Author-Rajesh Choudhary
Ladakh being as beautiful as it is, Has been going through a difficult phase of relentless protests and strikes, The epicentre of these protests has been the ruling party at centre and the people of Ladakh.
The people of Ladakh have been protesting for inclusion of their community into the sixth schedule of the Indian constitution, Which grants special protection to tribal areas in pursuit of preservation of their cultural identity, Secondly, Statehood is demanded for their territory, In 2019 after the abrogation of article 370 which gave a special status to the state of J&K ,Ladakh was carved out of J&K and given the status of a union territory without legislature. Which meant no seats in Vidhan Sabha and no Chief Minister representing the local population of tribal people which constitutes 96% of Ladakh in the centre.
In the districts of Leh and Kargil, The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils that were established for self-governance in Leh and Kargil in the middle of the 1990s and early 2000s played a significant role in making decisions about canals, village administration, marriage, divorce, inheritance ,land, healthcare, and other local matters. Much of the authority held by two autonomous organisations has also been taken away.
With no protection of sixth schedule the local population fears rampant commercialisation of their land into a tourist spot, Similar to what happened with states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. They fear losing jobs and cultural identity if Ladakh allows outside people to do business and disrupt the local job market respectively.
As rising temperatures, glaciers melting quickly, springs drying up, rainfall increasing, snowfall decreasing, and water scarcity become common, Ladakh is turning into the epicentre of ecological crisis. The developing catastrophes show how misguided human interactions have been towards the land, water, air, animals, and forests. Ecological damage can be prevented by granting the tribal people ownership over these resources.
There are allegations that lobbyists and industrialists have been a force behind the Ladakhis not being included in the sixth schedule, As Ladakh is rich in mineral deposits like Arsenic Ore, Borax, Gold, Granite, Limestone, Marble and Sulphur which hold great commercial value in the market.
Finally, if the provisions of the Sixth Schedule are extended to Ladakh, laws, policies and their execution would become place-based, not policies designed in faraway places by people unfamiliar with the ground. Without legal backing, locally evolved norms could be trampled upon if another project comes in. It could be bulldozed if a stubborn contractor, whose mandate is only to show a successful implementation of the project, rolls in with his machinery.
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