page_title: Kargil district
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Kargil district / Culture
caption_attribution_description: English: buddhist girl dancing on folk song at kargil
context_page_description: Kargil district is a district in the union territory of Ladakh in northern India. It spans the entire length of Ladakh in the north–south direction, with Jammu and Kashmir to the west, the Leh district to the east, the Pakistan-administered region of Gilgit–Baltistan to the north and Himachal Pradesh to the south. Encompassing two historical regions known as Purig and Zanskar, the district lies to the northwest of the Great Himalayan range and encompasses the majority of the Zanskar Range. Its population inhabits the river valleys of the Dras, Suru, Kartse, Wakha, and Zanskar rivers.
  The district was created in 1979 by carving it out of the Leh district. In 2003, Kargil was granted a Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
  As of 2011, the Kargil district population is 77% Muslim, of which 65% follow Shia Islam. Buddhism and Hinduism represent 14.5% and 8% of the local population respectively.
  In August 2019 the Parliament of India passed an act that contains provisions to make Kargil a district of the new union territory of Ladakh, which was formed 31 October 2019. The town of Kargil is designated as a joint capital of the union territory, along with Leh.
context_section_description: Though earlier Tibetan contact has left a profound influence upon the people of both Kargil and Leh, after the spread of Shia Islam the people of Kargil came under heavy influence of Persian culture. This is apparent by the rigorous use of Persian words and phrases in the popular religious as well as other songs called marsias and qasidas. At least until recently, some Kargilis, especially those of the Agha families descendants of Syed preachers who were in a direct line descent from the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, were sent to Iraq for their education. Native Ladakhis go for higher Islamic studies in seminarieis in Najaf, Iraq and Qom, Iran. These non-Agah scholars are popularly called as "Shiekh". Some among the most prominent religious scholars include Imam-e-Jummah, Sheikh Mussa Shariefi, Sheikh Ahmed Mohammadi, Shiekh Hussain Zakiri and Shiekh Anwar.
  Social ceremonies such as marriages still carry many customs and rituals that are common to both the Muslims and Buddhists. Among the two districts of Ladakh, Kargil has a more mixed ethnic population and thus there are more regional dialects spoken in Kargil as compared to Leh. Local folk songs, which are called rgya-glu and balti ghazals, are still quite popular and are performed enthusiastically at social gatherings. The J&K tourism ministry annually organises festivals in which various programmes are organised to highlight the culture so as to boost the tourism industry in the district. However, the tourism industry is still undeveloped despite attractive natural as well as rich cultural resources due to bad infrastructure and severe accommodation problems.
caption: Buddhist girl dancing to a folk song
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