image source, Okib Javeed
Young people in the region say they are concerned about employment and the recruitment process for government jobs.
Nearly 1,500 Buddhists are protesting in sub-zero temperatures in India's high-altitude Ladakh region. In 2019, the government fulfilled long-standing demands for a separate region from Indian-administered Kashmir. But since 2020, they have frequently taken to the streets, accusing the government of “betrayal” and broken promises. Auqib Javeed reports on the changes.
Ladakh, India's northernmost region, is a desert home to 300,000 people from Muslim and Buddhist communities. The Leh region has a Buddhist majority, while the Kargil region is home to Shia Muslims.
For decades, the Buddhist community has demanded a separate region for its people, but the people of Kargil have wanted integration into the Muslim-majority region of Indian-administered Kashmir.
In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government revoked Article 370 of the constitution, which gave special status and significant autonomy to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Later, the state was divided into two parts: Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, both of which became Union Territories.
“We were demanding a separate territory from the legislature,” says Cerin Dorjey Lakluk, a veteran Buddhist leader from Leh. “But all we were given was the Union Territories.”
For the people of Ladakh, who rely primarily on agriculture, there are concerns that the move will also affect the region's culture and identity as it will make it easier for people from outside the region to purchase land in the region. caused.
According to India's Ministry of Home Affairs, as of April 5, 2023, no Indian company had invested in Ladakh in the past three years, nor had any company purchased land from outside.
But data shows residents remain worried about an influx such as in Jammu and Kashmir, where 185 outsiders bought land between 2020 and 2022.
In 2020, Kargil and Leh districts came together to form Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) with the aim of addressing people's concerns. Civil society groups held large rallies against the federal government.
image source, Okib Javeed
Thousands of people took to the streets to protest the federal government
Their demands include statehood for Ladakh, employment, protection of land and resources, and parliamentary seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
They also want implementation of the Sixth Schedule, a constitutional provision that protects tribal people and allows the establishment of self-governing bodies to frame laws on land, health and agriculture. Nearly 97% of Ladakh's population is tribal.
Cherin Dorjey Rakulk, who was the leader of the regional branch of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules India until 2020, said, “The Sixth Schedule was designed to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and tribal groups.'' ” he says. This will save them from exploitation by businessmen, he added.
The federal interior ministry has set up a committee to discuss these demands, but locals say no progress has been made.
Young people in the region are also concerned about not being able to get government jobs.
Padma Stanjin, president of the Ladakh Students Environmental Action Forum (Leaf), said not a single person had been hired for a senior government position since 2019. “I'm worried that our work will be taken over by outsiders,” she added.
Ladakh People's Party MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.
image source, Okib Javeed
Ladakh residents remain concerned that the region will be opened up to investors like Jammu and Kashmir.
Ladakh is of geopolitical importance to India as it shares borders with both China and Pakistan, and both countries have strongly condemned India's decision to revoke Article 370.
Indian-administered Kashmir witnessed a long-term armed uprising against Delhi rule starting in the late 1980s, but hostilities never spread to Ladakh.
During the 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan, residents of Ladakh volunteered to help provide food and other necessities to Indian soldiers.
Residents now wonder if they are paying a price for being “loyal.”
“If the government hurts people's feelings, that spirit of autonomy will not survive,” says Sonam Wangchuk, an engineer, innovator, and climate change activist who has long worked on the needs of local communities.
Wangchuk, who shot to fame in the 2009 blockbuster film “The Three Idiots,'' in which Bollywood star Aamir Khan played a character modeled on him, said: “The government's commitment to protect Ladakh's environment and tribal indigenous culture'' He is on a 21-day fast to remind himself of his promise. .
He said the people of Ladakh have offered support to Indian soldiers, including those from the plains, who are struggling to adapt to the high altitudes. “Any kind of disruption will affect this spirit,” he added.
image source, Getty Images
Since 2020, people in Ladakh have frequently taken to the streets citing 'betrayal' and unfulfilled promises.
Experts say China and Pakistan will keep an eye on signs of “weakness” in the region.
“Unrest and discontent, especially if it persists, could be something Beijing and Islamabad could try to exploit,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center's South Asia Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
The Chinese government did not recognize Ladakh as a union territory in 2019. The region lies along a 3,440 km (2,100 mile) de facto border along the disputed Himalayas, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Boundaries are not clear.
Tensions between India and China have been rising since 2020 after Indian troops clashed in the Galwan river valley in Ladakh, leaving at least 20 Indian soldiers dead.
After the clashes, both Delhi and China increased troop movements and built extensive military infrastructure along the LAC. China has launched an invasion of Ladakh, claiming more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory claimed by India. India has repeatedly denied China's claims.
Chinese soldiers have invaded Ladakh and restricted the grazing of local herds, further increasing local discontent.
In January, a group of local pastoralists clashed with People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers after they were prevented from taking their cattle to traditional grazing lands near the LAC.
Kugelman argues that while India cannot afford an unstable Ladakh, it also cannot undo the changes made in 2019.
Delhi has always taken the position that the abrogation of Article 370 and related moves are final and will put an end to all conflicts and instability in the affected region.
“Changing Ladakh's status and giving it statehood would undermine its status and raise questions about the merits of making such a move in 2019. That is not the impression Delhi wants to convey,” he said. explain.
Praveen Dhonti, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank in Delhi, says this is likely the reason why India is refusing to extend powers to the Ladakh local government.
“Since the Galwan clash, the LAC has become unstable and the government probably wants to tread carefully,” he says.
But Ladakh residents hope that the strength of solidarity, joint action by the Muslim and Buddhist communities, will eventually force the authorities to address their grievances.
“If we stand together, the government will listen to our voices and act on our demands,” says Zigmat Paljor, a student activist from Leh. “They can't ignore us for too long.”
