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{{Short description|Region in Ladakh, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Aryan Valley
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| settlement_type = Region
| image_skyline = Aryan valley pic.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Aryan valley in Ladakh, India
| etymology =
| pushpin_map = India Ladakh#India
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in [[Ladakh]], India
| coordinates = {{coord|34.60|76.51|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = India
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and union territories of India|Union Territory]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Ladakh]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Leh district|Leh]] and [[Kargil district|Kargil]]{{sfn|Arora|Jayaram|2020|p=65}}
| established_title =
| established_date =
| founder =
| seat_type =
| seat =
| leader_party =
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_m =
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_total = 3727
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| area_code_type = 
| area_code =
| blank_name_sec1 = 
| blank_info_sec1 =
| footnotes =
| image_map =
| demographics_type1 = Spoken
| demographics1_title1 = Languages
| demographics1_info1 = [[Brokskat]]
| demographics_type2 = Ethnicity
| demographics2_title1 = Ethnic group
| demographics2_info1 = [[Brokpa]] (Minaro)
| area_footnotes = <ref group=web>{{Cite web |publisher=Directorate of Census Operations |year=2011 |title=District Census Handbook – Kargil |url=https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s341ae36ecb9b3eee609d05b90c14222fb/uploads/2018/09/2018091067.pdf |page=56}}</ref><ref group=web>{{Cite web |publisher=Directorate of Census Operations |year=2011 |title=District Census Handbook – Leh |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/498/download/1640/DH_2011_0103_PART_A_DCHB_LEH.pdf |page=184}}</ref>
| blank1_name_sec1 =
| blank1_info_sec1 =
| other_name = Dah Hanu region{{refn|group=note|name="Dah Hanu"}}
| nickname =
| elevation_max_ft = 10000
| elevation_min_ft = 9000
| length_km =
| width_km =
| total_type = Human habitats
| official_name =
}}
'''Aryan Valley''', historically known as Dah Hanu region,{{refn|group=note|name="Dah Hanu"}} is an area comprising four village clusters — [[Dah, Ladakh|Dah]] , [[Hanu, Ladakh|Hanu]], [[Garkon]] and [[Darchik]] in newly created [[sham district]] — in [[Ladakh|Central Ladakh]] in India. It is inhabited by [[Brokpa]] ethnolinguistic people of [[Dardic people|Dardic]] origin.{{sfn|Nicolaus|2015}}{{refn|group=note|name="IE_Divya"}}{{refn|group=note|name="Brog-yul"}} Until its absorption into the [[Maryul|Maryul kingdom]] during the 10th century, Brokpa chiefs wielded nominal autonomy in the region.{{sfn|Vohra|1982|p=76}} There is demand to upgrade [[Batalik]] and Aryan valley area to a [[List_of_districts_of_Ladakh#Demand|new district]] due to the unique culture, tourism potential, strategic border area significance, remoteness and lack of development, etc.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ladakh.nic.in/mp-ladakh-raises-important-issues-in-the-parliament/ | title=MP Ladakh raises important issues in the Parliament | the Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh | India }}</ref>

The current name originated in the tourism industry c. 2010 to market the [[Brokpa]]s, the local inhabitants, as being the primordial [[Aryan]]s.<ref group="web" name="Bhan politics" />{{refn|group=note|name="Tourism"}}{{refn|group=note|name="IE_Divya"}}.However, it lacks scientific proof.

== Geography and economy ==
Historically, the area was known as Dah Hanu district to the British administrators,{{refn|group=note|name="Dah Hanu"}} and as ''Brog Yul'', "Hill country," in Tibetan.{{refn|group=note|name="Brog-yul"}} The villages and hamlets are situated 70 km east of [[Kargil]] along narrow valley of the Indus River at an elevation of 9000–10000 feet.{{refn|group=note|{{harvnb|Sharma|1998|p=1}}: "It is situated in narrow rocky gorges of Indus Valley at the elevation of 9000-10000 ft. above the sea level [...] Surface approach to this land is either from Kargil (from Srinagar side) or from Leh, the headquarters of Ladakh. The distance from Kargil side is approximately 70 km. and from Leh 190 km."}}{{refn|group=note|name="Brog-yul"}}

Agriculture — especially the cultivation of fruits like apricots and grapes — is the main driver of the economy.<ref name="Divya_2019" group="web" />{{refn|group=note|Sanjay Dutta (Aug 2, 2021) |title=[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/batalik-other-aryan-villages-plug-into-national-grid-ahead-of-75th-i-day/articleshow/84953121.cms ''Batalik, other Aryan villages plug into national grid ahead of 75th I-Day - Times of India'']: "The Aryan valley is blessed with a natural beauty and is ladakh second fruit bowl after Nubra".}}

== History ==
===Brokpas===
The region is inhabited by the Brokpas — an exonym, used by the Ladakhis (lit. Highlanders) — who are a sub-group of the [[Shin people]].{{sfn|Nicolaus|2015}} From their oral history, it can be reasoned that Dah-Hanu region was first occupied c. 10th century by a group of migratory Shins who practiced the largely-animist ancient Dardic religion, and staked claim to a "Minaro" ethnic identity.{{sfn|Nicolaus|2015}} About six hundred years hence, another group of Shins — influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism — migrated to Dah-Hanu, fomenting a conflict but yet chose to live together.{{sfn|Nicolaus|2015}} Their chieftains wielded significant autonomy in the region, pledging nominal allegiance to the Maqpon rulers of Skardu.The region has always been independent from both ladakh and Baltistan{{sfn|Vohra|1982|p=76}}

However, things changed in the seventeenth century when [[Jamyang Namgyal]] of Ladakh faced a conflict with [[Ali Sher Khan Anchan]] of Skardu and had to accept Gurgurdho, the hamlet of Garkhone as a boundary between their territories.{{sfn|Vohra|1982|p=76}} Consequently, Aryan valley integrated with Ladakh, though probably not to any substantial extent and were converted to Buddhism in c. late nineteenth century.Before the adoption of Buddhism, the Brokpa people followed their indigenous Minaro religion, characterized by animistic and nature-based beliefs.{{sfn|Vohra|1982|p=76}} Nevertheless, cross-border trade also occurred, with the village serving as a tax collection post.{{sfn|Vohra|1982|p=76}}

In the early nineteenth century, as the region came under the Dogras of Jammu upon their annexation of Ladakh, it became part of Leh tehsil in the [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|princely State of Jammu and Kashmir]].

In 1947, as Jammu and Kashmir joined India, Aryan valley became part of the Ladakh Division. In 1979, it was further demarcated By putting Dah and Hanu in leh district, Garkhone and Darchik in newly-formed Kargil District . Local Brokpas have demanded representation to the seats reserved for minorities in the [[Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil|hill council]].

Uninfluenced by Islam to any significant extent, the Brokpas of Dah-Hanu maintained a unique culture unlike most of neighboring Shins.{{sfn|Nicolaus |2015}}<ref name="Divya_2019" group="web" />

On April 27, 2026, all the villages of the Aryan Valley were merged together into the newly created Sham District by the Government of India, after being carved out of the Leh and Kargil districts.
However people of Aryan valley of Ladakh are demanding either to grant them a subdivision or a district because to protect their culture which is different as compared to other part of the Ladakh.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ladakh.nic.in/mp-ladakh-raises-important-issues-in-the-parliament/ | title=MP Ladakh raises important issues in the Parliament | the Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh | India }}</ref>

===Aryan association and neologism===
In 1880, [[Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner|G. W. Leitner]], a British orientalist, called the Brokpas "remnants of an ancient and pure Aryan race" — this trope would be reinforced by other colonial administrators, effectively exoticising them.<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis |last=Bhan |first=Mona |title=Visible Margins: State, Identity & Development among Brogpas of Ladakh (India) |date=2006 |publisher=Rutgers University |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/305292033|id={{ProQuest|305292033}} }}</ref> The claims hold no merit and they run contrary to genetic analyses of the Brokpas.{{sfn|Syama|Arun|ArunKumar|Subhadeepta|2019}} [[Mona Bhan]], a Professor of South Asian Studies and Anthropology at Syracuse University, notes that such ahistorical racialising of linguistic and cultural traits has persisted even in modern ethnography on the Brokpas.{{sfn|Bhan|2018|pp=82–83}}

In 1980, [[H. P. S. Ahluwalia]] reported having met three German Neo-nazi female tourists who attended a Brokpa festival and hoped to be impregnated by the "pure Aryans"; such mythical tourists would be a staple of media coverage on the region.{{sfn|Friese|2000}} Over time, the Brokpas imbibed the Aryan characterization to the extent of tracing descent from Alexander's army.<ref group="web">{{Cite web |last=Jain |first=Akshai |date=2010-01-01 |title=Who went where, when? On the trail of the first people in India |url=https://www.livemint.com/Home-Page/retY51tHFRe5ZH6NeiU7QI/Who-went-where-when-On-the-trail-of-the-first-people-in-In.html |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=mint |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-08-03 |title=The Last of the Aryans |url=https://openthemagazine.com/art-culture/the-last-of-the-aryans/ |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=Open The Magazine |language=en-GB |quote=Among Brokpas themselves, an awareness of their ‘Aryanness’ has spread far and wide with the influx of tourists and others drawn by the tag. Within just decades, the process of exoticising is firmly and disturbingly in place. Aware of Aryan looks and cultural traits, Brokpas are now seen to seek these out in themselves.}}</ref> During the 2003 elections to the Kargil Hill Council, they claimed representation to the minority seats based on their Aryan identity, among other factors.<ref name=":0" /> However, this self-fashioning differed from the usual connotations of "Aryan" in the West.{{sfn|Bhan|2018|pp=84–86}} For the Brokpas, their Aryan identity laid in a millennia-old-struggle to maintain a unique identity in the face of persecution by various rulers, as told through folk-lores, and was a tool to improve their abject socioeconomic marginalization.{{sfn|Bhan|2018|pp=84–86}}

Beginning in 2010, as the Government wished to attract tourism to the region, local travel agents began to market the "Aryan-ness" of the inhabitants;{{sfn|Bhan|2018|pp=84–86}} the state government reinforced the trend by projecting the Brokpa people as "pure specimens of the Aryan race".<ref name="Bhan politics" group="web" /> Some Brogpas even changed their surnames to "Aryan".<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Pictures: The last Aryans |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2014/7/14/in-pictures-the-last-aryans |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref> The name "Aryan Valley" was created within this discourse.<ref name="Bhan politics" group="web" /> In 2019, locals demanded that the "Aryan valley" be declared as a [[Heritage Village Museum|heritage village]] to boost tourism.<ref name="Divya_2019" group="web" /> The discourse on the Aryan traits of the Brokpas has been increasingly appropriated by right-wing Hindutva groups to leverage their supposed indigeneity against the Muslim [[Other (philosophy)|other]] and to "validate their hold on [[Kashmir conflict|India's disputed territory]]".<ref name="Bhan politics" group="web" />{{sfn|Bhagabati|2021}}

==Tourism==

Mandatory [[Inner Line Permit]] (ILP) is needed for all tourists, including Indians and foreigners, to visit the Aryan Valley and other restricted areas, which can be applied online on [[Leh District]]'s relevant website.

The annual 9-days long '''Aryan Valley Apricot Blossom Festival''' (locally known as '''Chuli Mendok''') is an annual spring celebration held every year usually within first two weeks of April, though dates vary slightly every year as they are tied to the natural blooming cycle of the trees, which is influenced by winter snowfall and spring temperatures, the exact festival schedule is announced annually by the Ladakh Tourism Department to align with the blossoms. The official festival typically lasts about 9 days, though the entire blossoming window across the region's different altitudes can stretch from late March to early May. Lower altitude areas like the Aryan and Sham Valleys bloom first (early to mid-April), while higher regions near Leh and parts of Nubra bloom later (mid to late April).<ref name=ap>[https://www.deshvideshtravels.com/travel-blogs/ladakh-apricot-blossom Ladkah Apricot Blossom], deshvideshtravels.com, accessed 10 April 2026.</ref> The festival is a vibrant display of the unique Brokpa community's traditions, including their in traditional attire (featuring elaborate floral headgear, heavy silver jewellery, and ornate beads), traditional performances (folk music, traditional dances, and storytelling by village elders), local food (apricot-based delicacies, including sun-dried apricots, jams, juices, and traditional Ladakhi dishes made with organic apricot oil), and traditional Ladakhi handicrafts, handloom stalls, and apricot wood carvings. Village homestays accommodation is available.

==See also==

* [[Tourism in Ladakh]]
* [[Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency]]
* [[Yaldor Sub Sector]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2|refs=


<ref group=note name="Brog-yul">{{harvnb|Sharma|1998|p=1}}: "In Tibetan (Ladakhi), it is called 'Brog-yul', a hilly mountainous region (Brog-- Hill +yul-- country). It is a land of narrow ravine and valleys south of Hindukush - Karakoram range forming the part of central Ladakh. The prominent inhabited localities of these land are DaH, Hanu, Darchiks, and Garkhone."</ref>


<ref group=note name="Dah Hanu">Dah Hanu:
* {{harvnb|Shaw|1878|loc=p. 27}}: "I paid visit to the Dha Hanu district (the home of these so called Buddhist Dards on my way down to India from Ladak (western Tibet) last winter (1876)."
* [https://ignca.gov.in/events/workshop-on-oral-tradition-of-dha-hanu/ Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts]: "Dha-Hanu is a remote area consisting of four major villages and small hamlets situated on both sides of the banks of Sindhu (River Indus). The four major villages are known as Dha, Hanu, Garkhan and Darchik.
* {{harvnb|Bray|2008|loc=p. 46}}: "A 16 century dispute over King Tsewang Namgyal's authority in the Dha-Hanu region illustrates how the hierarchies could be both extended and contested. The king summoned the people of Hanu, who until then had been closer to the Maqpon (ruler) of Skardu, to assist in the construction of a road."</ref>


<ref group=note name="IE_Divya">A. Divya (2019-02-08) [https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/the-dard-aryans-of-ladakh-who-are-this-tribe-what-are-their-concerns-5574657/ ''The Dard Aryans of Ladakh: who are this tribe, what are their concerns?''], The Indian Express: "Some 200 km from Leh are the villages of Dha, Hanu, Garkone and Darchik on both sides of the Indus River, inhabited by the Buddhist Dard tribes. The villages are together called the “Aryan valley.”"</ref>


<ref group=note name="Tourism">Tourism:
* {{harvnb|Bhan|2018|loc=p. 86}} "More significant, Brogpas used discourses of Aryanism to promote tourism and secure funds for the preservation of an "endangered and unique Aryan culture" that was allegedly threatened by forces of change and modernity."
* {{harvnb|Bhagabati|2021|loc=p. 109}}: "The occult pull of their fabricated ancestry has become so irresistible that this region today is known as Aryan Valley in the tourism industry."
* A. Divya (2019-02-08) [https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/the-dard-aryans-of-ladakh-who-are-this-tribe-what-are-their-concerns-5574657/ ''The Dard Aryans of Ladakh: who are this tribe, what are their concerns?''], The Indian Express: "They have demanded that the government set up a tribal hostel and declare the “Aryan valley” a heritage village to boost tourism."</ref>
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
;Printed sources
{{refbegin}}

* {{Cite book | last1 =Arora | first1 =Vibha | last2 =Jayaram | first2 =N. | date =2020-11-29 | title =Routeing Democracy in the Himalayas: Experiments and Experiences | publisher=Taylor & Francis | isbn =978-1-000-08435-1 | language =en | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=3OYJEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT65}}

* {{citation | last =Bhagabati | first =Dikshit Sarma |title=Dancing by the Juniper: Notes from the performative space of the Brokpa's cultural enactment |journal=Asian Journal of Social Science |volume=49 |number=2 |year=2021 |pages=109–119 |issn=1568-4849 |doi=10.1016/j.ajss.2021.01.002| s2cid =235585739 }}
* {{citation | last =Bhan | first =Mona | date =2018 | chapter ="In Search of the Aryan Seed": Race, Religion, and Sexuality in Indian-Occupied Kashmir |editor1=Haley Duschinski |editor2=Mona Bhan | editor3=Ather Zia |editor4=Cynthia Mahmood |title=Resisting Occupation in Kashmir |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-4978-1 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwVODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA86}}
* {{cite book | last =Bray | first =John | date =2008|chapter=Corvée transport labour in 19th and early 20th century Ladakh: a study in continuity and change |editor1=Martijn van Beek |editor2=Fernanda Pirie |title=Modern Ladakh: Anthropological Perspectives on Continuity and Change |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-474-4334-6 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZO95DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |pages=43–66}}

* {{Cite book |last=Drew | first =Frederick | date =1875 | title =Jammoo And Kashmir Territories | language =en | url =http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49165}}

* {{Cite journal |last=Friese |first=Kai |date=2000 |title=The Aryan Handshake |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3137472 |journal=Transition |issue=83 |pages=4–35 |jstor=3137472 |issn=0041-1191}}

* {{Cite journal |last=Nicolaus |first=Peter |date=2015-10-09 |title=Residues of Ancient Beliefs among the Shin in the Gilgit-Division and Western Ladakh |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ic/19/3/article-p201_2.xml |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |language=en |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=201–264 |doi=10.1163/1573384X-20150302 |issn=1573-384X|url-access=subscription }}

* {{Cite book | last =Sharma | first =Devi Datt | date =1998 | title =Tribal Languages of Ladakh: A concise grammar and dictionary of Brok-shad. Part One | publisher =Mittal Publications | isbn=978-81-7099-616-3 | page=1 |language=en | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=PTgOAAAAYAAJ&q=dd+sharma+brokskat+language+grammar }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Shaw |first=R. B. |year=1878 |title=Stray Arians in Tibet |journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |volume=XLVII |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.280511/page/n31 |pages=26– |via=archive.org}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Syama |first1=Adikarla |last2=Arun |first2=Varadarajan Santhakumari |last3=ArunKumar |first3=GaneshPrasad |last4=Subhadeepta |first4=Ray |last5=Friese |first5=Kai |last6=Pitchappan |first6=Ramasamy |date=2019-11-17 |title=Origin and identity of the Brokpa of Dah-Hanu, Himalayas – an NRY-HG L1a2 (M357) legacy |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03014460.2019.1694700 |journal=Annals of Human Biology |volume=46 |issue=7–8 |pages=562–573 |doi=10.1080/03014460.2019.1694700 |issn=0301-4460 |pmid=31856597|s2cid=209426139 |url-access=subscription }}

* {{citation |first=Rohit |last=Vohra |title=Ethnographic Notes on the Buddhist Dards of Ladakh: The Brog-Pā |journal=Zeitschrift für Ethnologie |volume=107 |number=1 |year=1982 |pages=69–94 |jstor=25841799}}
{{refend}}

;Web-sources
{{reflist|group=web|refs=

<ref group=web name="Bhan politics">Mona Bhan, [https://culanth.org/fieldsights/aryan-valley-and-the-politics-of-race-and-religion-in-kashmir “Aryan Valley” and the Politics of Race and Religion in Kashmir], Society for Cultural Anthropology, 24 March 2014.</ref>

<ref group=web name="Divya_2019">{{Cite web |date=2019-02-08 |title=The Dard Aryans of Ladakh: who are this tribe, what are their concerns? |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/the-dard-aryans-of-ladakh-who-are-this-tribe-what-are-their-concerns-5574657/ |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=The Indian Express |language=en |quote=They have demanded that the government set up a tribal hostel and declare the “Aryan valley” a heritage village to boost tourism.}}</ref>
}}

==External links==

* [https://www.lahdclehpermit.in/ Official website for obtaining the ILP]

* Festival
** [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DW3x4MqvnrG Aryan Valley Apricot Blossom Festival], short colorful reel
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PqSKL1OTpg Aryan Valley Apricot Blossom] documentary

* Culture
** {{Cite web |last=Amrita |first=Agni |date=2022-11-02 |title=Aryan Valley, Ladakh - Looking into the Life of Brokpas {{!}} T2B |url=https://www.taleof2backpackers.com/aryan-valley-ladakh/ |access-date=2022-12-18 |website=Tale of 2 Backpackers |language=en-US}}

** {{Cite web |last=Tindall |first=Jay |date=2020-06-19 |title=Into the Aryan Valley with the Brokpa Dards |url=https://www.remotelands.com/travelogues/into-the-aryan-valley-with-the-brokpa-dards/ |access-date=2022-12-18 |website=Travelogues from Remote Lands |language=en-US}}

** {{Cite web |title=Dha-Hanu, Aryan Valley |url=https://www.northernvalley.in/dha-hanu-aryan-valley |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=northernvalley |language=en}}

** {{Cite book |last=Bera |first=Dr Tilak Ranjan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QWIjCgAAQBAJ&q=%22Aryan+valley%22+&pg=PT201 |title=Ladakh: A Glimpse of the Roof of the World |date=2015-07-01 |publisher=Partridge Publishing |isbn=978-1-4828-4263-0 |language=en}}

** {{Cite web |last=Service |first=Tribune News |title='Aryans of Ladakh' struggling to preserve its cultural legacy |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/j-k/-aryans-of-ladakh-struggling-to-preserve-its-cultural-legacy-716698 |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=Tribune India News Service |language=en}}

* Infrastructure development
** {{Cite web |first= |date=2021-07-31 |title=Power Grid Corporation of India commissions 40-km transmission line successfully in Ladakh |url=https://newsonair.com/2021/07/31/power-grid-corporation-of-india-commissions-40-km-transmission-line-successfully-in-ladakh/ |access-date=2022-12-18 |website=newsonair.com |language=en-US}}

[[Category:Valleys of Ladakh]]
[[Category:Regions of India]]
[[Category:Leh district]]
[[Category:Kargil district]]
[[Category:Dardic peoples]]

Aryan Valley - Revision history

Banti at 02:16, 30 April 2026