Understanding historical, cultural and religious frameworks of mountain communities and disasters in Nubra valley of Ladakh

Abstract Ladakh, a high altitude cold desert in India inhabited by various ethnic communities, has become quite vulnerable to environmental hazards like flash-floods, cloudbursts, snowstorms, landslides etc. This landscape which has been traditionally dominated by Buddhist and Muslim communities, has witnessed much devastation in the 2010, 2012 and 2015 flash-floods and cloudbursts which resulted in a big loss of human lives besides massive infrastructural damages. The present paper seeks to study the impact of religion, culture, customs and rituals of this small Himalayan Ladakhi society in directly or indirectly influencing disaster response and recovery mechanisms. It would also explore the impact of behavior, perceptions and responses of Ladakhi communities in times of disasters. The paper seeks to understand not only the cultural framings in the times of disasters but also its socio-cultural settings, inter-community relations, government's role that can influence risk reduction, disaster's Impact on livelihood and cultural survival.