Ladakh: Ladakhi leaders, who chose not to participate in the Centre’s high-powered committee, claim that life was better for them in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir than it was in the Union Territory.
The Ladakh protest leadership has declined to join the committee that the Union home ministry established days ago to stop animosity in the area. The group is led by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
The Apex Body of the Ladakh and Kargil Democratic Alliance has unanimously decided that it will not participate in any committee proceedings until its demands, including Ladakh’s statehood and special status under the constitution’s sixth schedule, are included on the agenda of the high-powered committee.
The Committee is made up of the Lt. Governor of Ladakh, an MP from Ladakh, a senior official from the home ministry, and nine delegates from the Apex Body of the Leh and Kargil Democratic Alliance.
According to Chering Dorjay, head of the Apex Body of Leh and senior vice president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, “given the current situation, we feel the former arrangement of being part of J&K was better.”
Mr. Dorjay claimed that the establishment of the high-powered committee was an attempt by the centre to deceive the Ladakhi people while rejecting their demand for statehood and inclusion in the sixth schedule for Ladakh.
Mr. Dorjay said, “They are trying to make fool of us. We understand that the centre is against our demand for statehood and 6th schedule.”
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People in Ladakh have been agitating for statehood and special status under the constitution’s sixth schedule for more than a year.
The action presents a significant problem for the federal administration in the midst of a lengthy military standoff in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control.
The centre and the BJP had hailed Ladakh’s separation as a historic decision that will bring development and put an end to decades of oppression against the Ladakhi people.
However, within two years, the populations of Leh and Kargil felt politically disenfranchised and united in their opposition to the centre. They want the bureaucratic control in the Union Territory to stop.
The aim of the committee to protect jobs, land, and the identity of Ladakhis lacks credibility, according to Mr. Dorjay, a former BJP politician and minister. This is because it is unclear which part of the constitution they will grant the people of Ladakh these rights under.
“The 6th schedule of the Constitution allows for the protection of all of these things. The centre claims to be protecting the identity of Ladakh, jobs, and land. However, which statute and schedule will they follow?” inquires Mr. Dorjay.
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Call for Union Territory had not been beneficial
He claimed that although Leh residents had called for an union territory, it had not been beneficial to them.
“Yes, there was a demand for Union Territory in Leh. But it didn’t work well for people. It’s not what we had thought about,” Mr. Dorjay stated.
According to Sajad Hussian of the Kargil Democratic Alliance, he firmly agrees with Mr. Dorjay and the Leh Buddhist leadership when they call for statehood and special status under the 6th schedule.
“We will continue our protests. We believe people of Ladakh should get their democratic rights in real sense. Our rights have been usurped. We should not be treated like Gilgit Baltistan is being treated by Pakistan,” the Kargil Democratic Alliance’s Sajad Hussain stated.
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