Nawang Tsering Shakspo
For quite a long time now, I, had carried a crusade for Ladakhi language to be continued as a state or regional language, the status that the language had all the way from the commencement of Jammu and Kashmir State Constitution in the year 1957 along with Balti language, another major spoken language in the region till the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, that of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Regrettably, the above-mentioned two important languages of Ladakh are now reduced to the level of native language due to the grant of Official Language status to English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti and Purgi as per the proclamation of Ladakh Official Language Regulation, 2025.
It is very important here to mention that in the past Ladakhi and Balti played an important role in creating a conducive literary and cultural atmosphere in the region. Particularly in Ladakhi, a diverse range of anthologies, poems, plays, essays, fictions, novels, history etc. were published. Besides, the Ladakhi language remained a household name for spoken and written purposes in the region and (even at present round the clock FM radio broadcast songs addressed as Ladakh-se lu-yangs and of course hourly Ladakhi news bulletin also available on Akash Vani, Leh and Door darshan, Leh. Similarly, a huge amount of folk literature could be found in Ladakhi language. The other components of Ladakhi literature are folk songs and folk tales including epics such as Gyalam Gesar and other large stories drawn from the Jatakas, the stories from the previous lives of Lord Buddha.
Ladakhi being a vibrant Language, a branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of art, Culture and Languages was set up by the then J&K Government on the same line of sub- offices of Jammu and Srinagar, the two capitals cities of the state as early as 1970. Since then, literary journals and anthologies have been published and circulated under the aegis of the Academy; and by the time UT Ladakh came into being, hundreds of books were published both by Academy and individual Ladakhi writers. Within a short span of time, a number of the writers of modern Ladakhi literature were conferred with state literary awards by the J&K Academy and above all the first all-Ladakhi language writers conference was held in Tagore Hall, Srinagar, and that was attended by more than one hundred Ladakhi writers and cultural workers in 1982.
Seeing ample scope in Ladakhi language and literature, the Sahitya Akademi, the national academy of letters, also did not stay far behind. The Akademi also decorated the writers of Ladakhi by conferring with their prestigious literary award called the Bhasha Samman. The Indian Institute of languages, Mysore, also carried out socio-linguistic studies by engaging Ladakhi writers for decades. So, this is a short background of the literary trends of Ladakhi language that existed all the way till the promulgation of a New State Language Regulation for the Union Territory of Ladakh in 2025.
In this sphere, I would like to add my own role in taking Ladakhi language to the level of a developed state or national-level language, by initially joining the J&K Academy of art, culture and languages, as a Research Assistant Ladakhi, and later Assistant Editor, Editor Ladakhi, and finally as Chief Editor Ladakhi, in which posts I remained for thirty- three years as a literary staff commencing from 1975. During this period, due to my efforts and persuasion, Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, in the presence of the Chief Minister of J&K State, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, publicly made an announcement that the Government would arrange teaching of Ladakhi up to the 5th standard as a compulsory language in the year 1989. Prior to that, In the year 1988, Sahitya Akademi, the national Academy of letters, in principle agreed to grant Indian language status to Ladakhi and the Akademi nominated Ladakhi writers as the members of the General Council of the Akademi.
Ladakhi language qualifies qualify all the basic and essential qualities to obtain the status of 8th Schedule of language of India on the pattern of two regional languages of former state of Jammu and Kashmir such as Dogri and Kashmiri, the state of which Ladakh was a part for more than seven decades. Unfortunately, Ladakhi language succumbed and fell to the petty politics of Ladakhi writers who highlighted a non-existing name for a language, Bhoti. Otherwise, if Ladakhi writers had worked hard for the only legitimate name such as Ladakhi without any prejudice, there was every prospect for Ladakhi language to obtain the due status such as state language or the 8th language of the Indian Constitution.
In this sphere, it is not out of place to mention that on July 22, 2023, a day-long seminar was held at the historic Mausoleum of rGyalbibi at Karchey Khar organised by Purigi Cultural and literary Society, Kargil. In the conference, BDC Barsoo, Councillor Barsoo, Thusgam and scores of writers, poets, sarpanches, panches hailing from every corner of Kagil participated. Besides literary figures from Kargil such as Kacho Isfynder Khan and bureaucrat Imtiaz Kacho were also participants. The conference was held under the chairmanship of Feroz Khan, the then Chief Councillor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council of Kargil. While delivering his presidential speech, the Chairman advocated for “developing consensus on adopting Ladakhi as the state language as suggested by the scholars from Leh like Nawang Tsering Shakspo and Khanpo Konchok Phandey.
Unfortunately, with the passage of time, our efforts to bring Ladakhi as the state language did not take off as the campaigners of Bhoti succeeded in luring the leaders of political parties such as the B J.P, Ladakh, and organisations such as LBA, LGA and other scores of literary institutions and individuals. In addition, support for Bhoti also came from the then Lt. Governor of Ladakh, Brig. B D Mishra, who had also served in Arunachal Pradesh as Lt. Governor, and had a kind of some idea for the demand for Bhoti language by the Buddhists of Himalayas outside Ladakh. With that idea, he supported the agenda of the BJP’s former member of Lok Sabha, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, who tabled an private bill in Parliament to make Bhoti as a language of the 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution.
With that dramatic development, the President of India, through a notification granted state language status to Bhoti and Purgi, replacing Ladakhi and Balti. In fact, the campaigners had sought for Bhoti the 8th Schedule status but it got only a district-level language status. In that sense, the notification turned out to be what they say, ‘Khoda pahar, nikla chuha’!
What was worse, there was no jubilation and no celebration anywhere in Ladakh. And that gives one a lot to think about and be surprised!
(The author is Director, Centre for Research on Ladakh, Leh)
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