Garkon

Garkon
Village
Garkon is located in Ladakh
Garkon
Garkon
Location in Ladakh
Garkon is located in India
Garkon
Garkon
Garkon (India)
Coordinates: 34°38′06″N 76°25′58″E / 34.634905°N 76.432720°E / 34.634905; 76.432720
CountryIndia
Union TerritoryLadakh
DistrictKargil
TehsilKargil

Garkon[a] (Wylie: gar ku nu) is a panchayat village in the Aryan valley region [5] located in the Kargil block of Kargil district, in a rural region of the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is located east of Batalik in Aryan Valley (Dah Hanu valley) of Indus river system.

Geography[edit]

The village is located on the right bank of the Indus River below Dah.[6] It is at an altitude of 9000 meters.[7] It has six hamlets: Changra, Fantola, Haroo, Rama, Sirchangarh, and Thamtse.[8] It also includes a hamlet named Gurgurdo, which lies five miles west of Garkone.[1]

The stream descending from the adjoining mountains (called Baroro stream or Garkon Nala) provides water to its fields for agriculture, and drains into the Indus.[6] The stream is neighboured by the Gurgurdo stream in the west, which drains into the Indus at Batalik, and the Yaldor stream to the east, which joins the Indus at Dah.[9][10] All three streams are accessible from the Ganokh valley to the north, by crossing mountain passes.[11]

The village is very close to the line of control (LOC) with Pakistan-administered Baltistan, which runs along the ridge separating the Ganokh valley with Gurgurdo, Ganokh and Yaldor valleys. Garkon, Hordas, and Batalik on the Indian side and Marol on the Pakistani side are important villages along the Indus from east to west.[12][need quotation to verify] Gurgurdo, Garkhon, and Yaldor were focal points in the Kargil War because of their strategic location.[3]

These villages grow apples, apricots, mulberries, and grapes.[6] Apricot trees in particular are prevalent as in most of Ladakh, as the trees are long-lived and drought-resistant, and usually do not require irrigation, fertiliser or pesticides.[13]

History[edit]

At Gurgurdo, the border between Ladakh and Baltistan was set up in the 17th century followed by the battle between the kingdom of Ali Sher Khan Anchan and Gyalpo Jamyang Namgyal. It has a sequence of seven strategically placed watchtowers, now in ruins, which previously guarded the frontier.[14][15]

After the Dogra general Zorawar Singh annexed Ladakh and Baltistan, Garkon was placed in the Kargil ilaqa (subdistrict), along with Darchik and Sanacha.[16] Gurgurdo and other northern villages remained in the Kharmang ilaqa under the administration of its traditional raja.[17]

Shepherds from Garkon were the first to note and report the intrusion of armed Pakistani men in the 1990s.[18]

The presence of the Indian Army along the nearby line of control has greatly affected the traditional way of life in Garkon. For example, villagers own fewer goats due to military occupation of the high alpine summer pastures, but more donkeys; the men of the work as porters for the army, hauling supplies up to the border posts, and sometimes bringing bodies back down [19]

Administration[edit]

Garkon is the headquarters of a gram panchayat in the Kargil district, which administers Garkon and Darchik villages.[20]

The Garkon panchayat seat includes the following area as a panch constituency :[21]

  • Garkon
  • Gargardo (Gurgurdo, Wylie: gru gur do)
  • Hordass (Wylie: 'ur dus)
  • Darchiks (Wylie: dar tsig)
  • Sanachay (Wylie: sa na rtse)

Demographics[edit]

The village is primarily inhabited by Brokpas.

According to census of India 2011 there are 1287 peoples living in 242 households. The literacy rate is 50.66% .It has 202.70 hectares of land.[22]

Maps[edit]

  • SoI map, 1916
    SoI map, 1916
  • SoI map, 1928
    SoI map, 1928
  • SoI map, 1946, showing the 1948 LoC
    SoI map, 1946, showing the 1948 LoC
  • AMS map, 1955
    AMS map, 1955

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Alternative spellings: Garkone,[1] Garkhon, Garkun,[2] Garkhun,[3] and Gar Gono.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bhan 2013, p. 46.
  2. ^ Vohra 1990, p. 229.
  3. ^ a b Khilnani, R. K. (2000). Nuclearisation in South Asia. Ajay Verma. pp. 300–325. ISBN 978-81-7169-622-2.
  4. ^ Charak 1983, p. 50.
  5. ^ "GMDC Zanskar completes 3rd day of biological tour | The Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh | India". 6 July 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022. Garkhon of Aryan valley region
  6. ^ a b c Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak (1890), p. 324.
  7. ^ Sharma, Devi Datt (1998). Tribal Languages of Ladakh: A concise grammar and dictionary of Brok-shad. Part One. Mittal Publications. p. 1. ISBN 978-81-7099-616-3.
  8. ^ "Village wise Hamlet detail". District statistics & Evaluation office Kargil, Ladakh. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  9. ^ Krishna, Ashok; Chari, P. R. (2001), Kargil: The Tables Turned, Manohar Publishers & Distributors, p. 92, ISBN 978-81-7304-368-0
  10. ^ Ludra, Kuldip Singh (2001). Operation Badr: Mussharef's Contribution to Pakistan's Thousand Years War Against India. Institute for Strategic Research and Analysis. pp. 112–115. ISBN 978-81-901361-1-2.
  11. ^ Lt Gen H. S. Panag, Memories Of Munthu Dhalo, News Laundry, 7 April 2017.
  12. ^ Akbar, M. K. (1999). Kargil: Cross Border Terrorism. Mittal Publications. p. 91. ISBN 978-81-7099-734-4.
  13. ^ Economic and Ethno-Medicinal Uses of Prunus armeniaca L. in Trans-Himalayan Zone of Ladakh, Rasool, Nazima; Aijaz Hassan Ganie; Mohd. Sadiq Lone; Mir, G M.  Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences; New Delhi Vol. 5, Iss. 1, (Jan 2017): 27-30.
  14. ^ Vohra, Rohit (1982). "Ethnographic Notes on the Buddhist Dards of Ladakh: The Brog-Pā". Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. 107 (1): 69–94. ISSN 0044-2666. JSTOR 25841799.
  15. ^ Kalla, Aloke Kumar; Joshi, P. C. (2004). Tribal Health and Medicines. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-8069-139-3.
  16. ^ Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak (1890), p. 440.
  17. ^ Gazetteer of Kashmir and Ladak (1890), p. 495.
  18. ^ Unknown heroes of Batalik, Praveen Swami; 17 July, The Hindu
  19. ^ Bhan, Mona (2008). "Military Masculinities". In Adam Jones; Michael Kimmel (eds.). Men of the Global South: A Reader. Zed Books. p. 270-271. ISBN 9781848131774.
  20. ^ Panchayat [dead link]
  21. ^ "Panchayat Gazette Notification: District Kargil" (PDF). 2017.
  22. ^ Kargil District Census Handbook, Part B (PDF), Directorate of Census Operations, 2011, pp. 50–57
Sources
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