Monthly Newspaper From Ladakh and Kyelang (Early20th C)

Presenter:

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Abstract

The monthly newspaper La dvags kyi ag bar, in the Tibetan script, published by Moravian Missionary August Hermann Francke between 1904–10, was the first of its kind in the Ladakh region. It was printed on a lithographic press from Khalatse village in Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, with the idea of imparting Christian teachings using the local language and script. The paper was revived in 1927 by Rev. Walter Asboe from Kyelang in Himachal Pradesh and subsequently in Leh with the titles Kye lang ag bar and La dvags pho nya respectively.The first monthly paper followed the idea of using the local script, to which notions of sacredness were closely associated as Buddhist religious texts was written in the same script. News – local, national, international – constituted an important section of the paper, which also contained local maxims and local folklore adapted to offer Christian moral lessons to readers. The contents of the paper thus formed an interesting blend of local oral traditions and scriptural practices with biblical and secular knowledge. The revival of the paper introduced a different approach. It included practical advice and imparted new knowledge relevant to day-to-day practice – like the use of chimneys and kitchen hearths,improved farming techniques etc. These monthly newspapers published at the Kyelang Mission House in Lahaul and Leh Mission House are full of new ideas – they can be seen as an avant-garde forms of writing, as collaborative textual and visual productions, providing space for many local writers to publish their works and establish new modes of expression.