Divide-and-rule comes to Ladakh

A devious game is being played in Ladakh by the mandarins of the ministry of home affairs (MHA). In January, a new socio-political group — the Voice of Buddhist Ladakh (VBL) — was formed in Leh, claiming to be the ‘true representative’ of the region’s Buddhists.

The Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), who have jointly fielded the concerns of the Ladakhi people, believe VBL was created to divide Ladakh’s influential Buddhist community and sow discord within the LAB, which has led a sustained protest since Ladakh was reduced to a Union Territory in 2019.

Led by Skarma Namtak, the VBL claims Buddhists are ‘under-represented’ in the MHA’s high-powered committee (HPC) and accuses the LAB of ‘undermining Buddhist interests’.

The LAB has countered by publicly calling the VBL a ‘BJP creation’ aimed at fracturing Leh-Kargil unity. LAB and KDA leaders cite heavy policing of their protests, and the detention of Sonam Wangchuk, who was arrested under the National Security Act during his hunger strike for Sixth Schedule status. Wangchuk was released on 14 March after five months in Jodhpur Jail.

The VBL’s direct access to senior MHA officials and the lieutenant-governor — and its freedom from similar crackdowns — are signs of favouritism by a government that has created a ‘fringe’ group to suit its own agenda.

Namtak’s line has been that Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil “cannot be represented by one single body”, given their “vastly different political, cultural and religious identities.” What’s more, he is willing to settle for less: a regional advisory council rather than full statehood.

“It’s obvious the MHA is trying to splinter us,” says Konchok Stanzin, former Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council executive councillor from Chushul. “Kargil has a slightly higher population growth rate than Leh, which the VBL is exploiting.”

An outspoken critic of the BJP, Stanzin adds that Ladakhis are becoming strangers in their own land. “After 2019, most of our land is being bought by outsiders to set up their own businesses.”

Asgar Ali Karbalai, co-chairman of the KDA and former chief executive councillor of the LAHDC, is equally upset. “The Centre is trying to divide us on the basis of religion but they won’t succeed. Their claim that the people of Zanskar did not support our struggle for autonomy was shattered on 16 March. People from Zanskar right up to Turtuk village abutting Pakistan, from Matayen (the first Ladakhi village after crossing Zoji La Pass) right up to the border village of Chushul, rallied in huge numbers to support our legitimate demands, as did many Buddhist monks.”

Accusing the Centre of gerrymandering, Karbalai said, “Only protest marches get us meetings; otherwise, dead silence. In five years, we’ve had 15 meetings with the MHA. Our demands are clear: statehood and our own legislature. As a UT without a legislature, we have no control over our finances.”

Karbalai’s logic is sound: “If four northeastern states can be included under the Sixth Schedule, which provides for autonomous councils that create laws as per local customs, why can’t we be similarly empowered?

"The MHA tells us we’re making too much of the Sixth Schedule, it has been diluted, with judicial and financial powers appropriated by the Centre. All it wants to do is rename the Leh Autonomous Council a ‘territorial council’. The Sixth Schedule exists to protect tribal populations, to enable them to frame laws on land, health and agriculture. That’s what we are fighting for.” Lt-governor V.N. Saxena’s recent statement that there’s no room for protest in Ladakh has not gone down well with Ladakhis. “What does he mean by that?” asked Karbalai. “The Constitution gives us the right to protest and we will continue to do so till our demands are met.”

LAB co-chair Chering Dorjay Labrook believes the government rejected their demand for statehood and Sixth Schedule status on the grounds that the entire region is inhabited by schedule tribes who do not need special protection. Labrook, who is also the chairman of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, points out, “Meghalaya has autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule — why not Ladakh? The government is misleading us.”

During protracted negotiations, the MHA reportedly offered a ‘territorial council’ for Ladakh with Article 371-like provisions and a chief executive councillor to be designated chief minister of the Union Territory. This has been rejected outright. “Strengthening hill councils was never our demand,” says Labrook.

Maintaining that the LBA is the primary representative body, Labrook warns against the attempt to divide the Buddhist community. While he sees the formation of the VBL as “a matter of concern”, KDA member Sajjad Kargili is more forthright.

“The MHA is trying to break our unity. We Ladakhis are small in number; our strength lies in our unity. The people of J&K praise us for staying united despite the Centre’s efforts to divide us along religious lines. Don’t forget that our language and culture is the same. They arrested Sonam Wangchuk to break our organisation. He was released to save face because the Supreme Court would have revoked his detention,” claims Kargili.

Following his release, Wangchuk said, “We have always been in favour of dialogue. The recent rally was an appeal to the government to come to the table and talk. If they refuse our demands, we will be compelled to continue our Gandhian agitation of non-violent satyagraha.”

A unanimous demand across Ladakh is that locals retain their rights over the land. As Kargili says, “Ladakh is the size of Punjab. It has huge potential. It is obvious the Centre wants to hand over this land to its crony capitalists. Our land must be safeguarded at all costs.”

On the Solar Energy Corporation’s near-complete solar farm, he added, “The government hopes to generate 13 gigawatts of power from it.”

The government can cry itself hoarse that all this is part of administrative reform for better governance, but the public sees it as opening up Ladakh’s precious resources to corporates. Solar parks and mining projects in this environmentally fragile area will see thousands of workers pouring in from other regions. They could eventually acquire domicile status and permanently alter demographics.

Even the creation of five new districts — Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass — is viewed as an ominous move to reshape this volatile — and valuable — region’s profile.