By S.Sarwar.Malik
All English knowing students of Ladakhi studies, including this humble penman, are indebted to Scores of foreigners who traversed long distances and difficult terrains. Besides other challenges one faces in somewhat difficult parts of this globe, where putting up for prolonged periods, that too in a hostile climate with different people; not only racially but also in terms of language,faith and culture. Different in almost all aspects.
For a moment, dear reader, transport yourself to the past: 19th or 20th century or as distant as Ladakh of 17-18th century AD (Baffled na?). Pursuing their scholarly pursuits! What they bequeath to the subsequent followers is more valuable than the fabled treasures.
Today, in passing, I will mention just two, somewhat recent, great names, i.e, A.H. Francke (cursorily) and D.L. Snellgrove (deserving my tilt). Reason being Snellgrove’s Cultural Heritage of Ladakh, a 1978-79 publication. Mentioning expressly the debt to Snellgrove, a humble- looking (’ruralite’) scholar of ladakhi studies; N.T.S, who is somewhat dear to me, I confess)…
Izhaare-Ishqe-
posheedah/
woh be abb iss peeri main?/
Chalo ker kay daikhaein gay.
Chalo ker kay daikhaein gay. // Zanjeer bajayein ‘zindaan walay’,/
hum qalam utha kay daikhaein gay//
…who was just three years older than me. Better equipped with a degree in History and also himself being a native of Ladakh (who inherited Buddhism as faith and worked in our J&K Academy Of Art Culture and Languages, till his retirement in 2010), having organised an impactful Colloquium, and above all produced, (what endears him more? …to this humble penman) 5-6 books. Surpassing thereby, other later writers (local PhDs including the ones of 1st decennial of this century, including those from famous universities of North India) comprehension-wise as well as in terms of head-count of the foreign scholars whom he has read like the fore-mentioned Snellgrove.
A brief digression!
About thirty nine years back, seated on a boulder, in Tang-ts-e area of Ladakh (in Durbuk block bordering Pangong Tso & Nubra), approximately 110 kms away from Leh, suddenly I began to surmise what zeal must have motivated those Christian missionaries (like Father Francesco de Azevedo and Father Giovanni de Oliveiro — the duo that visited Ladakh in Oct 1631, as mentioned in’ Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia’, published by C.wessels in 1924), when even after lapsing of nearly three and a half centuries, the total population of local christians in ladakh (i.e., converts), is just somewhere around 150.
On that day of 1984, an uncomfortable feeling followed me as well as the question: “Why had history thrust two wars here on this very region (Mughal-Ladakh-Tibet war of 1679 and Dogra-Tibetan war of 1841? Through which trade with Central Asia, Turkestan, Yarkand and Tibet etc too was flowing in those distant days, as this route was promoted by the British too, there around.
Writing about Fahien’s route Prof. Samuel Beal( Oriental scholar, University college London, d. 1889 AD) records:
“…North of Kashmir is Darail valley of the Dard-country; on the western bank of Indus….” Darail is the tribal territory between Indus Kohistan and Gilgit agency on Pakistan’s western borders. Probably, these Dards migrated from Central Asia via Gilgit into Ladakh, long before the advent of Buddhism or Mongoloid nomads; possibly displacing completely the ‘Mons‘ of Ladakh, in 5th or 6th century AD.
Dards came,perhaps, to seek refuge and protection from the advancing Greeko-Bactrian Kushans (1st century AD) whose empire extended from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Taxila, to north India etc (in emperor Kanishka’s syncretic reign of 2nd century AD). It is said long before the advent of Buddhism, Dards of Ladakh had migrated from Central Asia via Gilgit and as per Dr.A.H.Francke (of Morovian Mission, 1890-1927) they withdrew to Purig-area of Ladakh, where they are called Dok-pas.
The standard Dardish form of language is known as ‘Shina’ but with passage of time Ladakhi influence changed much of their language, original beliefs and traditions but Ladakhis being obviously mongoloids are racially different.
Giving a geographical account,Frederic Drew (Dogra Governor of Ladakh) wrote in 1875, that these people were migrants. R.B.Shaw, British historian, in his book, Stray Aryians in Tibet (1870), wrote that these Dards claimed to have migrated from Gilgit, via Astore and Kargil. A.H.Francke wrote in his book, Ladakh the Mysterious Land (1907) that ..Brokskat, is an off-shoot of Sheena. That much about these pastoralists.
Now, hastily I give a sketchy roundup of the prominent visitors ever since 1631 but before that let me underline an interesting piece of information for you. That in 1909, Dr.A.H. Francke had found an ancient Bonpo temple with Frescoes of Bon deities in blue and black dress at Lamayuru (approx. 130 kms from Leh) and permit me to defer my stating anything more about the world famous British Tibetologist prof.David .L. Snellgrove (1920-2016; author of ‘The Nine Ways of Bon,1980; Cultural Heritage of Ladakh, 1977 and Indo- Tibetan Buddhism, 1987).
Now The Visitors
The lure of the moon land in Ladakh has beckoned many visitors, travellers, scholars, expeditionists and the rest, in the last seven centuries. Most of them Westerners, who have contributed towards a better understanding of this mystery land.
Let us make a brief mention of these first-comers as this, I Believe, is the first compilation on this information.
During the reign of the grandson of Rinchen Lha-Chen-Khri-tsung-de, that is between 1380 and 1400 AD, a large number of Nestorian Christians are first believed to have migrated to Ladakh, as refugees from Central Asia. But not much is known about their visit and may be the undeciphered writing on the rock at Tangsey, Durbok in Ladakh belongs to them.
In the first half of the 15th centuryAD, the two kingdoms of Shey and Basgo were reunited and the founder of the united dynasty took the surname of Namgials. Senge Namgial who ascended the throne in 1616 A.D was the great king of Ladakh. During his reign Father Francesco de Azevedo and Giovani de Oliveiro visited Ladakh. These Jesuits describe Senge as “a man of tall stature, his ears adorned with turquoise and he wore a string of skull bones around his neck”.
In 1715, when Nyima Namgyal ruled, Ipolito Desideri passed through Ladakh and saw the lake of Shey, blue like turquoise; (-alas! At present, there is no trace of this lake. William Moorcroft along with George Trebeck stayed in Ladakh from 1820 to 1822 and it is believed the former put forth the advice of building a fort to the king. During the same time Alexander Csoma de Korosi spent over a year in a monastery in Zanskar. In the wake of stirs of Ranjit Singh’s expansionist empire, King Tsemphel Namgial made an offer of allegiance to the East India Company through William Moorcroft.
In 1834-35, Henderson came to Ladakh and acted as informer of Dogras. Commander of Dogras Zorawer Singh invaded Ladakh and built the fort at Leh in 1836. G.T. Vigne, author of Travels in Kashmir, Ladakh and Iskardo: was in Leh from 1835-38 and he speaks of the restrictions and the troubles Dogras gave him in Leh.
1838 brought Dr.Falconer to Leh.
In 1846-47 Alexander Cunningham surveyed and demarcated the boundaries between Ladakh, Spiti and Tibet. During 1852-54 he wrote his book, Ladakh and West Himalayan Tibet. In 1856 Hermann Von and Emil Schlagintweit visited Ladakh. Hermann was the first visitor to have obtained a manuscript of the ex-King of Ladakh, Jygmed Namgial, which was later published in German in 1866. He is also believed to have introduced poultry in Ladakh. In 1862 Frederic Dew, a geologist, travelled to Ladakh and Coyley was the first British Joint Commissioner of Leh in 1867. Johnson, who served as the governor of Ladakh from 1871-83, was the first British to have conducted the geographical survey of Ladakh. Author of Unknown Life of Jesus Christ: Life of Issa, of the renowned Nicolas Notovitch, who visited ladakh during 1866 and also later in 1890 when he was treated by Dr. Karl Marx in Hemis Gompa. In 1870 and again in 1873, Douglas Forsythe crossed Ladakh while going to Yarkand and Kashgar, forging trade between East India and Eastern Turkestan. In 1871 Robert Shaw, the British Joint Commissioner at Leh and ambassador designate, travelled to Kashgar. His agent Andrew Dalgleish settled in Yarkand and for 14 years was ‘engaged actively in Leh-Yarkand trade’. Andrew was assassinated by an Afghan, Daud Mohamud, enroute. In 1864, Morovian mission had penetrated Leh. In 1885 Leh became the headquarters of the Morovian Church mission and the Leh church was established by Rev.Ratslab. Dr Karl Rudolf Marx was the first medical missionary doctor in the mission hospital Leh.
In 1892, two Britons, Major N. Malcolm and Captain Neilly Wellby, accompanied by six Ladakhis; (including Baba Kalam Rasul Malik- the greatest known expeditionist of Ladakh after Galwan Rasool, left from Leh to Peking via Tibet.
In 1902, the English traveller A. Reeve Herber was in Leh. In 1903 Rev. J. Peter of the Morovian Mission started a newspaper- Ladakh Phoyian, in ladakhi language; the first paper in J &K state.
In 1906 the Swedish explorer and author of Trans Himalaya, Sven Hedin came to Leh and stayed at Lamayuru gompa in July 1906.
After Karl R Marx, who died in 1891, his brother in law Dr. A.H. Francke, also of Morovian mission, came to Leh. On being sponsored by the Director General of Archeology in 1909 Francke worked on the same manuscript: (La-dvags-rgyal-rabs- chronicles of Ladakh), on which Marx had worked. He compiled Antiquities of Indian Tibet and History of Western Tibet- published in 1926 and 1927.[One F.E. Shaw was in Leh during Francke’s time. Francke’s history of Ladakh is a pioneer and fundamental work which was consulted by all historiographers and improved by few].
Since the 1930s Prof G. Tucci and Prof L.Petech have become and still remain the chief authorities on the history and culture of old western Tibet. Tucci wrote Indo-Tibetica and Petech, A Study of the Chronicles of Ladakh.
Recently in 1986 a ladakhi scholar brought out a book on the history of Ladakh in Bodhi Language. Snellgrove and Skorupski who worked on Monastic paintings of Ladakh, remained here from Oct 1974 to Feb 1975. The noted writer Heinrich Harrer visited Ladakh six times from 1944 to 1978.
Writings of these leading and undaunted visitors have contributed greatly to the appreciative understanding of this mysterious land, its people, its religion and culture and those like me (& others, in dozens) cannot withhold our appreciative-bow.
In the bodhi language that is spoken by ladakhi’s, yul means land. Kashmir is Kache-yul; The land where snowfall is witnessed. Baltistan is Balti-yul, land where Shia’s/ Baltistaani people live. Adepts in the field say, Ethnically Balti’s and Ladakhis are both descendants from the same stock. Both are a blend of the Aryan, Mongol, Min and Tibetan races. The Major difference is that of religion; Ladakhi’s are largely Buddhist while the people of Balti-staan are muslim. The Buddhist presence in Baltistan is said to be very old [-as it is believed that the Buddhist saint of Mahayana sect, 7/8th century AD; PadmaSambhava (-Buddha reincarnate for his sect) ,worked here.]
According to tradition the common language among the Baltis, Zangskaris, Changpas and Purikis was Tibetan. Later in history when the Baltis adopted Islam, they lost contact with the Tibetan script, ever since the 10th Century, though retaining it greatly in their spoken language.
Among the common inheritance between the people of two faiths, is the story of Gyalpo Norzang; the Kesar Saga,and Naga Rai prayers, Tibetan canon of Lo-ts-awo Ts-ul-trim etc though style of narration differs.
Ladakh and Baltistaan had close economic ties too, and in the trade that happened via different trunk-roads of yore as well as that happened via Central Asia. Both Ladakhis and Baltis were active players.
Baltistaan being the land of Shia- muslims. Skardu was an important town of this Baltistaan. Here we reach an interesting milestone of the 16th Century.
King Jamyung Namgial of Ladakh had invaded Chigtan around 1600. Chief of Askardo, Ali Mir, tasted Victory and King Jamyung was captured.
[ Elements of rest of the story,… ..that is what led to the marriage of Ali Mirs daughter, khatoon, with this Buddhist/ Ladakhi king Jamyung; for example the Vision that a Tiger jumps on her and enters her womb and birth of a child who In Ladakh’s history, came to be known be Sengey Namgyal, surpassed by few, achievement-wise…]..may be writer’s touch that add flavour to the story, but overall it is an interesting episode, caricatured by history.
Excuse me readers. I have to end today’s write-up,(…lest it outgrows the space, that too..) ..on a sad note:
Later in history, both these areas, Ladakh and Baltistaan, had to undergo a brutal stage. That of the damage caused by Zorawer Singh, the general of Dogra Maharaja Gulab Singh to these two lands; reducing their status.
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