| Kargil district | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Ladakh administered by India |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Image Map1: | Ladakh Kargil district.svg |
| Map Caption1: | Location of Kargil district in Ladakh |
| Coordinates: | 34.56°N 76.13°W |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Kargil |
| Subdivision Type: | Administering country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Ladakh |
| Subdivision Type2: | Capital |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kargil |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1 July 1979 |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Kargil |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | Drass, Kargil, Shargole, Shakar-Chiktan, Sankoo, Taisuru and Zanskar |
| Area Total Km2: | 14,086 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 140,802 |
| Population Urban: | 16,338 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 71.34% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics Type2: | Languages |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics2 Info1: | Hindi and English[1] |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Spoken |
| Demographics2 Info2: | Purgi, Shina, Ladakhi, Urdu, Balti, Tibetan, Punjabi |
| Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name: | Santosh Sukhadeve, IAS |
| Leader Title1: | Chief Executive Councillor |
| Leader Name1: | Feroz Ahmed Khan, JKNC |
| Leader Title2: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | Ladakh |
| Leader Title3: | MP |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Registration Plate: | LA-01 |
Kargil district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir-region.[2] It is one of the two districts comprising the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh. The district headquarters are in the city of Kargil. The district is bounded by the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the west, the Pakistani-administered administrative territory of Gilgit–Baltistan to the north, Ladakh's Leh district to the east, and the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south. Encompassing three historical regions known as Purig, Dras and Zanskar, the district lies to the northeast of the Great Himalayas and encompasses the majority of the Zanskar Range. Its population inhabits the river valleys of the Dras, Suru, Wakha Rong, and Zanskar.
The district was created in 1979, when Ladakh was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, separating it from Leh district. In 2003, Kargil was granted a Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC). In 2019, Ladakh became a union territory, with Kargil and Leh being its joint capitals.
Shia Muslims comprise the majority of the population of the district, with Buddhists forming a significant minority, mainly inhabiting the Zanskar tehsil.
The Kargil district lies between the crest of the Great Himalaya Range and the Indus River of Ladakh. It consists of two river valleys: the Suru River and its tributaries in the north, and the Zanskar River and its tributaries in the south. The Penzi La pass separates the two. The Suru flows north into Baltistan and joins the Indus River near Marol. The Zanskar River flows east and debouches into the Indus River in Leh district near a location called "Sangam".
The Suru River has two significant tributaries: Wakha Rong, which flows northwest from Namika La to join the Suru River near Kargil, and the Dras River, which originates near the Zoji La pass and joins the Suru River a short distance north of Kargil. Wakha Rong, also called the "Purik river", contains the main travel route between Kargil and Leh, and lent its name to the Kargil region itself as "Purig". The Dras River valley has historically been a subdivision called Drass.
Zanskar was a traditional Buddhist kingdom formed in the 10th century, which became subject to the Ladakhi kings.
Per the 2011 census, the Kargil tehsil, which includes the Drass and Wakha Rong valleys, contains 61% of the population of the district. The Sankoo tehsil, representing the upper Suru valley, contains 10% of the population and the Zanskar tehsil contains 29% of the population.
The Kargil district is particularly vulnerable to landslides, cloudbursts, and flash floods. The main highways connecting Kargil with adjacent regions (NH-1D and NH-301) are prone to landslides. Recurring flash floods were observed in the surroundings of the Kargil town in 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018. These flash floods caused massive damages to roads, buildings, and agricultural area.[3]
Purig is believed to have been conquered, along with Ladakh proper (modern Leh district), by Lhachen Palgyigon, the son of the West Tibetan King Kyide Nyimagon, in AD. After his father's death, Palgyigon controlled the vast territory called Maryul, which stretched from the Zoji La pass to the basin of the Sengge Zangbo river (upper Indus river in Tibet).[4] The third son, Detsukgon, inherited Zanskar along with Lahul and Spiti.[5] From this time onwards, Purig was attached to Ladakh. Zanskar had an independent existencence even though it was occasionally conquered and made a tributary to Ladakh.
The Suru Valley was historically ruled from Kartse (34.2672°N 76.0018°W), a fort in a branch valley near Sankoo. An inscription names its ruler as Tri-gyal (
"The first-born, usually called dPal-gyi-mgon, took Ladakh; it seems that his father bequeathed him a theoretical right of sovereignty, but the actual conquest was effected by dPal-gyi-mgon himself."
"The Ladakhi chronicles state that the eldest son, Pal-gyi-gön (Dpal-gyi-mgon), received Ladakh and the Rudok area; the second son, Tra-shi-gön (Bkra-shis-mgon), Guge and Purang; while the third son, De-tsuk-gön (Lde-gtsug-mgon), was given Zanskar, Spiti and Lahul."