History of Ladakh

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 China invaded Tibet in 1950, political uprising slowly started in Tibet.

2. China started constructing roads across Ladakh in 1956-57 to have better control over Tibet.

3. The uprising erupted into a huge movement in Lhasa in 1959, when Dalai lama fled to India and was given political asylum.

3. The Indian government didn’t approve of these developments as Nehru regarded a relatively independent Tibet would act as a buffer state between China and India.

4. As the diplomatic negotiations failed, it led to the Indo-China war in 1962.

Point of Conflict

1. British tried to delineate the borders of Ladakh, but it became complicated because it came under Tibetan and Central Asian influence.

2. People of Ladakh also did not distinctively recognize themselves with any country.

3. Now, India insists on recognition of the border under the Simla convention (1914) between British and Tibet, China does not accept it.

Recent Conflict

1. The recent conflict is due to 2 reasons

a. Construction of the new DSDBO road (Darbuk -Shyok- Daulat-beg-oldie) in Ladakh region and increasing infrastructure in this region post-2013 by India.

b. Removal of the special status of J&K and making Ladakh a UT is viewed by China as an attempt by India to reassert its control over the entire state.

Source: Indian Express