looking at economic, political and social issues. Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk last week focused a perceptive analysis on young people who are seeking to maintain their Ladakhi traditions—and yet keeping up […]
Looms of Ladakh Cooperative Formed
The Pashmina wool sheared from goats in the high plateau region of Southeastern Ladakh has, for centuries, been shipped out to Kashmir, where artisans have fashioned luxurious cashmere sweaters and shawls. Almost all of the profits from this trade have been in the hands of the shippers, merchants, and weavers—everyone other than the Ladakhi themselves. […]
Discrimination against Ladakhi Women
Anzara Anjum Khan wrote a piece for an Indian daily newspaper last week in which she emphasized that the situation for women in Ladakh is worse than she had thought. Ladakhi women are widely discriminated against, she found: they are often not given a share of their father’s or their husband’s properties. Furthermore, they are […]
A Marathon in Ladakh
The Ladakhi have taken to running. Younger people in particular are participating in the annual Ladakh Marathon, which was recently run for the sixth time. An article in USA Today last week described the enthusiasm for the race, held early each September right after the close of tourist season and before winter sets in. Because […]
Gender Violence in Peaceful Societies: The Ladakhi
One of the more significant aspects of the nonviolence that epitomizes many of the world’s most peaceful societies is the relatively high status of women and girls. Each society is different, of course, but in many of them the women and girls are considered to be equal, or nearly so, to men and boys. Males […]
The Ladakhi Cherish their Environment
The use of polyethylene bags is a growing problem in the mountains of Northern India, except for Ladakh where the people have been able to get rid of them. Why are the Ladakhi so concerned about their natural environment that they embrace the idea of banning the polluting bags when others who live in equally […]
A Nursery School in Ladakh
Tsewang Dorjey, a 43-year old police officer, has taken a special interest in the young children of Shara, a small community in rural Ladakh, so he founded a nursery school for them. A news story by Shreya Pareek in The Better India last week reported on the ways Officer Dorjey is developing his school. Shara […]
