Siksa is a village in the sub division

Chorbat Chorbat Valley (, ) is a section of the Shyok River, Shyok river valley divided between Pakistan, Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and India, Indian-administered Ladakh. The Pakistan-administered portion is in the Khaplu tehsil of Ghanche Dis ...

Valley,

Ghanche District Ghanche District (; ) is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the te ...

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

, lying east of

Skardu Skardu (, Tibetan script: སྐར་མདོ, ) is a city located in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

, near the border of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

at an elevation of . In historical travel writings Siksa is referred to as the "Chorbat village". It is also described as the principal village of the Chorbat ''ilaqa'', where the officials of Chorbat lived. Siksa is at the end of the Chorbat Lungpa valley, which leads to the

Chorbat La Chorbat Valley (, ) is a section of the Shyok river valley divided between Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and Indian-administered Ladakh. The Pakistan-administered portion is in the Khaplu tehsil of Ghanche District in Gilgit–Baltista ...

pass, the historical route between Baltistan and Ladakh.: "The Chorbat Pass is the boundary of Baltistan in this direction; by this road also used to come Balti raiders, as the remains of a fort at Yogma Hanū prove, which the people of the valley had put up against them." The language spoken is Balti. The entire population is Muslim of the Noorbakhshia and

Ahl-i Hadith Ahl-i-Hadith or Ahl-e-Hadith (, ''people of hadith'') is a Salafi reform movement that emerged in North India in the mid-nineteenth century from the teachings of Syed Ahmad Barelvi, Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, Syed Nazeer Husain and Nawab Siddiq Has ...

sects.

Etymology

The name "Siksa" is believed to be derived from the Balti word meaning "a land with shortage of water". For hundred of years this village has struggled for access to water for agriculture. Different community projects were started to meet the need for water. One of the major projects was initiated in early 19th century to construct a channel from its eastern border which resulted in the fulfilment of agricultural needs.

Geography

Sika has an average elevation of about , and is situated along the banks of the

Shyok River The Shyok River (sometimes spelled Shayok) is a major tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh in India and into Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. Originating from the Central Rimo Glacier in the eastern Karakoram, it runs f ...

, a tributary of the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

. Villages near Siksa includes Kalan, Sogmos, Chuar and Siari.

Resources

The natural resources of the village include agriculture, horticultural resources, the Shyok River, mountains and peaks. The agriculture in the village is only summer based due to extreme cold in the winter where temperature goes to -10 C. The crops include some beans, maize, potatoes, and other food crops however communities have experimented less with the agriculture due to the natural limiting factors i.e. extreme cold.

Transport

Siksa is accessible only by the road, The normal route to Siksa is via Shyok Valley Road, that connect it to the District Headquarters

Khaplu Khaplu (Urdu: , pronounced: əpluː Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, within the disputed Kashmir region. Lo ...

and to

. The climate can have adverse effects on transport in and out of the Siksa, as the roads in and out of can be blocked for weeks.

References

; Sources * * * *

Etymology

Geography

Resources

Transport

References

Further reading