New Districts and  rumblings in Ladakh, set- back to the bonhomie & the way forward

By: Latief U Zaman Deva

The  Ladakh high altitude desert known as Indus Valley of the erstwhile State of J&K & now ,post August 05,2019 , the Union  Territory  of Ladakh is again a   subject of intense political scrutiny  due to creation of five  more Districts carved out from the existing two Districts of Leh & Kargil.

A Region always contested.

Ladakh lost its centuries old independent status and sovereignty  after  its occupation by Dogra Army during 1834-42 & thus  the beginning of an era of insecurity,   identity crisis, fears of demographic onslaughts & Victimhood which in  varied dimensions remained unflinching even after its split  from J&K despite  180 years  of togetherness and grant of the status of Union Territory, the one & only demand of the Buddhist Association spearheading  the agitation  from 1989. During the  freedom movement against despotic rule  in J&K the minorities including elite & religious Institutions of Buddhists  saddled themselves with  the Maharaja  ostensibly  due to  emergence of a movement in Muslim majority regions for redemption of slavery & dawn of Independence. With the heralding of a new era after partition of the sub- Continent in 1947 an iconic personality of Kaushik Bakula Rimpochee got elected to the constituent Assembly  as a candidate of National conference and in his speeches initially  on the floor of the House he would  lambast even the tallest leader of the State amid thumping of desks by legislators on the mention of merely his name until Member from Kargil made them vigilant about the contents of speeches delivered in ladakhi.

Decades of neglect

 Admittedly no measures worth mentioning were taken by successive Govtts for the purpose of mainstreaming not only the Buddhists but Muslims also in the set up of the State through decentralized & empowered  fiats but the fact also is that the financial support  base wasn’t commensurate enough for meeting  the genuine aspirations of all the sections of the Society.  Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah in 1980 indicated to his cabinet a plan for upgrading Ladakh into a Division but spontaneous protests in Kargil thwarted its implementation. Kargilites demanded   headquarters for the Division at Kargil on the logic of it being equidistant between Srinagar & Leh. Ealier during 1972-74   Syed Mir Qasim deputed Ali Mohammad Naik, an independent MLA  with a plebiscite background, to Kargil for deliberations with local religious leadership for persuading  them about societal transformation through literacy particularly in Women. A decisive push , however, remained elusive in the half-hearted endeavours.

If Leh didn’t get the attention it deserved & by the same logic the Kargil region was most backward, be it the  infrastructure, delivery of public services, medical care & status of education , promotion of tourism particularly adventure & asymmetrical employment opportunities. This reflects that the Ladakh imbroglio had intra- regional and  inter-regional dimensions .  The distance could have been abridged in 1978 by grant of the status of Division to Ladakh in tandem with carving out Kargil as a full-fledged District from  Leh, its predecessor. By & large Buddhists didn’t reconcile with Kargil  deserving on merits District   but  summed it up, as a split of Ladakh on communal  considerations. There is no gainsaying in the admission of the fact that Kargil got transformed fully only after creation of the Distt in 1978 but yet far behind Leh District and hence intra-regional sharp disparities. The four pronged strategy involving  creation of the two Hill Development Councils , direct grant  of  Plan outlays, adoption of well defined criteria in budgetary allocations & practice of induction of two Ministers in the Council of Ministers  from the region had ingrained  an element of continuity  of the State in otherwise votaries of UT  but  Separatist zeal got rekindled by BJP to suit its known narratives. Now it is the turn of majority community  in Ladakh, who feel neglected in the current phase of the reorganization of the Administrative Units, whose hurt sensitivities need be addressed lest the expectations turn into ambers.  No responsive & human State can afford discontentment in  any section of Society moreso in border areas being prone to infidelity by enemy Countries.Double standards & non- parity  calls for reversal. If dying demand for UT status anchored by Buddhists could be reignited by the BJP, nothing harmful in accommodating genuine aspirations of Muslims.

New Initiative

# Inhabited villages are 239 ( 112 in Leh & 127 in Kargil)

Population conundrum

The population of Leh & Kargil in accordance with Census 2011 is 133487 & 140802 respectively (  total 274289) which includes 35486 Hindus & Sikhs. In the Mother Tongue Returns these people in general have identified themselves as speakers of mother tongues prevalent in rest of the Country which  are neither spoken in Ladakh nor in J&K barring Urdu & Hindi. In the Electoral Rolls  of Ladakh few families from rest of J&K are recorded as electors who are  countable on fingers & settled permanently  from long in the region as Permanent Residents of the erstwhile state. This  non native  segment of  people  comprises of  Central Govtt employees and other categories of work forces who had been living in the two  Districts (now seven) for periods exceeding   six months during census enumeration 2011. By now most of them may have returned to their  native places and replaced by new arrivals. Postings are  tenure based temporarily  for non natives and workmen including Unskilled labourers  are seasonal only. In contrast with J&K the  Ladakh Domiciles Rules  are prospective in application and therefore non ladakhi  residents  eligible & desirous of seeking Domicile certificates would be entitled for the purpose by 2035/40  only.  By excluding 35486  non natives the actual population of the arid UT  reduces to 238803  from 274289 & District wise break up for Leh is 109434  & 129369  for Kargil. Permanently domiciled population & number of inhabited villages as a twin criteria is also accorded weightage in creation of the administrative units rather than merely  relying on area factor.  The area of National Capital Territory  is 1483 Sq kms only  but the number of Districts is  11 on grounds of  primarily the population & other factors linked with being a National capital. The area for Leh & population for Kargil as distinct weightages should have led to parity between the two Districts in allocation of additional Districts carved out from the two predecessor Districts.

Civilizational Bonds & political suspicion

By dint of  spiritual, cultural &  civilizational  affinities & geographic contiguity the majority of population in UT shall in one form or other remain associated with J&K which need not evoke suspicion on their loyalty to the Constitution and the Country.  The events & archaeological  sites associated with Buddhism  in J&K in itself  manifest a never ending connect between the two territories. Be it  the Fourth Buddhist Council held in 72 AD  at Harwan  Srinagar under Kushan King Kanishka  or the sites  at Zanipur, Ushkur & Parihaspur in District Baramulla, all evidentiary towards civilizational bonds between the two. For Muslims  of the region  kashmir is their soul & as body can’t survive sans soul the degree of affinities can be well imagined. The people in Kargil fiercely opposed their separation from the erstwhile state but by now reconciled subject to fulfillment of demands jointly projected by Leh & Kargil based leaderships before Ministry of Home Affairs. In the din of commotion coupled with jubilation on split of the erstwhile state and creation of UT Ladakh The Buddhist Students  Association based in Jammu warned of pitching for Greater Ladakh should Kargilites not stop opposition to the new territorial order. The Greater Ladakh is envisioned to include Zanaskar & contiguous Villages from Kargil District, now Kargil & Zanaskar Districts, Padder from Kishtwar District of J&K & contiguous villages from Himachal Pradesh. By coming into existence of Zanaskar as a separate District  the  Village Rangdum from Tehsil/ Sub-Division  Sankoo Distt Kargil  has been excluded from existing Tehsil & District  for inclusion in Zanaskar on  extraneous grounds   of a Monestry  being in Zanaskar &  Buddhist habitations in Sankoo. The  apprehensions in the minds of people are but logical outcomes   from this  act who got further embittered by five Districts ending up as Buddhist majority ones.

The population of Buddhists  in Kargil  is  20126  &  mostly residing in Zanaskar which is connected with Kargil & Leh involving a surface distance of 240 Km  & 275 Km  respectively. In Leh the Muslim population is 19057 but spread across Leh  (3/4^th ) & Nubra (1/4^th  )with a few households in Sham & none in Changthang. Since MHA  had already sanctioned five Districts only  without any public feedback particularly from Hill Development Councils therefore the Committee on fixation of boundaries amongst the Districts had a limited mandate . The Committee evidently has adopted territorial jurisdiction positions of Sub- Divisions Nubra, Zanskar & Drass for Districts also insofar as these three places are concerned barring an aberration in Zanaskar which is reminiscent of partition woes . The  sooner it is done away with the better.

Across LOC

Gilgit Baltistan,  cartographically a part of Ladakh, has three Divisions and 14  Districts for an area of  72496 Sq km. Incidentally Gilgit & Diamir  Divisions have  never been ever segments of Ladakh excepting Baltistan , the winter capital of Ladakh.

Way forward

1. I)Ministry of Home Affairs may consider increasing the number of Districts by one more & specify Sankoo as 8^th District of Ladakh in order to off-set the existing lopsided  ratio of 4:3  between the two sub- regions  & 5:2  between the  two  religious communities to an equitable  matrics of  4:4 & 5:3  respectively;
2. II)With a view to preserve and perpetuate for good  the two identities of Leh & Kargil, the number of Divisions need be raised from one to two. Leh & Kargil the two Divisions. The Districts  of Changthen,Leh,Nubra & Sham shall constitute Leh Division & Drass, Kargil, Sankoo (suggested)  & Zanaskar  the Kargil Division;

III)                  Four tyre self governance model to be introduced encompassing Panchayat, Block Development Board, District Development Board  substituting Hill Development Council &  the Ladakh Divisional Development  Board at the apex in each of the two suggested Divisions. The Ladakh Panchayat Raj Act and the Ladakh Hill Development Councils Act need be amended to comport with the roadmap suggested apart from vesting the powers in the two Apex bodies similar to powers exercised by the Ministers in Union Territories of J&K, Delhi & Puducherry.

 (The author is IAS (Retd)  & former Chairman of J&K Public Service Commission. Opinions express in the article are the Author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stand of Kashmir Despatch)

KD Desk