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History of Ladakh History of India The standoff at Galwan river raised the question of the significance of Ladakh to India and China. History 1. Ladakh was initially part of Tibetan empire but later broke off in 742 CE after the assassination of King Langdarma. 2. Until the Dogra invasion in 1834, Ladakh was an independent Himalayan state similar to Sikkim and Bhutan. 3. It was integrated into the state of Jammu and Kashmir by the Dogra ruler Gulab Singh. 4. In 1841, Tibet under the Qing dynasty of China tried to invade Ladakh but was defeated by the Sikhs. This led to the Treaty of Chushul by which Tibet agreed to not invade again. 5. After the Anglo-Sikh war in 1845-46, Ladakh was brought under British suzerainty. Significance of Ladakh 1. Ladakh served as an entrepot between Central Asia and Kashmir. Tibetan pashmina shawl was traded through Ladakh to Kashmir. 2. Trade flourished from Karakoram pass to Yarkand and Kashgar to Chinese Turkestan. China’s interest 1. After

Trade with China International Relations 1. The Galwan standoff has raised the demand from Indians to boycott Chinese goods including Chinese items in Indian restaurants. 2. But banning trade with China abruptly is not a good approach. A. Trade deficits 1. India has a huge trade deficit with China, but this does not mean that the Indian economy is weaker. 2. At the same time, India has a trade surplus with the US, UK. This does not imply India’s economy is stronger. 3. Trade deficits imply that India is not capable of producing the needs of its people efficiently. 4. Running huge trade deficits could be a problem if a country does not have enough forex reserves to import the goods. But India has $500 billions in its forex reserves. B. Indian producers and exporters 1. Indian producers import a huge proportion of intermediate goods such as electrical machinery, fertilizers, organic chemicals etc. 2. These imports become part of final goods that are used by India or exported.