Livid in Ladakh

Three years after Ladakh became a Union territory, its people are not happy with the Centre’s promises; the Dalai Lama’s visit could break the ice

- TARIQ BHAT

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.