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Turtuk

Coordinates: 34°50′49″N 76°49′37″E / 34.847°N 76.827°E / 34.847; 76.827
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Turtuk
Village
Shyok river at Turtuk
Shyok river at Turtuk
Turtuk is located in Ladakh
Turtuk
Turtuk
Turtuk is located in India
Turtuk
Turtuk
Coordinates: 34°50′49″N 76°49′37″E / 34.847°N 76.827°E / 34.847; 76.827
Country India
Union TerritoryLadakh
DistrictLeh
TehsilNubra
Government
 • TypePanchayati raj
 • BodyGram panchayat
Population
 (2011)
 • Total3,371
Languages
 • OfficialBalti, Ladakhi, Urdu/Hindi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
194401
Census code913

Turtuk is a village in the union territory of Ladakh, India. One of the northernmost villages in the country, Turtuk is situated in the Leh district[1][2] of the Nubra Valley. It is 205 km from Leh, the district headquarters, and 2.5 km from the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. Turtuk is also the headquarters of the eponymous community development block.

Turtuk is located on the banks of the Shyok River.[3] Geographically, the village is in the Baltistan region, which is administered by Pakistan except for four villages, one of which is Turtuk. Those villages are the only region in India populated by Balti people.[4][5]

Turtuk was under Pakistan's control until the war of 1971,[6] when the Indian Army occupied the village.[7][8] Turtuk is the last outpost of Indian controlled Ladakh, after which Pakistan-controlled Gilgit-Baltistan begins.[9] The village is one of the gateways to the Siachen Glacier.[10][11] Turtuk is known for its varieties of fruits, especially apricots.[citation needed]

Geography

Turtuk lies in the region of Baltistan, a region almost completely controlled by Pakistan. Turtuk is one among four Baltistani villages under Indian control, the other three being Tyakshi, Chalunkha and Dhothang.[12] It is the largest of these four. The village is in the Chorbat section of the Shyok Valley , which straddles the Line of Control between the Indian- and Pakistani-administered portions of Kashmir.

History

Yabgo dynasty

The Chorbat-Khaplu region of Baltistan, including Turtuk, was ruled by the Turkistani Yabgo dynasty for one thousand years. Their rule started when Beg Manthal came to the region from Yarkand in the 9th century and conquered Khaplu, splitting off from the Tibetan Empire.[13][14] The region was dominated by Buddhism until the arrival of Islamic scholar and poet Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani in the 13th century.

The thousand-year Yabgo rule continued until 1834, when Gulab Singh, a vassal of the Sikh Empire, conquered the region.[2][14] After losing kingship, Yabgo Abdullah Khan renamed the family Kacho (Balti for "light weight"). The Kacho family continued to be a wealthy, powerful family until they gave away most of their land during the Bhoodan movement.[13]

Kashmir and Jammu

Turtuk remained a part of the Sikh Empire until the First Anglo-Sikh War. When the war concluded in 1946, Kashmir (including Baltistan and Ladakh) was ceded to the British East India Company,[15] then immediately purchased by Gulab Singh, who became the first maharaja of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu.[16]

Indo-Pakistan conflicts

War of 1947

War Memorial in Turtuk

At the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, Turtuk came under the control of Pakistan along with most of Baltistan.[13][17]

War of 1971

Main article: Battle of Turtuk

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, this area was the site of the Battle of Turtuk between the Indian and Pakistani armies. India's Ladakh Scouts and Nubra Guards, under the command of Brigadier Udai Singh Bhati, entered the village after Pakistani forces had retreated a day earlier.[18] Singh and his second-in-command Major Chewang Rinchen were both honoured with a Maha Vir Chakra for their gallantry and a street is named after Major Rinchen in Leh.[19]

Since 1971

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

Balti scholar Senge Sering states that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has attempted to introduce jihad into this area. The local people are unsure of their loyalties because they have lived under both Pakistani and Indian control, some of them having served in the Pakistan Army before India's take-over. Many of them also have relatives living across the Line of Control who are subject to intimidation by the ISI. During the Kargil infiltration by Pakistan, some of the local people were suspected to have assisted the infiltrators. The Indian Army took some of them into custody, but later released all of them. The local people are said to be grateful for the consideration shown by the Army and currently support the Army's initiatives such as Operation Sadbhavana.[20]

2010 floods

Main article: 2010 Ladakh floods

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

Tourism in and around Turtuk

View of the Shyok Valley

Turtuk was opened to tourists in 2010.[21] The village offers views of the Shyok Valley.

Though a Muslim village, there are a few gompas located 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 the Line of Control.[citation needed]

Children in Turtuk pose for a picture

Its attractions include:

1. Natural cold storage

2. Historic polo ground

3. Ruins of Brokpa fort

4. Balti Heritage House and Museum

5. Royals house and Museum

7. Water mill

8. Blacksmith

9. 16th century mosque

10. Monastery

11. Traditional handloom

12. Waterfall

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, Turtok 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 the Balti language along with Ladakhi and Urdu.[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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turtuk.

References

  1. ^ "Blockwise Village Amenity Directory" (PDF). Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b "The village divided by border".
  3. ^ "Turtuk, the village on the India-Pak border, is where the clichés stop and fantasies begin".
  4. ^ "the village that lost its country".
  5. ^ "How one woman's story changed the lives of Turtuk's women forever".
  6. ^ "In Ladakh's Turtuk village, life goes on as it has since the 15th century".
  7. ^ "Turtuk Diary".
  8. ^ "Planning a trip to Ladakh? You just cannot miss these experiences".
  9. ^ "A 'battle' in the snowy heights".
  10. ^ "Siachen Factor".
  11. ^ http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/the-siachen-saga/
  12. ^ https://thewire.in/123835/turtuk-story-of-a-promise-land/
  13. ^ a b c "Turtuk, a Promised Land Between Two Hostile Neighbours".
  14. ^ a b Pladan, Konchak (1 September 2013). "Contemporary Ladakh: Partition and Economy of a Border Village - Turtuk". Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies – via JSTOR.
  15. ^ Terms of the Treaty of Lahore
  16. ^ "Terms of the Treaty of Amritsar". Archived from the original on 5 January 2009.
  17. ^ "An encounter with the 'king' of Turtuk, a border village near Gilgit-Baltistan".
  18. ^ "Rinchen's second victory of the day". Rediff News. 22 December 2011.
  19. ^ Claude Arpi, Have you heard about this Indian Hero?, Rediff News, 22 December 2011.
  20. ^ Senge H. Sering, "Reclaiming Nubra" – Locals Shunning Pakistani Influences, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Delhi, 17 August 2009.
  21. ^ "An encounter with the 'king' of Turtuk, a border village near Gilgit-Baltistan".
  22. ^ a b "Leh district census". 2011 Census of India. Directorate of Census Operations. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  23. ^ http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/turtuk-44-years-of-unwanted-domicile/

Further reading

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