Pratidin
Society, justice and ethics2 October 2026PIB, Government releaseGS1GS3

Centre and Ladakh fix standard names for 28 places on the Survey of India map

Atisha, Milarepa, Kanishka, Zorawar: why a list of Ladakh's peaks reads like a history syllabus.

Published 2 October 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced on 2 October 2026 that the Government of India, in consultation with the Union Territory of Ladakh, has identified 28 places and features in Ladakh by standard place and feature names on the official map of the Survey of India (SoI). The release says the aim is to facilitate "their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large". The updated map of Ladakh is available on the Survey of India's state maps page. The list has 10 peaks, 3 mountains, 2 passes, 2 glaciers, 1 valley, 1 lake, 1 river, 1 other water body and 7 land areas.

Several names are those of figures from the Himalaya's Buddhist and political history. The peaks include Atisha Giri, Rinchen Zangpo, Marpa Lotsava Ri, Milarepa Kangri, Kanishka Peak, Zorawar Peak, Martand Giri, Sakyasri Giri, Shiva Ri and Maheshvara Ri, and the lake is named Guru Rinpoche, a title of Padmasambhava. Atisha (c. 982 to 1054) was a Bengali teacher from Vikramashila who went to Tibet around 1042; Rinchen Zangpo (958 to 1055) was the great translator of western Tibet; Marpa and his disciple Milarepa are central to the Kagyu school; Kanishka was the Kushan emperor; Zorawar Singh was the Dogra general who conquered Ladakh from 1834. The land areas include Gogra, and a water body is named Hot Spring; Gogra and Hot Springs were among the friction points in eastern Ladakh during the 2020 standoff with China.

The release does not mention China. It follows a similar exercise on 7 August 2026, when the Government identified 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh by standard names on the Survey of India map. China has issued its own lists of names for places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls Zangnan, in 2017 (6 names), 2021 (15), 2023 (11), 2024 (30) and May 2025 (27). India has rejected these, with the Ministry of External Affairs saying in May 2025 that "creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality" that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. Naming features on an official national map is a routine act of sovereignty, and the Survey of India is the authority for the spellings and names of geographical features.

Practise this in the app: flashcards, quiz and a timed answer
Prelims

Prelims facts

  • On 2 October 2026 the Centre, with the UT of Ladakh, identified 28 places and features in Ladakh by standard names on the Survey of India map.
  • Peaks named include Atisha Giri, Rinchen Zangpo, Marpa Lotsava Ri, Milarepa Kangri, Kanishka Peak and Zorawar Peak; a lake is named Guru Rinpoche.
  • On 7 August 2026 a similar exercise named 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh on the Survey of India map.
  • China has issued lists of names for places in Arunachal Pradesh in 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025, which India rejects.
  • The Survey of India, founded in 1767 and now under the Department of Science and Technology, is responsible for names and spellings of geographical features.

Quick recall

How many places in Ladakh got standard names on the Survey of India map on 2 October 2026?
28.
How many places in Arunachal Pradesh were given standard names on 7 August 2026?
27.
Guru Rinpoche is a title of which teacher?
Padmasambhava, the 8th-century master revered as founder of the Nyingma school.
From which monastery did Atisha go to Tibet?
Vikramashila, around 1042 CE.
Who was Rinchen Zangpo?
The great translator (958 to 1055) of western Tibet, credited with Tabo monastery in Spiti.
Milarepa's teacher?
Marpa the translator, a student of Naropa; both central to the Kagyu school.
Zorawar Singh served which ruler?
Gulab Singh, the Dogra ruler of Jammu.
When was the Survey of India founded?
1767; it is under the Department of Science and Technology.

Prelims practice question

Consider the following pairs of a name given to a feature in Ladakh and the historical figure it shares its name with:
1. Zorawar Peak : Dogra general who led campaigns in Ladakh in the 1830s
2. Atisha Giri : Bengali Buddhist teacher who went to Tibet in the 11th century
3. Kanishka Peak : Mauryan emperor who convened the Third Buddhist Council
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only. 1 is correct: Zorawar Singh, general of Gulab Singh, conquered Ladakh from 1834. 2 is correct: Atisha of Vikramashila reached Tibet around 1042. 3 is wrong: Kanishka was a Kushan emperor associated with the Fourth Buddhist Council; the Third Council was held under the Mauryan emperor Ashoka.

Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions

Recurring theme: Himalayan heritage, Buddhism's spread to Tibet, and the India-China boundary

  1. 2024 · GS3 · 15 marksCovers one partUse it in the body

    India has a long and troubled border with China and Pakistan fraught with contentious issues. Examine the conflicting issues and security challenges along the border. Also give out the development being undertaken in these areas under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) and Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) Scheme.

    How to use this

    Use it to show that the China boundary dispute is also fought through cartography, and how India asserts sovereignty through standard names on official maps.

    • On 2 October 2026 the Centre and Ladakh fixed standard names for 28 features on the Survey of India map, including Gogra and Hot Spring, friction points in the 2020 standoff with China.
    • China has issued names for places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls Zangnan, in 2017 (6), 2021 (15), 2023 (11), 2024 (30) and May 2025 (27); India named 27 places there on 7 August 2026.
    • The MEA said in May 2025 that "creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality" that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.
  2. 2026 · GS3 · 10 marksCovers one partUse it in the introduction

    Ladakh is strategically located between China and Pakistan. As a measure to win hearts and minds of locals, discuss the Border Area Development Programmes (BADP) by the Central Government and civic actions by the Army. Also discuss demand of promulgation of provision of the Sixth Schedule of constitution for Ladakh.

    How to use this

    Use it to open with Ladakh's strategic and cultural identity, showing the state asserting presence on a contested frontier while honouring the region's heritage.

    • On 2 October 2026 the Centre, in consultation with the UT of Ladakh, named 28 features on the Survey of India map, including Gogra and Hot Spring, friction points with China in 2020.
    • Many names honour Himalayan Buddhist figures, such as Atisha Giri, Rinchen Zangpo, Milarepa Kangri and Guru Rinpoche lake, alongside Zorawar Peak for the Dogra general who conquered Ladakh from 1834.

Mains practice question

How does the Himalayan region reflect the spread of Buddhism from India to Tibet? Illustrate with personalities recalled in the recent naming of features in Ladakh. (150 words)

Model answer

On 2 October 2026 the Centre and the UT of Ladakh gave standard names to 28 features on the Survey of India map; several recall the teachers who carried Buddhism across the Himalaya.

Early phase

  • Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche): an Indian tantric master invited by King Trisong Detsen in the 8th century; credited with Samye, Tibet's first monastery; revered as founder of the Nyingma school.
  • Kanishka: Kushan patron of Mahayana; the Fourth Buddhist Council is linked to his reign.

Second diffusion (10th and 11th centuries)

  • Rinchen Zangpo (958 to 1055): sent by King Yeshe-O of Guge to study in Kashmir; translator of Sanskrit texts; credited with Tabo monastery in Spiti.
  • Atisha (c. 982 to 1054): scholar from Vikramashila; reached Tibet around 1042; wrote Bodhipathapradipa; inspired the Kadam school.
  • Marpa and Milarepa: Marpa studied under Naropa in India; his disciple Milarepa, poet-yogi, shaped the Kagyu school.

Significance

  • Shows Ladakh and Spiti as a cultural bridge between Indian and Tibetan Buddhism.
  • Monasteries, art and texts preserve Sanskrit learning lost in India.

The new names turn a map into a reminder of this shared heritage.

The basics

Why this matters

A map is more than a drawing. The names on an official map record what a state recognises as its territory, and they also carry memory. The 28 new standard names in Ladakh do both: they formally place features on the Survey of India map, and many of them recall the people who shaped the region's history.

What the 28 names cover
  1. 1Peaks (10)Atisha Giri, Kanishka Peak, Martand Giri, Zorawar Peak, Rinchen Zangpo, Sakyasri Giri, Marpa Lotsava Ri, Milarepa Kangri, Shiva Ri, Maheshvara Ri
  2. 2Mountains (3)Karun Pir, Drak Karpo, Jolmori
  3. 3Passes and glaciers (4)Chapchingal Pass, Shachmirk Pass, Parpik, Skamri Glacier
  4. 4Water features (3)Guru Rinpoche lake, Yangpa River, Hot Spring
  5. 5Valley and land areas (8)Shkorga Valley, Brangsa, Kuksel, Dehra Compass, Gogra, Kumarayana Point, Panglung, Shamal Lungpa

The Buddhist teachers on the map

Buddhism reached Tibet from India in two broad waves. In the 8th century Padmasambhava, remembered as Guru Rinpoche, is said to have helped found Samye monastery. In the 10th and 11th centuries a second wave, led by translators and teachers from India and western Tibet, revived it. These are the Buddhist masters of the second diffusion.

Figures recalled by the new names
  1. c. 2nd century CEKanishka, Kushan emperor and patron of Buddhism.
  2. 8th centuryPadmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) invited to Tibet by King Trisong Detsen.
  3. 958 to 1055Rinchen Zangpo, great translator of western Tibet.
  4. c. 1042Atisha of Vikramashila arrives in Tibet.
  5. 11th centuryMarpa the translator and his disciple Milarepa shape the Kagyu school.
  6. 1834 onwardsZorawar Singh's Dogra campaigns in Ladakh.

The soldier on the map

Zorawar Peak shares its name with Zorawar Singh and the Dogra campaigns. His conquest of Ladakh in the 1830s brought the region into the Dogra state of Jammu, which later became part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The strategic context

The release does not mention China. But it follows India's naming of 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh in August 2026, and both come after China's renaming of places in Arunachal through lists issued in 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Two Ladakh names, Gogra and Hot Spring, also match areas that were friction points in the 2020 standoff.

Two kinds of naming
India's standard names
  • Places on India's own official Survey of India map
  • Ladakh: 28 names, 2 October 2026
  • Arunachal Pradesh: 27 names, 7 August 2026
vs
China's lists for Arunachal
  • Names for places inside Indian territory
  • Lists in 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025
  • Rejected by India as having no effect on reality

Go deeper

In one line: On 2 October 2026 the Centre and the UT of Ladakh placed 28 standard names for peaks, passes, glaciers, lakes and land areas on the official Survey of India map.

Why it matters for UPSC

The list is a ready Prelims question on art and culture (Buddhist teachers), modern history (Zorawar Singh) and geography, and a Mains angle on border management and the India-China boundary.

The core idea

The Survey of India is the authority for official names on India's maps. Many of the new names recall Buddhist masters of the second diffusion, such as Atisha, Rinchen Zangpo, Marpa and Milarepa, and the soldier of Zorawar Singh and the Dogra campaigns. The step comes weeks after India named 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh, against the background of China's renaming of places in Arunachal.

Numbers and dates to remember

  • 28 names in Ladakh: 10 peaks, 3 mountains, 2 passes, 2 glaciers, 1 valley, 1 lake, 1 river, 1 other water body, 7 land areas.
  • 27 names in Arunachal Pradesh on 7 August 2026.
  • China's lists: 2017 (6), 2021 (15), 2023 (11), 2024 (30), 2025 (27).
  • Survey of India founded 1767.

Where to go next

Go deeper: names as heritage and as statecraft

Heritage. Ladakh sits on the old routes between India, Kashmir and Tibet. The Buddhist masters of the second diffusion travelled these routes, and monasteries in Ladakh and Spiti preserve their art and texts. Naming peaks after Atisha, Rinchen Zangpo, Marpa and Milarepa, and a lake after Guru Rinpoche, links physical geography to this shared Indian and Tibetan heritage. Kanishka Peak and Zorawar Peak bring in Kushan and Dogra history.

Statecraft. Official names are an ordinary act of administration on one's own territory. The release itself speaks only of accurate recognition and public awareness. Still, it comes after India named 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh in August 2026, and after China's renaming of places in Arunachal through lists issued in 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. India's position, stated by the MEA in 2025, is that such naming by China cannot change facts on the ground. Gogra and Hot Spring, names on the new list, were friction points in eastern Ladakh during the 2020 standoff; disengagement there took place in stages, and in December 2024 the External Affairs Minister told the Lok Sabha that disengagement had been achieved in full.

Institutions. The Survey of India is the authority for names and spellings of geographical features. A Mains answer can connect such naming to border area development, maps as instruments of sovereignty and the role of cultural memory, with Zorawar Singh and the Dogra campaigns as an example of how Ladakh's political history shaped today's boundary questions.

Survey of India

The national mapping agency that fixes official place names.

In one line: The Survey of India (SoI), founded in 1767, is India's national mapping agency, now under the Department of Science and Technology, with headquarters in Dehradun.

What it does

It surveys and maps the country, advises the government on cartography, and is responsible for naming conventions and spellings of names of geographical features of India. Its maps are the official reference for boundaries and features.

Recent changes

In February 2021 the government liberalised the rules on geospatial data, removing many earlier restrictions on mapping by private players, while the SoI remains the official map-maker.

Why it is in the news

The 28 Ladakh names and the 27 Arunachal Pradesh names of August 2026 were both placed on official SoI maps.

Where to go next

Buddhist masters of the second diffusion

The teachers whose names now mark Ladakh's peaks.

In one line: The 'second diffusion' was the revival of Buddhism in Tibet in the 10th and 11th centuries, carried by translators and teachers from India and western Tibet.

The key figures

  • Rinchen Zangpo (958 to 1055): sent by King Yeshe-O of Guge to study in Kashmir; translated Sanskrit texts; credited with Tabo monastery in Spiti.
  • Atisha (c. 982 to 1054): a Bengali scholar of Vikramashila who reached Tibet around 1042; wrote the Bodhipathapradipa (Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment); regarded with Dromton as founder of the Kadam school.
  • Marpa and Milarepa: Marpa studied under Naropa in India; his disciple Milarepa, a poet-yogi, is central to the Kagyu school.

The earlier wave

Padmasambhava, called Guru Rinpoche, came to Tibet in the 8th century and is revered as founder of the Nyingma school.

Where to go next

Zorawar Singh and the Dogra campaigns

How Ladakh came under the Dogra rulers of Jammu.

In one line: Zorawar Singh (1784 to 1841) was the general of the Dogra ruler Gulab Singh who conquered Ladakh from 1834 and is remembered as the 'Conqueror of Ladakh'.

The campaigns

In 1835 he defeated the Ladakhi army and marched to Leh. Ladakh came under the Dogras of Jammu, then part of the Sikh empire. In 1841 he led a campaign into western Tibet and was killed at the Battle of To-yo on 12 December 1841.

Why it matters

Gulab Singh later became Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir under the Treaty of Amritsar, 1846, so Ladakh became part of that princely state. This history underlies Ladakh's place in India today.

Where to go next

China's renaming of places in Arunachal

The naming contest that frames India's own standard names.

In one line: China has issued lists of Chinese names for places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls Zangnan, and India rejects them.

The lists

2017: 6 names; 2021: 15; 2023: 11; 2024: 30; May 2025: 27, covering mountains, passes, rivers, a lake and inhabited areas.

India's response

In May 2025 the MEA said "creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India." On 7 August 2026 India itself placed standard names for 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh on the Survey of India map, and on 2 October 2026 did the same for 28 places in Ladakh.

Where to go next

Prelims-style quiz

  1. Consider the following names among the 28 standard names notified for Ladakh:
    1. Milarepa Kangri
    2. Kanishka Peak
    3. Galwan Ridge
    How many of the above are in the list?

    1. Only one
    2. Only two
    3. All three
    4. None
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Only two. Milarepa Kangri and Kanishka Peak are peaks in the list. Galwan Ridge is not one of the 28 names.

  2. Consider the following statements:
    1. Atisha is regarded, with his disciple Dromton, as founder of the Kadam school.
    2. Rinchen Zangpo was sent by King Yeshe-O of Guge to study in Kashmir.
    3. Milarepa was the teacher of Marpa.
    4. Padmasambhava is credited with Samye, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet.
    How many of the statements given above are correct?

    1. Only one
    2. Only two
    3. Only three
    4. All four
    Show answer

    Answer: (c) Only three. 1, 2 and 4 are correct. 3 is wrong: Marpa was Milarepa's teacher, not the other way round.

  3. Consider the following statements:
    Statement-I: China has issued lists of names for places in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017.
    Statement-II: India gave standard names to 28 places in Ladakh on 2 October 2026 in response to a Chinese list of names for Ladakh.
    Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

    1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
    2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
    3. Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
    4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
    Show answer

    Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect. Statement-I is correct: China issued lists in 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Statement-II is wrong: the PIB release does not refer to China or to any Chinese list for Ladakh; it says the aim is accurate recognition and public awareness.

  4. Which one of the following is responsible for naming conventions and spellings of names of geographical features in India?

    1. Geological Survey of India
    2. Survey of India
    3. Registrar General of India
    4. Indian Space Research Organisation
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Survey of India. The Survey of India, the national mapping agency founded in 1767 and now under the Department of Science and Technology, is responsible for naming conventions and spellings of geographical names. The new Ladakh names were placed on its official map.

  5. Consider the following statements about Zorawar Singh:
    1. He was a general of the Dogra ruler Gulab Singh.
    2. He died during a campaign in Tibet in 1841.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Show answer

    Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2. Both are correct. Zorawar Singh served Gulab Singh, conquered Ladakh from 1834, and was killed at the Battle of To-yo in Tibet on 12 December 1841.

Syllabus

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