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“We need statesmen of integrity, farsightedness, and wisdom in this country” were the words of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on the 21 st day of the climate fast in Ladakh.
Ladakh has a long history of struggle for political independence. Dating back to 1952 Kushok Baakula Rinpoche addressed Jammu and Kashmir assembly stating that the State government of Jammu and Kashmir was discriminating against Ladakh and demanded for conversion of Ladakh to Union territory. Further in the 1960s, another protest arose in Ladakh which demanded scheduled tribe status and political autonomy from Jammu and
Kashmir.
In this regard, on 8 th May 1995, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Bill was passed in the parliament. These Autonomous Hill Development Councils worked with village panchayats to take decisions on economic development, healthcare, education, land use, taxation, and local governance. But these Hill councils were just a temporary solution, the demand for the full status of Union territory continued.
These demands were however fulfilled on 5 August 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated and Ladakh was granted the status of separate union territory. This was a dream come true after 30 long years of struggle. The status of Union territory meant a special focus of the center on Ladakh which meant socio-economic development of the region.
However, this dream soon turned into a nightmare as with the abrogation of article 370 all the privileges which Ladakh had were lost. Since there does not exist any legislative assembly, there arose the issue of political representation. The existing Autonomous Hill Council did not have legislative powers, hence reducing the people of Ladakh to powerless subjects with just 1 Member of parliament. As per Sonam Wangchuk, 90% of the 6000 crore allocated to Ladakh is at the dispensation of a non-elected person i.e. the Lieutenant-Governor who is an outsider appointed from Delhi. The layer of bureaucracy in turn led to the diminishing of major decision-making power of the Hill Development Council as they report to the Lieutenant Governor instead of the AHDC.
Also, along with Article 370, even the special status of the people of Ladakh was withdrawn i.e. they no longer held the Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC). This special status reserved the property rights and the area for mining for the localities, and no outsider was allowed to buy any land. This withdrawal has threatened the people of Ladakh that in future their land might be captured by Land Mafias and they may be reduced from land owners to tenants on their own land. The incidents of flooding in Himachal Pradesh, Joshimath Landslide in Uttarakhand, and the felling of trees at Hasdeo -Arand area which have deeply impacted the lives of tribal living in that area have further increased
the fear of people of Ladakh.
Another major issue is the overloading of tourists in the region. The new airport at Leh with a capacity of handling over 20 lakh tourists has led to a large number of hotels coming in that region which are mainly dependent on groundwater, thereby increasing the water stress. Outside interference may also threaten the tribal culture of Ladakh.
These threats have led to demands for the 6 th schedule in Ladakh. The 6 th schedule provides autonomy to the District Council to make laws regarding marriage, forest, land use, canal water, and so on. Further, the councils are empowered to establish, construct, and manage schools, dispensaries, markets, fisheries, waterways etc within their district. These councils can establish Village and district courts for trial of cases concerning scheduled tribes.
However, the provision to make the 6 th schedule applicable is not so easy as it requires constitutional amendment which shall require a special majority in the parliament. The functioning of these councils as evident from the councils working in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram may be marred by corruption and financial mismanagement. Since these autonomous councils lack skilled planning professionals, it results in ill-conceived
development projects. Further, even after years of implementation of the 6th schedule, the areas of the northeast continue to remain backward. The district council which consists of a few people who enjoy unbridled power has failed to ensure citizen-centric governance.
Another major reason for the union government to resist the 6 th schedule in Ladakh is related to national security. Repeated incursion efforts of China at LAC (Line of Actual Control) especially near Pangong Tso Lake since 2022 have threatened the security of the region. To prevent China from making inroads in the region the center needs its strong presence in Ladakh. The presence of a layer of the district council and autonomous regions may hinder the center’s role in the effective resolution of security issues. If the 6 th schedule is given, various ongoing military projects including the Zoji-La tunnel, Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) road, and other infrastructure projects in Ladakh may suffer from clearance issues that would be needed by the District and regional council and be delayed.
Moreover, the immense hydroelectric and solar power potential will remain unharnessed by the rest of India. With India targeting to achieve 50% of installed electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources by 2030 (NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions)), Ladakh can play a significant role in achieving these commitments.
But at the same time, there is a need to understand that large-scale development in the region can lead to long-term environmental concerns. Ladakh constitutes part of the trans- Himalayan range. The significance of the Himalayas can be understood from the fact that roughly 1/4 th of the population of the world is dependent directly or indirectly
on it. As per the IPCC report between 2000 to 2019, glaciers have lost an average of 267 billion metric tonnes of ice per year. Further, given that there are more than 8700 glacial lakes in the Himalayan region, the rapid melting of glaciers could lead to floods from glacial lake outbursts, thereby increasing the vulnerability to natural disasters.
As we conclude this article the protest completes more than 50 days of climate fast and continues to stay strong. By far this protest in Ladakh marks the longest ever going environmental protest in India, thereby transforming the Indian landscape of protest, and highlighting the shift towards larger community goals. The way forward lies in the government reaching out to the people of Ladakh, attempting to regain the lost confidence, to reach a ground that does not lead to compromise of larger national goals, and also tribal culture remains preserved. Without neglecting the idea of participatory democracy, efforts should be made to make the people of Ladakh a major stakeholder in the nation-building process.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint