Thousands of Ladakhis last week protested a terrorist attack on the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya, in Eastern India, a spot revered by millions of Buddhists worldwide. The ancient temple complex in India’s Bihar state was erected on the site where Buddhists believe that Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, sat and… Continue reading…
The Eurasia Review last week analyzed the effects that increasing tourism and military deployments in northern India are having on the traditional Ladakhi way of life. Widening economic gaps between rural Ladakhis and urbanites in Leh, the regional capital, are one of the problems the article identifies. Traditional agriculture, as… Continue reading…
The organizers of the Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF) are promoting a movement in India to build awareness of the need to protect women and girls from rape, infanticide, and feticide. The festival, which began last summer, is now receiving films for its second year. Some 600 people attended last… Continue reading…
The consumption of alcohol poses a severe threat to the peace and stability of Ladakh, according to speakers at a one-day program held in the Ladakhi capital, Leh, last week. The Leh city police department organized the program, titled “Negative Impact of Alcohol on Society,” to alert the people of… Continue reading…
An Indian news story last Thursday included a paean of praise for the equality that exists between Ladakhi women and men, a situation that is unique in a country where female abortion and infanticide are still widely practiced. The reporter was clearly impressed upon arriving in Leh, the largest community… Continue reading…
One result of the peaceful values held by Ladakhis has been the frequency of interfaith marriages, which are widely accepted among both Buddhists and Muslims, according to a news report last week. The story indicates that, despite the interfaith troubles of the late 1980s and early 1990s, tensions have subsided… Continue reading…
While most of the literature about Ladakhi peacefulness focuses on India’s Leh District, the primarily Buddhist portion of Ladakh, the Muslim district called Kargil after its principal town appears to have a culture that is just as nonviolent. The two districts are populated with basically the same people who have… Continue reading…
Tashi Dolma, describing the importance of Ladakhi beliefs in a news story last week, writes that the strength of locals to tolerate the geographical and climatic extremities of their land often leaves visitors flabbergasted. Carried by the South Asian news service ANI, Dolma’s report praises the “age old beliefs of… Continue reading…
An ANI reporter, Chetna Verma, visiting Leh 18 months after a mudslide disaster, wrote last week that “it was the traditional lifestyle and belief systems of the Ladakhi community [as well as] their humane quality” that helped them get through the tragedy. She argued that the Ladakhi spirit of mutual… Continue reading…
Anyone interested in the welfare of the peaceful Ladakhis should realize that a fair political settlement of the divisions and conflicts in India’s state of Jammu and Kashmir will promote the continuing stability and health of Ladakh. The state, located in India’s north and bordered by Pakistan and China, has… Continue reading…
