Lying athwart some of the world's highest mountain ranges at the meeting-point of central and south Asia, Ladakh at the same time represents Tibet's endangered civilization, and constitutes a crossroads where Islam and Buddhism have met and blended to form a unique culture. This book, a revised and updated edition of a standard work that has been continuously in print since it first appeared in 1983, contains a comprehensive account of the land and its people, including a detailed analysis of recent political and economic change. It also takes into account the corpus of research on various aspects of Ladakh that has grown up in the last two decades, including the author's own study of trade patterns in the pre-Independence years.

About the Author:

Janet Rizvi has a Ph.D. in History from University of Cambridge. She is the author of Trans-Himalayan Caravans: Merchant Princes and Peasant Traders in Ladakh (2001).

Excerpts from Reviews:

'…intelligent and upbeat.'

-Telegraph

'…written with warmth, understanding and feeling for the land and the people.'

-Times of India

'…a gem of a book…readable and extremely lucid, backed up by impeccable research and references.'

-Indian and Foreign Review

'…unputdownable. It's a splendid book…'

-Afternoon Despatch and Courier

'…only she has given us, in one volume, so much reliable information.'

-Dervla Murphy, Asian Affairs

Illustrations
Introduction: Where Many Roads Meet

Ladakh: Mountain and Valley

1. Approaches
2. Profile of a Landscape
3. Creatures of the Wild

4. The Old Kingdom
5. A Change of Direction
6. Hazardous Trails

7. The Daily Round
8. Polyandry and Polo
9. The Native Genius
10. Change
11. Buddhists, Muslims and Christians
12. The Gompas, a Living Heritage

    Appendix: The Jesuits in Western Tibet
    Glossary
    Select Bibliography
    Index