Youngest UT Ladakh's Tableau joins R-day Parade for the first time
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New Delhi, Jan 26: For the first time this year, a tableau from Ladakh was seen participating in the Republic Day Parade on Rajpath. The Ladakh tableau depicted the Thiksey Monastery located on top of a hill in Thikse in Leh district. It also featured the Indian Astronomical Observatory, located in Hanle near Leh.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh on Aug 5, 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370. Ever since the bifurcation, this happens to be the first instance to include a separate tableau in the Republic Day parade at Rajpath about the rich culture of the union territory of Ladakh.
The UT tableau displayed the Thiksey Monastery that is located on top of the Thikse hill, in Leh. The monastery is located at an altitude of 3,600 metres in the Indus Valley. One of the main points of interest is the Maitreya Temple installed to commemorate the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to this monastery in 1970.
Ladakh Leh's Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), is one of the world's highest located sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes. It is currently the ninth (see List of highest astronomical observatories) highest optical telescope in the world, situated at an elevation of 4,500 meters. The Observatory is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. The Observatory has two active telescopes; the 2.01 meter optical-infrared Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) and a High Altitude Gamma Ray Telescope (HAGAR). The HCT is remotely operated from Bangalore from the Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) using a dedicated satellite link.
The cultural section of the parade was initiated with the Ladakh UT tableau with the theme 'Vision of the future'.