On February 3, all eight tribes of Ladakh came together, led by the Apex Body representing Ladakh with support from the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) representing Kargil, gathered at the historic Polo Ground in Leh. It is a coalition of different religious and student bodies from Ladakh. A peaceful yet a potent demonstration, filled with simmering discontent, drew attention. The message was clear: you cannot dictate to Ladakh from Delhi.
The leaders demanded that democracy be restored to Ladakh and that the Lieutenant Governor-led bureaucratic rule in Ladakh was unacceptable to the people who were once represented by four MLAs, MLCs, the speaker of the J&K Legislative Council and an MP. Today, Ladakh’s political representation lies restricted to a single MP without portfolio and two Autonomous Hill Development Councils in each district which jostle even with the deputy commissioner over the ambiguous distribution of powers.
The demands include:
1. Full statehood for Ladakh
2. Inclusion in the Sixth Schedule
3. Establishment of a Public Service Commission in Ladakh (for secure jobs)
4. Two MPs for Ladakh.
It is interesting to note that Ladakh has a population of roughly three lakh. The twin districts of Leh and Kargil were formerly administered just fine by only two deputy commissioners respectively. In contrast, the UT of Ladakh is governed by a Lt Governor, an advisor, a principal secretary, three commissioner secretaries, four secretaries, one IG Ladakh Police, DIGs, two SSPs, five SPs and an abundance of officers from the erstwhile state services, resulting in a cobweb of bureaucracy. Shockingly, after more than four years, the Union Territory of Ladakh does not have gazetted recruitment rules, no domicile clarity and no idea of the indigenous tribes in Ladakh – but it has an industrial policy in place which raises concern for the fragile ecology of the place.
The absence of indigenous voices in key policy decisions is the primary trigger for the protests. This is reflected in a plethora of questionable administrative decisions – ranging from the strategic to the everyday – taken post the dilution of Article 370. The chaotic evacuations during COVID, no recruitment to gazetted positions and only negligible recruitment to non-gazetted ones, and a steep rise in contractualisation, have intensified difficulties. Further, the people are facing the brunt of price rise in essential commodities like sugar and kerosene and have trouble procuring the same from ration shops. More importantly, the decisions by the government to earmark community lands as state land, reassign the power of land documentation to the collector, formulate an industrial policy inimical to local interests, undertake coercive GST collection, fiddle with the recruitment process in Ladakh University, and introduce a lapse-able budget have only increased the distance between the government and the governed.
The February 3 protest in Leh. Photo: X/@SajjadKargili_
On February 13, the Ladakh Research Scholar Forum cautioned the administration on ‘The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill’, 2024. Out of sheer negligence, the government failed to de-notify the Gujjar, Bakarwal, Gaddi and Sippi tribes from Ladakh – though they do not exist in Ladakh. This threatens not just the identity of Ladakh but also reflects the callousness of those in power.
While the tribes in Ladakh suffer, feeling alienated and helpless in their own land, the extravagance of the new ruling coterie of bureaucrats – at government expense – have added fuel to the fire. The February 3 mega protest held at Leh was the culmination of protest calls since 2020. This protest was a show of strength and a final declaration of the four-point agenda of the people of Ladakh. Threats to boycott the LAHDC Leh elections 2020 and the ‘Delhi Chalo’ last winter were major protests where the ministry had to step in.
On January 2 this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted a High-Powered Committee (HPC) chaired by minister of state for home Nityanand Rai for the Union Territory of Ladakh. The HPC, in what was dubbed as the first official meeting, met the leaders of the Apex Body and KDA on January 4, in which the Union government’s representatives requested that they be presented the demands in a written format. After this, the second official meeting took place on February 19 and the third took place last Saturday. The developments from those meetings are: formation of a ‘Sub Committee’ which reduced the delegation from 14 to six members; and the demand for two MPs being dropped citing constitutional constraints on delimitation. Ironically, the Union home minister is not a part of the HPC, and the absence of even the MoS in the last meeting raised doubts on the seriousness of the Union government in resolving matters. Meanwhile, calls to resume a ‘fast unto death’ by some leaders have started finding voice again, should the talks fail.
The peaceful and Gandhian approach of the people of Ladakh to put forth their just demands after four years of governance failures must be met with reciprocal humility and seriousness from the Narendra Modi-led regime.
Mutasif Hussain is the Chief Coordinator, Ladakh Research Scholars Forum.