Context: The Ministry of Home Affairs formed a high-powered committee to discuss measures to protect Ladakh’s “unique culture and language”, considering its geographical location and strategic importance.

About the Panel

• The committee will be headed by Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai.

• The 17-member committee will include Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur, MP for the region, JT Namgyal, Chairmen of the autonomous hill councils of Leh and Kargil and Joint Secretary JK and Ladakh Affairs, MHA among others.

• As per the order, the committee has been set up to discuss measures to protect the region’s unique culture and language taking into consideration its geographical location and its strategic importance.

• The committee will also discuss measures to ensure protection of land and employment for the people of Ladakh and will also discuss measures for inclusive development and employment generation in the region empowerment of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Leh and Kargil.

About Ladakh

• Ladakh is the northmost part of India and shares a border with Tibet to the east, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the south, and Gilgit-Baltistan to the west.

• It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range in the north to the Great Himalayas to the south.

• It is the only cold desert in India.

• Language: The Ladakhi language is a Tibetic language spoken in Ladakh, which is also called Bhoti or Bodhi.

• Costume: The men in Ladakh wear a long woolen robe which is known as Goucha in their local language whereas Women wear a similar kind of robe which is called Kuntop & Bok. Perak is a long hat, which is also worn by both men & women in Ladakh.

• Music: The traditional music of Ladakh includes instruments like linyu (flute), damnyan (stringed instrument) pivang, khakong, (sitar) daph (dafli) daman, surna, and piwang (shehnai and drum).

• Dance: The popular dances in Ladakh include the Khatok Chenmo which is headed by a respectable family member, Shondol .Some other dance forms include Kompa Tsum-tsak Jabro Chaams: Chabs-Skyan Tses Raldi Tses and Alley Yaato. One of the most famous dance forms in Ladakh is Chham, or the mask dances, which often signify the victory of good over evil.

• Cuisine: Most of the dishes in Ladakh are prepared from the local produce which consists of pumpkins, beans, potatoes, beetroot & barley. Rice mutton & chicken dishes are also prepared along with yak meat, but this is mostly limited to the winter season.The influence of Tibetan culture is also visible in the most famous dishes of Ladakh, which are thenthuk, skyu, momo and thukpa.Gur gur cha and cha ngarmo are also widely enjoyed by the people, as is the local alcohol called chhang.

• Fairs & Festivals:Ladakh has several festivals throughout the year, including Hemis Tsechu and Losar.Some of the famous festivals of Ladakh are:

• Hemis Festival: Hemis Monastery has an annual festival named after it.

• Losar: Losar, also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism.

• Phyang Tsedup Festival: This festival is celebrated every fifth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.

• Sindhu Darshan Festival: It is held on every Guru Purnima on the banks of the Indus river.

• Dosmoche: It is celebrated every 12th month of the Tibetan calendar every year.

• Saka Dawa Festival.

• Tak – Tok Festival: It is one of the major festivals of Ladakh. It is celebrated at cave Gompa of Tak- Tok.

• Matho Nagrang Festival.

• Cultural centers: Buddhist monasteries are often situated on an isolated hillock in the vicinity of villages. These monasteries provide the focus for the faith of the religious Buddhist people.

• Some monasteries and cultural centers of Ladakh are: Thikse Monastery; Lamayuru Monastery; Hemis Monastery; Stok Monastery; Leh Palace; Chemrey Monastery; Shey Monastery and Diskit Monastery.

• Arts & Crafts: Ladakh has its fair share of arts & crafts. Pattu, which is a rough clothing material is made from wool which is locally produced by women on drop spindles & woven by weavers on portable looms

• Social Structure: Women enjoy a particularly high status in Ladakh, compared to the other parts of India. A popular custom known as khang-bu, or little house, is practiced, whereby the elders of a family, as soon as the eldest son has married, withdraw from everyday participation in household affairs.