Background
Born in 1917 he was the eldest son of Kacho Isfindyar Khan. His mother belonged to the family of the Raja Haider Khan of Tambis.There were no schools in his village so at the age of nine he was admitted to a school in the Kargil town so that he could get modern education. His father made him stay with a simple household, The Abaa pa of the Aba Grong, a small locality in the vicinity of Kargil town.
When he was in the 9th standard, his father died, and he and his mother had to shoulder the responsibility of the family.
After the death of his father he had to leave his education half way and had to return to his native village.
Career
His work Qadeem Ladakh (Ancient Ladakh) is a major study of the history of Ladakh from the time people settled in the region up to the post-independent era. Sikander Khan belonged to the Gasho family of Chiktan. He was then married to Roqiya Begum who belonged to the Wazir family of Pashkyum.
Later he sttudied at the South.P College, Srinagar and then went to Amar Singh College, Srinagar.
As a public servant In 1947 due to the turmoil that followed partition of the country he could not sit for his Bachelor of Arts examinations Prior to that he got appointed as a teacher at Leh in 1940.
He had a good command over the Urdu and Persian languages. In the late forties he gave up teaching after he was unable to return to Leh following winter vacation in his native village because of the occupation of Kargil by the Gilgit Scouts who had invaded the Ladakh region on behalf of Pakistan.
Later, he joined the Kashmir Administrative Service and remained in government service for thirty-four years until his retirement.
He served in the capacities of treasurer, Naib-Tehsildar and then became the Tehsildar. He was the Mohtamin-e-Bandobast at Srinagar and retired as an Assistant Commissioner in 1980 and returned to his village. Later in his life he acted as the patron of the International Association for Ladakh Studies.
Tashi Rabgias, a contemporary historian belonging to the neighboring Leh district, is now the only living patron after Sikander Khan"s death.
