Leh: 19th May in Ladakh is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Padma Bhushan Kushok Bakula Rinpoche fondly remembered as “The Architect of Modern Ladakh”. Here is a quick look into the life of this a Buddhist monk from Ladakh who spread his wings well beyond India.
Rinpoche indeed lived a remarkable life. In early 1948, when tribal raiders from Pakistan attacked Jammu and Kashmir, he successfully coordinated Indian efforts to protect Ladakh from falling into the hands of the proverbial ‘enemy’.
It was a meeting with Jawahar Lal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, in early 1949, which set the ball rolling for a remarkable political career marked by constructive religious pursuits. He made a detailed case for Ladakh to remain a part of India following an attack by tribal raiders from Pakistan and talk of a United Nations-backed plebiscite.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1988.
He was given the tittle of “the architect of Modern Ladakh,” by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
After an eventful life, Rinpoche passed away on November 4, 2003, at the age of 86.
