Buddhists, Muslims Close Ranks In Ladakh Over Sixth Schedule, Statehood Demand

For Ghulam Murtaza, 40, a private security guard in Leh, the protest over statehood for Ladakh and the inclusion of the Union Territory (UT) in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution was the only way to ensure an end to the unemployment woes in the region. A resident of Leh town, which has very few employment avenues, Murtaza feels that letting non-locals take up jobs in Ladakh will only aggravate the problem of joblessness.

Murtaza supports the agitation for the Sixth Schedule and statehood, as do the Buddhists in Leh. The demand has bridged the divide between Muslims and Buddhists in Leh and neighbouring Kargil. Different religious bodies have extended their support to these demands.

In the past, differences existed between Buddhists and Muslims as the former allegedly and reportedly accused the latter of luring women for conversion to Islam. Even regionally, tensions have existed between Kargil, a Muslim majority area, and Leh, a Buddhist-dominated place, over disparity in development, the allocation of three districts to Leh and only two to Kargil, and keeping the UT’s headquarters permanently stationed in Leh. Kargil residents have been demanding that the UT offices, including those of the Lieutenant-Governor (LG) and senior bureaucrats, should function out of Kargil for six months.

“The condition of Ladakh remains the worst when it comes to unemployment. Even highly educated youth, those who have done their PhD, are unemployed. After Ladakh became a UT, the level of unemployment has only increased in the last six years, as government jobs have not been advertised. Now, if fresh jobs go to non-locals, then unemployment will only go up,” says Murtaza.

Angmo, 70, said that the climate and geographical conditions of Ladakh are not suitable for large-scale investments, adding that in the past, local people had to bear the brunt of climate change. “There was a cloudburst in 2010 in which several people died. The green cover in Leh town is constantly depleting. It is an environmentally fragile area, and we can’t afford to have large industries here that will pollute the environment. The situation is so bad here that due to drainage blockades and new constructions, a few hours of rain lead to water entering households,” she says.

Regionally, the people of Kargil have expressed solidarity with those who were killed in the protests for statehood and Sixth Schedule in Leh. Following the death of four people and injuries to several others on September 24 during the statehood protests, the Muslim majority Kargil district— spread over a population of nearly 1.5 lakh people—witnessed a shutdown.

Local residents said that the Leh district—which has a population of over 1.4 lakh, with Buddhists comprising 77.3 per cent of the population, followed by Muslims at 13.78 per cent and Hindus at 8.16 per cent—is largely dependent on tourism for survival, and the desert region can’t sustain a large population.

People are mainly concentrated in the main town of Leh over an area spread across a few kilometres, while the rest of the region is mountainous and a desert landscape. In some areas, people live in mud houses. A few mountain ranges surround the main city, and some distant peaks remain covered with snow. Contrary to Leh, the tree cover in the Kargil district is relatively better.

Former MLA from Kargil, Ghulam Raza, said that there was unanimity in both the Leh and Kargil regions over the demands of statehood and the Sixth Schedule. “Before the hunger strike in Leh, a protest march was taken out in Kargil in favour of the demand of statehood. It is unfortunate that the authorities resorted to the use of strong force in Leh against people who were protesting for their genuine demands. Fire was opened on protesters when, at the most, they could have resorted to a lathi charge,” he said.

Earlier, on August 5, 2019, when Ladakh was carved out as a separate UT after New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, the residents had rejoiced. But the lack of a legislature has led Ladakhis to launch protests. Further, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) has said that the Sixth Schedule would ensure the end of “bureaucratic rule” in the Ladakh region and protect the rights of the local people over land and jobs. However, on Monday, the LAB pulled out of the talks with the Central government over the demands of statehood and the Sixth Schedule.

Earlier on September 24, demonstrators torched the BJP office in Leh, as hundreds of people gathered at the public square right outside it and also set ablaze a police van and damaged a few government offices, including the Ladakh Secretariat, an elected body in the region.

Tsering Motup, 48, said that the ongoing disturbance in the Ladakh region has hurt the tourism industry, and they are hoping that the situation will become peaceful there. He said that he has not been able to open his hotel after curfew was imposed in Leh and has been facing a daily loss of Rs 6,000 to 7,000. Tsering added that the demands of the people of Ladakh should be fulfilled without delay by the Central government. “We are hoping the business will be back to normal as early as possible,” he said.

On Tuesday, the authorities relaxed the curfew restrictions in Leh town for four hours from 10 am, while life returned to normal in the Kargil region.