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Turtuk

Coordinates:34°50′49″N76°49′37″E/ 34.847°N 76.827°E/34.847; 76.827
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Turtuk
Village
Shyok river at Turtuk in Leh district, Ladakh
Shyok riverat Turtuk inLeh district,Ladakh
Turtuk is located in Ladakh
Turtuk
Turtuk
Turtuk is located in India
Turtuk
Turtuk
Coordinates:34°50′49″N76°49′37″E/ 34.847°N 76.827°E/34.847; 76.827
CountryIndia
Union TerritoryLadakh
DistrictLeh
TehsilNubra
Government
• TypePanchayati raj
• BodyGram panchayat
Population
(2011)
• Total3,371
Languages
• OfficialLadakhi,Hindi,Balti
Time zoneUTC+5:30(IST)
PIN
194401
Censuscode913

Turtukis avillageand the headquarters of an eponymouscommunity development blockin theIndianunion territoryofLadakh.It is a small village sandwiched between theKarakorum Rangeand theHimalayas,[1][unreliable source?]and one of the northernmost villages of India, close to theLine of Controlbetween India and Pakistan. Turtuk is situated in theNubratehsil of theLeh district,[2][3]on the banks of theShyokRiver.[4]Geographically, the village is in theBaltistanregion, which has been underPakistani administration,except for five villages of the Turtuk block which are part of India. These villages form the only region in India populated byBalti people.[5][6]Turtuk is known for its fruit, especially apricots.

Turtuk was administered by Pakistan & was underPakistanicontrol until thewar of 1971,[7]when theIndian Armyregained control again.[8][9]It is also one of the gateways to theSiachen Glacier.[10][11]

Geography

[edit]
Map
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Maps: terms of use
15km
10miles
Chorbat Longpa
Chorbat
Lungpa
Hanu stream
Hanu
stream
Shyok River
Shyok River
Batalik
Batalik
Khaplu
Khaplu
Khor
Khor
Chalunka
Chalunka
Turtuk
Turtuk
Dawou
Dawou
Siksa
Siksa
Hassanabad Chorbat
Hassanabad
Chorbat La
Chorbat La
Turtuk and vicinity

Turtuk lies in the region ofBaltistan,a region almost completely controlled by Pakistan. Turtuk is one of five Balti-populated villages under Indian control, the other four beingBogdang,Tyakshi,ChalunkhaandDhothang.[12]It is the largest of the villages and has a claim to being the historical capital of the southernChorbatsection of theShyok Valley.While Bogdang had been part of Indian-administered Ladakh since 1948, the other four villages were captured by Indian Army during the1971 war.

History

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Brogpa era

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The earliest known tribe which inhabited Turtuk were aDardic tribe,locally known as the Brogpas,[13]who are believed to have migrated fromChilas,a place now in Pakistan. They lived in Turtuk from an unknown time till, mostly probably, the 13th century AD. At some point around the 13th century AD, two warriors named Chuli and Yangdrung, came to Turtuk. They killed the king and eventually mostly of the locals fled Turtuk along the stream and across the mountain, to the villages now called Hanu, Dah and Domkhar.[14] Right now, majority of the population in Turtuk are the direct descendants of Chuli and Yangdrung.[citation needed] As time passed on, people from outside came to Turtuk in search of work, bringing in more diversity. Turtuk is believed to have remained an independent principality till the conquest of Baltistan by theSikh Empire.[14][verification needed]

The people of Turtuk were followers of theBonreligion before Islam. Bon rituals can be seen both in the tradition as well as the architecture. Islam came to Turtuk due to the famous Persian Sufi poet and preacher,Syed Ali Shah Hamdani.People in Turtuk, like in other places in Baltistan, practice the Sufi sect Sufis Noorbakshia, named after a disciple of Shah Hamdani, Syed Mohammad Noorbaksh. But by the nineteenth century, dominant sects from outside, such as Shia, Hanafi and later Wahabi started converting the Sufi Noorbakshia of Baltistan, and the Noorbakshia of Turtuk too. More recently, the Hanafis of Turtuk have also been converted to the more extreme subsets of Sunni. Right now, only half of the population practices Noorbakshias while the rest practice either Sunni sect or Wahhabi sect.[14][verification needed]

Dogra dynasty

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The thousand-year Yabgo rule continued until 1834, when RajaGulab Singhof Jammu, a vassal of theSikh Empire,conquered the region.[3][15]After losing kingship, Yabgo Abdullah Khan renamed the family Kacho (Baltifor "light weight" ), even though the family continued to be a wealthy, powerful family.[12]

After theFirst Anglo-Sikh War,the British established the princely state ofJammu and KashmirunderGulab Singh.Gulab Singh'sDogra dynastyruled the region until 1947 under the suzerainty ofBritish Raj.

Indo-Pakistan conflicts

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War Memorial in Turtuk
See also:Battle of Turtuk

During theIndo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948,theGilgit Scoutsbased inGilgitoverthrew the Dogra administration and subsequently invaded the Baltistan region. At the end of that war, Turtuk came under the control ofPakistanalong with most of Baltistan.[12][16]

During theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971,this area was the site of theBattle of Turtuk.India'sLadakh ScoutsandNubra Guards,under the command ofBrigadier Udai Singh,entered the village after Pakistani forces had retreated a day earlier.[17]Udai Singh and his second-in-command MajorChewang Rinchenwere both honoured with aMaha Vir Chakrafor their gallantry and a street is named after Major Rinchen inLeh.[18]

Since 1971

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In 1999, the two countries once again had a major conflict around this area during theKargil War.There are memorials built in memory of soldiers on Main Road going towards the zero point of the India–Pakistan Line of Control.[citation needed]

The local people are unsure of their loyalties because they have lived under both Pakistani and Indian control, and some of them served in the Pakistan Army before India's take-over. Many of them also have relatives living across the Line of Control. During theKargil infiltrationby Pakistan, some of the local people were suspected to have assisted the infiltrators.[19][20]

2010 floods

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Main article:2010 Ladakh floods

In August 2010, the village of Turtuk was impacted by floods which occurred throughout the entire region ofLadakh.

Tourism in and around Turtuk

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View of the Shyok Valley

Turtuk was opened to tourists in 2010.[16]The village offers views of the Shyok Valley.

There are a fewgompaslocated on the plateau above the Shyok River and there is an old royal house to see in the village. Turtuk is one of the few places in India where one can witness Balti culture, and one can find a few homestays and guest houses in the village. It is the last major village where tourist activity is allowed before theLine of Control.[21]

Children in Turtuk pose for a picture

Demographics

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According to the2011 census of India,Turtuk has 384 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 82.53%.[22]The residents of Turtuk and its adjoining villages speak theBalti languagealong withLadakhiandUrdu.[23]

Demographics (2011 Census)[22]
Total Male Female
Population 3371 2429 942
Children aged below 6 years 343 154 189
Scheduled caste 0 0 0
Scheduled tribe 1766 839 927
Literates 2499 2115 384
Workers (all) 2274 1953 321
Main workers (total) 2047 1840 207
Main workers: Cultivators 371 200 171
Main workers: Agricultural labourers 2 1 1
Main workers: Household industry workers 1 1 0
Main workers: Other 1673 1638 35
Marginal workers (total) 227 113 114
Marginal workers: Cultivators 50 7 43
Marginal workers: Agricultural labourers 3 3 0
Marginal workers: Household industry workers 0 0 0
Marginal workers: Others 174 103 71
Non-workers 1097 476 621

See also

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References

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  1. ^"6 fabulous food experiences to have in Ladakh".16 October 2019.
  2. ^"Blockwise Village Amenity Directory"(PDF).Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.Retrieved23 July2015.
  3. ^ab"The village divided by border".BBC News.11 November 2016.
  4. ^"Turtuk, the village on the India-Pak border, is where the clichés stop and fantasies begin",Hindustan Times,8 May 2015, archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2015
  5. ^"the village that lost its country".BBC News.31 July 2019.
  6. ^"How one woman's story changed the lives of Turtuk's women forever".The Hindu.3 November 2018.
  7. ^Suryanarayanan, Archita (13 October 2018)."In Ladakh's Turtuk village, life goes on as it has since the 15th century".The Hindu– via www.thehindu.com.
  8. ^"Turtuk Diary".Outlook India.
  9. ^"Planning a trip to Ladakh? You just cannot miss these experiences".Hindustan Times.Archived fromthe originalon 21 May 2015.
  10. ^"Siachen Factor".Outlook India.
  11. ^ Nitin Gokhale,The Siachin Saga,The Diplomat, 21 April 2014.
  12. ^abcAaquib Khan (15 April 2017)."Turtuk, a Promised Land Between Two Hostile Neighbours".The Wire.
  13. ^In Ladakh’s Turtuk village, life goes on as it has since the 15th century,Archita Suryanarayanan,The Hindu,October 13, 2018
  14. ^abcVohra, Rohit (1990), "Mythic Lore and Historical Documents from Nubra Valley in Ladakh",Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae,44(1/2), Akadémiai Kiadó: 225–239,JSTOR23658122
  15. ^Pladan, Konchak (1 September 2013)."Contemporary Ladakh: Partition and Economy of a Border Village - Turtuk".Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies– via JSTOR.
  16. ^abRajrishi Singhal (10 September 2016)."An encounter with the 'king' of Turtuk, a border village near Gilgit-Baltistan".Scroll.in.
  17. ^"Rinchen's second victory of the day".Rediff News.22 December 2011.
  18. ^Claude Arpi,Have you heard about this Indian Hero?,Rediff News, 22 December 2011.
  19. ^Senge H. Sering, "Reclaiming Nubra" – Locals Shunning Pakistani Influences,Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Delhi, 17 August 2009.
  20. ^Srivatsa, Sharath S. (2 October 2021)."A people who became Indian overnight".The Hindu.
  21. ^"Turtuk – a Detailed Travel Guide to Offbeat Place in Ladakh".TheBossMonk.29 March 2021.
  22. ^ab"Leh district census".2011 Census of India.Directorate of Census Operations.Retrieved23 July2015.
  23. ^"Turtuk: 44 years of 'unwanted' domicile".Rising Kashmiri.20 February 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 21 February 2016.

Bibliography

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Media related toTurtukat Wikimedia Commons

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