Righting the Wrongs in Ladakh-Baltistan

a Siachen Peace Park!! What a great idea.

Good, informative article.

in 1982, I trekked across Baltoro Glacier and across the Conway Saddle upto the Korakoram Pass. We came back across the Saltoro Range and then followed the Indus to Skardu. It was a wonderful experience. Just last year Ahmad Rashid, the Pakistani Traveler Anthropologist proposed trekking west of K2 to China but I was already caught in an expedition that would cut through the formidale NARA Desert. I donno if I will ever be able to go there again. So much for the beauty and splendour of the area.

As for the Skardu Kargil route, I think it cannot come till Siachin is demilitarised. Even then it may remain closed for better part of the year due to heavy snow, if and when a black top raod is indeed made. Most of the accesses are Silk Roads (mule tracks) aking weeks of travelling.

As an aside, many families got seperated once India occupied Kargil in 1971. I think it would be better to organise re unions in selected areas, giving split families a chance to meet.

I feel the writer is not well travelled in the area to fathom the geopgraphy.

Cheerios

here we go again ! .............

.......... another primitive aborigine group is pushing its cuture and history and claiming that it is a ``distinct`` group and should be granted this or that status .......... next thing you know they will want to sing a balti/ladakhi versioin of the national anthem ..... not that anyone knows what language it is in to begin with ........ ``pak sir zamin shad bad``........wat the heck is that ?.....as george bush would say ``no habla se espanol`` .......

........... what is it with the third world types that they want to keep on digging up history and people long dead and other such nonsense, instead of getting on with the business of living today ??? ......... the only thing worth anything in gilgit/naltistan is the shangri-la resort where mrs, hamidm and i went on our honeymoon ............ other than that, there is nothing romantic about living in mud huts, wrapping your babies in dried goat droppings, and chasing after yaks ............ unique ``culture`` indeed !

hamidm2
I am amazed at your thoughts. The people of Northern Areas never consider themselves as kashmiris and are amongst the staunchest of Pakistanis. Please do not give distorted versions. We are a federation and must the smallest of all ethnic/ relogious minorities. Your comments are going to deflect discussions on this board.

Cheerios

We are a federation and must respect the smallest of all ethnic/ religious minorities.

#1
I have a suggestion here:
Why not lease the Kashmir to some American based company for 50 years. We will develop the tourism there and give the profits based on 2/3/, 1/3 ro India/Pakistan respectively. Everybody is happy this way.

American company will pump in money to develop Skiing/skating/vacation resorts and other infrastructure.

i love the balti chicken with a lager at garfunkels pub in terminal 4 at heathrow ;-)

kargil seems like the place where buddhism ends and islam begins in ladakh. kargil, although mostly shia-muslim, still has some buddhists and their (live) monestaries.

http://kargil.nic.in/tourism/monastery.htm

are there any buddhist with live monasteris in skardu or other part of northern areas? what are the famous dead monasteries in that area?

Re: # 7
My Relatives used to go for hunting in Skardu before 1947.
It is definitely not Pakistani type place.

Re: # 7 Jang;

A minor correction on Balti Chicken;

It has not originated in Baltistan. The Balti Chicken ( in punjabi language Balti Murgh ) is a favourite dish from Gujranwala, Lahore in Punjab Pakistan. Next time when you enjoy Balti Chicken in heathrow, you should have the murky streets of inner city of Gujranwala and Gowalmandi Lahore should be in the backdrop of your mind.

#9 thanks colonel..i was aware of this, and that is why the ;-)

in fact the chicken comes in a little balti (a bucket).

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

Ref ijaz_gul #4

[....I am amazed at your thoughts. The people of Northern Areas never consider themselves as kashmiris and are amongst the staunchest of Pakistanis. Please do not give distorted versions. We are a federation and must (respect) the smallest of all ethnic/ relogious minorities.]

On the other hand, we Pakistanis don`t give a sh!t about the majority, particularly when they are dark, short, wear the dhoti instead of the shalwar, and speak Bengali instead of Urdu. In fact, we kill and rape them by the millions.

Ladakhis are primarly Buddhist and folks from Gilgit are Muslims. The most you can say is that Kargil is Muslim and so people from Skardu might want to meet their relatives in Kargil and vice versa. The guys in Skardu have nothing to do with the Buddhists in Leh for instance, except that in 1947 they crossed over and looted the monasteries and destroyed the statues. So don`t bring Ladakh into the picture. Ladakh is not Muslim. In fact, Ladakh even asked to be transferred to China rather than live under the Muslim majority of Kashmir Valley.

As to hamidm2`s question about what language these people speak, the language/dialect varies every couple of miles. Of course the folks here were/are as incurious about learning their own language as the Masanamuthus of Tamil Nadu that it took a white man, G W Leitner, to write the first dictionary of the language of Dardistan, to establish what grew into the University of the Punjab at Lahore and even the Oriental Institute in Woking, England.

M. Ismail Khan and Ijaz Gul saheb,
One of you is from Nothern Areas and another has travelled extensively to those areas. Would you please tell us how many Buddhists still live in Nothern areas and how many functional monasteries are there? If possible, please post photographs of such monasteries.

Which one are more famous one?

Re: # 14
Friend
I have served / traveled extensively the northern areas during my service and as an amateur mountaineer with a number of foreign mountaineering expedition. Never heard of any sizeable Buddhists population or active monastery in pakistani territories.

Re: # 8

Dehliwala;

I guess you are right. Skardu is unlike any typical Pakistani place; same as most places in the southern india are not like India either. Their is something called diversity, and it is a desirealbe feature in the making of any nation.
Perhaps the place which emanates Pakistan most is none else but Dehli itself. Dehli`s most prodigious son is who else but general Musharraf.