Region

Ladakh & Siachen

The high-altitude frontier where the Great Game of the nineteenth century still shapes the map: Jammu, Kashmir, Zanskar and Ladakh, and the glacier at the world's highest battlefield.

The works

For the Classroom

Questions for discussion

Three questions drawn from this shelf, for secondary-school and college classes. They ask students to reason from the material, not to take a side. Print this page for a one-sheet handout.

  1. The intro says the Great Game of the nineteenth century “still shapes the map”. How can a contest between powers two centuries ago still matter to the people and soldiers in the region today?
  2. The Long Road to Siachen is subtitled The Question Why. Why might a glacier at “the world's highest battlefield” be considered strategically important? What evidence would you want before deciding for yourself?
  3. The author describes obtaining US Air Force maps that marked part of the region as Pakistani overflying areas. What can a map tell you about who claims a place? Why might two countries' maps of the same ground differ?

https://education.fortressindia.in/region/ladakh-siachen/