ON JULY 15, the Dalai Lama began a month-long tour of Ladakh. The visit, his first outside Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh since the start of the pandemic, comes at a time when Ladakh is locked in a standoff with the Centre over the demand for constitutional safeguards to preserve its identity, culture and land.
Ladakh became a Union territory when Article 370 was abrogated and Jammu and Kashmir was cut into two Union territories on August 5, 2019. The Buddhist majority Leh district had welcomed the move, but the Muslim majority Kargil had denounced it. The excitement in Leh, however, waned after it was announced that Ladakh would have no assembly and the administration would be in the hands of bureaucrats, many of them outsiders, and the lieutenant governor.
In the past two years, Home Minister Amit Shah and Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai have met representatives of Leh and Kargil, but their promises have not satisfied the Ladakhi leaders. The visit of the Dalai Lama could break the ice as he is revered by both the Buddhists and the Indian government.
During his stopover in Jammu, the 87-year-old Nobel Peace prize winner said that he was not seeking independence but “meaningful autonomy for Tibet and ensuring preservation of Tibetan Buddhist culture.”
He was talking about Tibet, but the message was in sync with the demands of Ladakhi Buddhists—they wanted a Bodoland Territorial Council-like arrangement under the sixth schedule (of the Constitution) to protect their distinct identity from outsiders. The sixth schedule allows the restriction of land ownership and government jobs to residents of tribal areas.
The Centre had woken up to the Ladakh issue after political parties in Leh, including the BJP and the Congress, together with religious and social groups, formed the People’s Movement (PM) and announced a boycott of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council elections in Leh in 2020. In Kargil, parties and religious and social groups launched the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) to press for statehood and restoration of Ladakh’s special status. Many others in Kargil want it to be part of Jammu and Kashmir.
The boycott of the elections was called off after Shah promised the PM leaders “sixth schedule-like” protections for Ladakh. The BJP won the polls with 15 seats, and the Congress bagged nine.
In January 2021, the home ministry announced the formation of a committee under the then Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy to address the issues related to Ladakh. The announcement came after a delegation of BJP leaders from the region met Shah in Delhi again to press for their demands.
Reddy met the leaders of the KDA in July 2021 and promised them that they would also be part of the committee.
However, days before the second anniversary of Ladakh as a Union territory, the PM and the KDA joined hands to seek full-fledged statehood along with constitutional safeguards. They also agreed to seek one more Lok Sabha seat, two Rajya Sabha seats, and 10,000 job vacancies for local Ladakhi youth.
A few weeks later, the two bodies called for a Ladakh bandh to protest the delay in accepting their demands when Rai, who replaced Reddy, arrived in Leh. The two bodies accepted his invitation for a meeting and put forward their four demands. “He (Rai) assured us that he would constitute a joint committee of the home ministry and representatives of Ladakh and frame a recruitment policy for the youth soon,” said Asgar Karbalai, former MLA and KDA co-chairman, adding that the bandh had forced the Centre to call a meeting.
According to sources, after Rai visited Leh, the two bodies sent nine names—five from Leh and four from Kargil—to be part of the joint committee last August. The committee has not met yet.
This June 13, Shah invited Thupstan Chhewang—the chairman of the PM’s apex body and president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association—for talks in Delhi. “He (Shah) offered all safeguards under Article 371 to Ladakh, but said no to the sixth schedule,” he told THE WEEK. “Such safeguards can be diluted any time. That is why we demand the sixth schedule.”
Chhewang said he insisted on the sixth schedule status as 97 per cent of the population in Ladakh is tribal. “When there is an exclusive provision for tribals in the constitution, why is that not being applied to Ladakh?” he asked. “Under the sixth schedule, the hill development councils in Leh and Kargil will have the power to make laws for customs, language and land, and collect taxes. But Article 371 will not allow for such powers.”
He said the body would decide on its next step after the Dalai Lama’s visit. A senior KDA member said he understood that the Centre would not accept the demand for statehood. Some observers agree; they believe that the demand for statehood aims to pressure the Centre into including Ladakh in the sixth schedule. They also feel that if the Centre can satisfy the Buddhists in Leh, the standoff would end.
A senior political leader in Leh said that, as the Union territory of Ladakh was created without a legislature, the sixth schedule would confer legislative status to the hill councils in Leh and Kargil. “Otherwise, we will have no control over happenings in the region,” he said, adding that some outsiders had bought land to set up hotels in Leh. Locals in the hospitality industry have apparently said that they would not provide these outsiders with any service.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had recommended the inclusion of Ladakh under the sixth schedule, noting that it was predominantly tribal and its distinct cultural heritage needed preservation. Currently, the sixth schedule applies only to the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, but the government can amend the constitution if need be.
Some political leaders in Leh believe that the Centre is not ready for the sixth schedule status as it wants direct control of the strategic region. However, with the military standoff with China, the Centre is careful to not antagonise the people in Leh who do not sympathise and identify with Kashmir, like those in Kargil.
Most people in Leh acknowledge that the Union territory status has benefited Ladakh. Funding for infrastructure development, education, and health have increased manifold. The Sonam Norbu Memorial district hospital in Leh has been equipped with state-of-the-art machines. Last year, the Centre sanctioned the first medical and paramedical college and a 500-bed hospital for Ladakh. Work has quickened on the strategic, 18-km Zojila tunnel connecting Ladakh and Kashmir, and it will be ready by 2025. “This will reduce travel time by two and a half hours,” said Harpal Singh, project in-charge of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited, which is building the tunnel. “It will be ready for use by the defence forces by 2024 to ferry troops and heavy equipment. The engineering marvel will increase connectivity between Kargil and Kashmir during winters and will be a boon for patients seeking help in Srinagar. The Union territory government has also initiated the process to provide government jobs to local youth.”
But, after Shah’s clear no to the statehood demand and inclusion in the sixth schedule, the unease in Ladakh has grown. “Ladakh is united in support of our agenda,” said Karbalai. “We will not budge on that and will mobilise people if the Centre does not address our concerns.”