Shey


Shey is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Leh tehsil, 15 km from Leh towards Hemis.
Shey was founded as the capital of Ladakh, by the king Lhachen Palgyigon in the 10th century. It was gradually eclipsed by Leh around the 17th century after the growth of Central Asian trade.

History

Towards the end of the 9th century, the Tibetan prince Kyide Nyimagon , a great-grandson of the Tibetan king, Langdarma, established a small kingdom in Guge, which eventually grew to encompass the whole of western Tibet up to the Zoji La mountain pass. His eldest son Lhachen Palgyigon is credited with much of the conquest in the northwest. After his father's death, he inherited the region of Maryul, as Ladakh was then called.
Several towns and castles are said to have been founded by Nyimagon 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'', and of all the people of Ngari. This shows that already in this generation Langdarma's opposition to Buddhism had disappeared. 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.
Every year Sindhu Darshan Festival, is held here on the banks of the Indus River.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, Shey has 398 households. The effective literacy rate is 78.95%.
TotalMaleFemale
Population223810571181
Children aged below 6 years257146111
Scheduled caste000
Scheduled tribe19359311004
Literates1564750814
Workers 581390191
Main workers 381245136
Main workers: Cultivators990
Main workers: Agricultural labourers862
Main workers: Household industry workers110
Main workers: Other363229134
Marginal workers 20014555
Marginal workers: Cultivators79736
Marginal workers: Agricultural labourers110
Marginal workers: Household industry workers550
Marginal workers: Others1156649
Non-workers1657667990

Education

, whose patrons include the 14th Dalai Lama and Richard Gere, is also located in Shey.

Footnotes