Tashi Rabgias
Tashi Rabgias (1927 - 30 October 2020) Indian scholar and historian who belonged to the Union Territory of Ladakh. He was a scholar of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. He commanded great expertise over the Bhoti language. He has many books to his credit. He has a collection of more than 200 folk songs for which he was awarded a Robe of Honour by the Art Culture and Language Department, Govt of Jammu and Kashmir. Early life. He was born in the Tukchu family of Sakti village in Leh. He had an inclination towards Buddhist philosophy and its ways of  life from a very early age. Education. He completed his primary education from a Primary School in Chemde village and Secondary education from Sri Pratap College, Srinagar where he got his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1953. Career. In 1953, at the age of 27, he started his career as the first Personal Assistant to the first Deputy Minister of J&K Government, 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche for a period of four years. He has also worked as an Assistant Editor / Cultural Officer, Gangtok (Sikkim). He served as the incharge Ladakhi Programmer on Radio Kashmir Srinagar from 1960 to 1962. Later  he was appointed a lecturer of Buddhist Studies at the University of Delhi in 1963. He also worked as Information Officer, J&K Government from 1964 to 1982. He has been involved in a wide array of social life, being the founder President of the Ladakh Cultural Forum, Leh. Besides, he has been the Secretary, Ladakh Buddhist Association for 7 years from 1964 to 1970. He was also associated with the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi as a member of the General Council during the period 1998–2000. He also served as Education Officer in Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LeDeG), an NGO. He  was one of the founding members of International Association for Ladakh Studies. He has a Chair in the name of "Gyalwa Lungchen Rabjam" at the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh in recognition of his services to Buddhist studies. His book "Kunsel Melong" is a study of the history of Ladakh from pre-historic times up to 1947. Apart from the regular political history it also contains many other aspects like the Buddha's teachings, economy, dynasty and religious history. He also started some newsletters titled "Yargyas Kongphel" and "Temdel Sargyur" in Bhoti language. Some of his major contributions are : Later years. He was the patron of the International Association for Ladakh Studies for a few years.