Nawang Tsering Shakspo
According to the history of Ladakh, the region was a kingdom all the way from the 10th Century up to the period of occupation by the Dogra General Zorawar Singh, who annexed the region to the dominion of Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu in 1834. Otherwise during the reign of the successive kings of Ladakh, which lasted for about eight hundred years, the peace-loving Ladakhis carried on a relatively isolated existence. However, on a number of occasions invaders from Central Asia, West Asia, and Tibet entered the region and instead of occupying the region transformed the region into meeting point of Central Asian traders. Similarly, a good number of travellers and explorers entered the region and wrote books on their experiences there. One described the region as “Where Three Empires Meet” and gave good details of the lifestyle of the people and the region’s geography. And with the passage of time Ladakh became part of the Union of India, placing it under the administrative jurisdiction of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947. With the abolition of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and the revocation of article 370 on August 5, 2019, Ladakh emerged as the 8thUnion Territory of India.
If I talk about pre-independence Ladakh’s political and administrative setup, the Dogras described the region as the Ladakh Wazarat, governed by a wazir. Under the Ladakh Wazarat the region was composed of three tehsils namely Skardu, the present capital of what we call Baltistan in Pakistan, Kargil and Leh the present two districts of Union Territory of Ladakh.
Upto 1947, each tehsil had less than one lakh of population and even after more than 70 years, the population of Leh and Kargil has remained below three lakhs, which is good for the region like Ladakh, where vegetation is sparse, surrounded by high bare mountain passes and very little water forfarm land. On this point, it is worth noting the observation made by Major M.L.A. Gomperts in his book, Magic Ladakh: “Ladakh is very much a self-supporting country and produces everything or nearly everything it wants except tea, which is the staple drink of the country.” Similarly, an interesting Kashmiri proverb says that, “Ladakhis eat sattu (roasted barley flour), wear pattu (woollen clothing) and ride tattu (ponies)’.
In olden times persons interested in obtaining higher education in Buddhist religion and philosophy would look to Tibet for spiritual guidance and would undertake the arduous journey on foot.
Now in the Union Territory of Ladakh, the region is making speedy progress in the fields of infrastructure development and modern education. But there is also brewing a sense of discontent among the educated youth of Ladakh with the abolition of Article 370, and the failure to placeLadakh under the purview of the 6th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. If granted, this would give job protection and land and many other reservations to the locals.
On the one hand in the Union Territory of Ladakh, there are two functioning autonomous hill councils with a total strength of 60 councillors, out of which 10 have the status of minister. On the other hand, religious, political, social, and student organisations think that in the absence of any legislative power with the hill council, the two autonomous hill councils are not meeting the expectations of the local people, hence these organizations are on the verge of spearheading an agitation to seek statehood for Ladakh, as well as constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, or similar-like status, two Lok Sabha and one Rajya Sabha seats, and the filling of 10,000 to 12,000 vacancies in the Government departments.
Finally, my own interest in this New Union Territory of Ladakh is to have an official language, which in reality can protect and safeguard the centuries old customs, cultural legacies, folklore, and the history of Ladakh. It is an established fact that unless or until a region or a state protects local languages and culture, all this talk will prove futile. We see this challenge across the Himalayan region, where the dominant culture and civilization were related to the Mahayana Buddhist culture and civilization. What I personally see now is that a general consensus is emerging in the new Union Territory that the Ladakhi language should be the official language. This could unite the community and followers of different faiths and contribute to making Ladakhi society a vibrant one.
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