Khalatse

Khaltse or Khalsi is the headquarter of eponymous Subdivision, block and tehsil in the Leh district of Ladakh, India.[1][2] It is located 337 km from Srinagar on the old main road to Leh, where it crossed the Indus over an iron bridge.[3] Much of its importance is because it is the place where the road from Kashmir debouches into the Indus Valley.[4] Close by are the remains of an old fortified customs house.[5]

Khaltsi

Khaltsi
Village
School kids in Khalatse
Khaltsi
Khaltsi
Coordinates: 34.3200775°N 76.8793025°E / 34.3200775; 76.8793025
CountryIndia
Union TerritoryLadakh
DistrictLeh
TehsilKhalatse
Sub-Divisional MagistrateSachin Kumar Vaishya, IAS
Elevation
2,987 m (9,800 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total767
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
2011 census code948

There is a fragmentary inscription at Khalatse which carries the name 'Maharaja Uvima' which is attributed to the Kushan king, Vima Kadphises who ruled in the 1st or early 2nd century CE.[6][7][8]

Lha chen Naglug (c. 1150-1175 CE), a member of a dynasty of Dard kings, a built a bridge across the Indus at the same site as the present bridge, and the Bragnag castle on the bank of the Indus, on the brook, about one mile (1.6 km) above the present village, to guard the bridge. It was built in competition to another bridge, the Babu Khar bridge, only three miles (4.8 km) away, and was clearly built to raise taxes from travellers. The castle is said to have been the first castle built in the country. The ruins of the castle and also the remains of extensive fields and watercourses are still visible. Lha chen Naglug also built the palace at Wanla.[9]

There are a number of ancient Dardic rock carvings nearby, including one of a Dard woman carrying a basket on her back, one of a man hunting antelopes, and some showing men with what appear to be flat hats, all costumes similar to the Dards of Da. In front of the ancient Dard castle at Khalatse is an inscription in an Indian language which probably dates from the period of Dard occupation.[10]

The German Moravian Church Mission, which opened in Leh in 1885 had a sub-station in Khalatse which remained open for the half a century prior to India's independence in 1947 and played a prominent role there with their medical and educational activities, but only made a few converts.[11]

Entering Khaltse by the road from Srinigar, it is clear one is entering the heartland of Buddhism with its chortens or small stupas, mani stones and prayer flags. Upstream from Khalatse, and downstream on the right bank of the Indus, the people are almost all Buddhist. The ones downstream are mostly Brokpa or Dards.[12] Khalatse is also famous for its apricots.[13]

Because Khalatse is about 400 metres lower than Leh, two crops can be grown each year rather than only one. By the time crops are being sown at Leh in late May, they are already half-grown at Khalatse. The first crop – usually of grim (naked barley – Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum Hook. f., which is an ancient form of domesticated barley with an easier to remove hull) – from which tsampa, the staple food in Ladakh, is made) is usually harvested by mid-July and then other crops such as buckwheat, turnips and other vegetables are planted.[14]

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, Khaltse has 156 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 86.27%.[15]

Demographics (2011 Census)[15]
TotalMaleFemale
Population767381386
Children aged below 6 years683632
Scheduled caste000
Scheduled tribe751366385
Literates603324279
Workers (all)381202179
Main workers (total)378202176
Main workers: Cultivators422220
Main workers: Agricultural labourers312
Main workers: Household industry workers101
Main workers: Other332179153
Marginal workers (total)303
Marginal workers: Cultivators000
Marginal workers: Agricultural labourers000
Marginal workers: Household industry workers202
Marginal workers: Others101
Non-workers386179207

Climate
Climate data for Khalatse
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −3.5
(25.7)		 −0.3
(31.5)		 5.3
(41.5)		 12.9
(55.2)		 19.3
(66.7)		 23.5
(74.3)		 26.7
(80.1)		 26.2
(79.2)		 22.4
(72.3)		 16.0
(60.8)		 8.9
(48.0)		 1.1
(34.0)		 13.2
(55.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −8.2
(17.2)		 −5.7
(21.7)		 0.2
(32.4)		 7.3
(45.1)		 13.0
(55.4)		 17.0
(62.6)		 20.4
(68.7)		 19.9
(67.8)		 15.8
(60.4)		 9.3
(48.7)		 2.8
(37.0)		 −3.9
(25.0)		 7.3
(45.2)
Average low °C (°F) −12.9
(8.8)		 −11.1
(12.0)		 −4.9
(23.2)		 1.8
(35.2)		 6.8
(44.2)		 10.6
(51.1)		 14.2
(57.6)		 13.7
(56.7)		 9.3
(48.7)		 2.7
(36.9)		 −3.2
(26.2)		 −8.9
(16.0)		 1.5
(34.7)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 32
(1.3)		 33
(1.3)		 46
(1.8)		 23
(0.9)		 19
(0.7)		 7
(0.3)		 11
(0.4)		 11
(0.4)		 13
(0.5)		 7
(0.3)		 5
(0.2)		 17
(0.7)		 224
(8.8)
Source: Climate-data.com[16]

Footnotes
  • Francke, A. H. (1977). A History of Ladakh. A. H. Francke (Originally published as, A History of Western Tibet, (1907). 1977 Edition with critical introduction and annotations by S. S. Gergan & F. M. Hassnain. Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
  • Francke, A. H. (1914). Antiquities of Indian Tibet. Two Volumes. Calcutta. 1972 reprint: S. Chand, New Delhi.
  • Schettler, Rolf & Margaret. (1981). Kashmir, Ladakh & Zanskar. Lonely Planet. South Yarra, Vic., Australia. ISBN 0-908086-21-0.
  • Janet Rizvi. (1996). Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi. ISBN 0-19-564546-4.

References
  1. "Blockwise Village Amenity Directory" (PDF). Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. Leh subdivision-blocks.
  3. Schettler (1981), pp. 102–103.
  4. Rizvi (1996), p. 31.
  5. Rizvi (1996), p. 96.
  6. Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization, p. 36. Stanford University Press; ISBN 978-0-8047-0901-9.
  7. Narain, A. K. (1990). "Indo-Europeans in Inner Asia", p. 164. In: (1990). The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia (Vol 1). Cambridge University Press. Editor: Denis Sinor. ISBN 978-0-521-24304-9.
  8. Bivar, A. D. H. (1993). "The History of Eastern Iran", p. 223. In: The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3: The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanid Periods, Part 1 of 2. Editor: E. Yarshater. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-20092-9.
  9. Francke (1977), pp. 80, 92.
  10. Francke (1977), pp. 71–72.
  11. Rizvi (1996), p. 212.
  12. Rizvi (1996), p. 203.
  13. Rizvi (1996), p. 23.
  14. Rizvi (1996), p. 38.
  15. "Leh district census". 2011 Census of India. Directorate of Census Operations. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  16. "Climate: Khalatse". Climate-data.com.
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