File:Leh Market Square Under CCTV (48975339573).jpg

Leh main street - CCTV stands for "closed-circuit télévision" (no, this is not "China Central Télévision", not yet)

Ladakh, The Melting Pot of Cultures

A number of different and distinct cultures prevail in the various folds of the Ladakhi terrain, indicating varied origins. The Mons, Tibetans and Dards reached Ladakh from different directions at different times. In due course, Mongoloid Tibetans and Aryan Dards, two tribes of distinct origins, united primarily in the valleys of the Kargil Sector to form the Tibeto-Dard population. A majority of these peace-loving people followed Buddhism for over two millenniums, while a portion of the population of the Kargil region converted to Islam at a later stage. The Kargil Muslims belong mainly to the Shia sect, but there is also a sprinkling of Arghons, who are Sunni Muslims with origins from Kashmir and Yarkhand. Ladakh is also home to a tiny minority of Christians, who are mainly settled in and around Leh.

Owing to extremes of physical conditions and total isolation from the modern world, Buddhism remained preserved here in its most ancient and pure form. With the influx of outsiders into Ladakh which includes workforce from other states of India, missionaries and researchers from the Western world, tourist and explorers, traders from various places like Yarkhand, Kashmir, Punjab and Manali who have settled in Leh since the silk-route trade period and the armed forces, there has been a distinct change in the demography as also the lifestyle, especially close to major population centers like Leh and Kargil.

Demography. (2018). [museum display board]. Leh, Ladakh, India: Hall of Fame.