Sonam Wangchuk바카라s fast in Leh has drawn attention to the plight of the ecologically fragile Ladakh region like never before
Ladakh ki mann ki baat sunlo deshvaasion
(Listen to the heart of Ladakh, my compatriots)
Hai kaisa raaj jis main bolne ka bhi haq na ho
(How바카라s this a kingdom where one cannot even speak)
Yunhin na bolte hum ki khatre mai hamaara ghar
(We aren바카라t just blabbering about the risk our home is in)
Na dekha ho toh ja ke dekhlo YouTube par
(If you haven바카라t seen, go and check on YouTube)
On January 27, Ladakhi rapper Ladoll sat down to pen the words to this rap song titled 바카라6th schedule for Ladakh.바카라 By the next day, she had completed writing it, by the 29th, she had finished the song바카라s videography in Leh and posted it on YouTube, attracting instant views online and catching the attention of the people of the region. 바카라When I saw Sonam Wangchuk fasting for Ladakh, it moved me. It was not an ordinary fast. He was fasting in the cold of Ladakh, with the temperature dipping to minus 20 during the night. He was posting his videos on why the Sixth Schedule is important for Ladakh. I know we have freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution of India and we have every right to speak up. And I thought I should contribute my bit to his struggle and the Sixth Schedule demand through my music,바카라 says the 25-year-old rapper, speaking to Outlook.
On February 1, Ladoll was among a large number of people gathered at the Polo grounds in Leh to thank Wangchuk on the completion of his five-day fast for the demand to include Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into two Union Territories바카라 J&K and Ladakh바카라the latter has seen many political agitations for the inclusion of the region into the Sixth Schedule but none of them havecaught the media바카라s attention as much as the gathering to 바카라thank바카라 Wangchuk did. 바카라I am told this was the largest gathering ever in Leh, despite the cold,바카라 says Wangchuk.
Wangchuk and other political leaders of Leh had initially welcomed the abrogation of Article 370, calling it a 바카라liberation for Ladakh바카라 from Kashmiri rule. But now, nearly four years down the line, they are ironically seeking demands that resemble those which Article 370 guaranteed. Under Article 370, J&K had had a separate constitution called the 바카라Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir바카라, and under Article 35A, not only were outsiders prohibited from buying property in the state, jobs were reserved for locals who were defined as 바카라permanent residents.바카라 Like in J&K, Ladakh바카라s land and jobs were once protected under both articles. With the abrogation of Article 370 and the Sixth schedule nowhere in sight, Wangchuk바카라s fast in the icy cold winter under the open sky at his Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) has attracted the attention of students, religious leaders, singers, Buddhists, Muslims and the media.
Changes At The Grassroots
For the past three years, the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), an amalgam of political, religious and social groups of Leh and Kargil respectively, have been seeking constitutional safeguards on the lines of the Sixth Schedule to safeguard the demography, environment, and unique culture of Ladakh. Since its formation in 2020, the KDA has been speaking up against the bifurcation of J&K state and had desired the reunification of Kargil with the erstwhile state. It has allied with the Leh Apex Body and both political groups are speaking in unison. On January 7 this year, the groups put out with the following four demands: statehood for Ladakh, constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, the formation of a Public Service Commission and the creation of two separate parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil.
In a joint protest in Jammu, both groups sought the inclusion of the four demands as part of the dialogue with a High Power Committee of the Government of India. The Committee, headed by Minister of State, Nityanand Rai, was constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 2 to 바카라ensure the protection of land and employment바카라 for the people of Ladakh. The earlier focus of the Leh Apex Body, formed after much political debate in 2020, was on seeking protection of jobs and the land of Ladakh through the extension of the Sixth Schedule. Under Article 244 of the Indian Constitution, the Sixth Schedule gives autonomy to the state on legislative, judicial and administrative matters. With no response to their demands from the central government, the political groups have now raised the bar. Wangchuk바카라s entry has given a new direction to Ladakh바카라s political movement, currently led by the Leh Apex Body and the KDA.
A Cry For Autonomy
On January 21, Wangchuk announced that he would go on a 바카라five-day climate fast,바카라 saying people hoped that under the Sixth Schedule, there would be a provision for declaring Scheduled areas where tribal populations exceed 50 percent. 바카라Now Ladakh is more than 95 per cent tribal, so people were sure that they will be given these safeguards,바카라 he says. He argues that business houses have started influencing Ladakh바카라s lower bureaucracy as they don바카라t want the Ladakh Valley and mountains to be kept free their exploitation. He also asked the country to remember the sacrifices of the people of Ladakh against China and Pakistan in various wars since 1948. He says that in contrast to 바카라Tibet and Gilgit-Baltistan,바카라 the country has the added advantage of the people of Ladakh acting as soldiers for the country who will go to any lengths to defend the nation.
A Historic Unity
Professor Siddiq Wahid, a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) in New Delhi and a fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, says the key features of Ladakh바카라s pushback to the central government바카라s casual approach and/or domination by it are that it is founded on rectifying the divisive politics between Leh and Kargil which began 42 years ago and was exacerbated a decade later. 바카라The two Hill Councils are clear that their historic unity is based on a political agenda and not on rivalry based on religious differences, making it difficult for the BJP to deploy that tactic,바카라 says Prof Wahid.
바카라The Leh Apex Body and the KDA have concretised their demands by focusing on the protection of local economic security, local political rights and the uniqueness of the local cultural identity. In doing the above, Ladakh has set the agenda, rather than New Delhi; that is no mean accomplishment,바카라 he adds.
(This appeared in the print edition as "All Eyes on LADAKH")
Naseer Ganai in Srinagar