Shey

Shey
village
Shey Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India
Shey Location in India
Coordinates: 34°04′23″N 77°38′21″E / 34.0731818°N 77.6392939°ECoordinates: 34°04′23″N 77°38′21″E / 34.0731818°N 77.6392939°E
Country	India
State	Jammu and Kashmir
District	Leh
Tehsil	Leh
Elevation	3,250 m (10,660 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	2,238
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
2011 census code	858

Shey is a village in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.^[1] It is located in the Leh tehsil, 15 km. from Leh towards Hemis.

The old summer Palace of the kings of Ladakh is located here. The palace was built more than 555 years ago by Lhachen Palgyigon, the king of Ladakh. The palace has the largest golden Buddha statue in Ladakh.

History

Although there are a few indications that the Chinese knew of a trade route through Ladakh to India as early as the Kushan period (1st to 3rd centuries CE),^[2] and certainly by Tang dynasty,^[3] little is actually known of the history of the region until the formation of the kingdom towards the end of the 10th century by the Tibetan prince, Skyid lde nyima gon (or Nyima gon), a grandson of the anti-Buddhist Tibetan king, Langdarma (r. circa 838 to 841 CE). He conquered Western Tibet although his army originally numbered only 300 men. Several towns and castles are said to have been founded by Nyima gon and apparently ordered the construction of the main sculptures at Shey. "In an inscription he says he had them made for the religious benefit of the Tsanpo (the dynastical name of his father and ancestors), and of all the people of Ngaris (Western Tibet). This shows that already in this generation Langdarma's opposition to Buddhism had disappeared."^[4] Shey, just 15 km east of modern Leh, was the ancient seat of the Ladakhi kings.

Geography

Shey is located in the upper Indus Valley, just 15 km east of the modern capital of Ladakh, Leh. It has an average elevation of 3,415 metres (11,204 feet).

Every year Sindhu Darshan Festival, is held here at Banks of River Sindhu.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, Shey has 398 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 78.95%.^[5]

Demographics (2011 Census)^[5]

	Total	Male	Female
Population	2238	1057	1181
Children aged below 6 years	257	146	111
Scheduled caste	0	0	0
Scheduled tribe	1935	931	1004
Literates	1564	750	814
Workers (all)	581	390	191
Main workers (total)	381	245	136
Main workers: Cultivators	9	9	0
Main workers: Agricultural labourers	8	6	2
Main workers: Household industry workers	1	1	0
Main workers: Other	363	229	134
Marginal workers (total)	200	145	55
Marginal workers: Cultivators	79	73	6
Marginal workers: Agricultural labourers	1	1	0
Marginal workers: Household industry workers	5	5	0
Marginal workers: Others	115	66	49
Non-workers	1657	667	990

Education

The Druk White Lotus School, whose patrons include the 14th Dalai Lama and Richard Gere, is also located in Shey.

Footnotes

1. "Blockwise Village Amenity Directory" (PDF). Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
2. Hill (2009), pp. 200-204.
3. Francke (1977 edition), pp. 76-78)
4. Francke (1914), pp. 89-90.
5. "Leh district census". 2011 Census of India (Directorate of Census Operations). Retrieved 2015-07-23.

References

• Francke, A. H. (1977). A History of Ladakh. A. H. Francke (Originally published as, A History of Western Tibet, (1907). 1977 Edition with critical introduction and annotations by S. S. Gergan & F. M. Hassnain. Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
• Francke, A. H. (1914). Antiquities of Indian Tibet. Two Volumes. Calcutta. 1972 reprint: S. Chand, New Delhi.
• Hill, John E. (2009). Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.