When decisions are taken for constituents in a province without their explicit consent or their deliberation, there could be a blowback even if the constituents initially welcomed the changes with hope. Such is the case with the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its bifurcation into two Union Territories (UT), which includes the erstwhile constituent of Ladakh. While the discontent in the Kashmir Valley with both decisions is well documented, a Lokniti survey points to four-tenths of Jammu residents opposing the abrogation of special status and a larger majority seeking restoration of statehood. When Ladakh was hived off into a UT from the then unified State, the government justified this as reflecting a demand from residents of Ladakh — Leh in particular — who were concerned about the predominance of the Kashmir Valley and Jammu in its erstwhile legislature. Yet, five years on, the protests in Ladakh with the demand for statehood or the province’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution — which has provisions regarding administration of tribal areas in some North-Eastern States — confirm the unpopularity of the decisions made by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government. While Ladakh is host to two Autonomous Hill Councils in Leh and Kargil, the absence of an empowered legislature in the UT, which has meant little say for local governance in comparison to a larger writ for New Delhi, has given rise to these protests. The agitations, the one led by social activist Sonam Wangchuk in particular, with echoes in New Delhi, raise the question whether the Union government could have avoided the Machiavellian route of one-upmanship seen in 2019, which led to the current situation.
A larger question relates to how Ladakh has been viewed by New Delhi ever since 2019. Following Chinese incursions across the Line of Actual Control and recurring tensions in the region, Ladakh has largely been seen through a security lens. Local concerns related to livelihoods, environmental issues such as water scarcity, waste management and pollution and civic issues such as access to land for pastoral communities remain relatively unaddressed in the administrative scheme. The absence of a legislature in the newly formed UT is a key reason why residents seem agitated about the lack of deliberation or avenues to register their concerns. It goes without saying that the Union Government must find a way to meet the legitimate demands of Ladakh and grant it statehood. More importantly, the discontent also highlights the importance of preserving India’s polished system of “asymmetric federalism” that has purposefully addressed grievances.
Published - October 22, 2024 12:15 am IST