Sindh Today and others are reporting that “ancient rock-cut sculptures of the Buddha, resembling the Bamiyan Buddhas of Afhganistan, have been discovered in the Zanskar area in the Ladakh region [of Jammu and Kashmir].” At least one is eight-metres high, and it is looking likely that it will, thankfully, be protected by the State Government.

The Bamiyan Buddhas were of course destroyed by the Taliban. (In fact, Umar Farouk Abulmutallab, accused of the Christmas-Day bombing attempt of Flight 253, has reportedly defended their destruction as “right and proper.”)

So this is exciting news: the Bamiyan Buddhas were marvels of devotional beauty. Hopefully we’ll be learning more about these similarly inspired finds soon.