In Ladakh, the situation resembles a colonial system: Sonam Wangchuk

Sonam Wangchuk — educator, innovator and climate activist — along with over 100 civil society members from the Union Territory of Ladakh, began a padyatra from Leh to Delhi on 1 September. The peaceful protest will conclude on 2 October, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti.

Over the past four years, Ladakh-based organisations have held numerous demonstrations demanding statehood with a legislature for Ladakh, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil regions, and the extension of the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule to Ladakh — a region carved out of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August 2019.

Despite Union home minister Amit Shah’s engagement with Ladakh’s civil society representatives in New Delhi and promises to address concerns related to climate, culture, land and employment, concrete government action remains pending.

On 26 August, Shah announced the creation of five new districts, Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang. There was no clarity whether the districts would have autonomous and elected development councils. Excerpts from a conversation with Ashutosh Sharma:

What led you to consider resuming your satyagraha against the Central government?

I had sincerely hoped we would not have to resort to such measures. It is not an ideal way for a country to be governed where you have to hold protests and fast. Still, I’m hopeful that the new government, which has completed two months in office now, will respond to our memorandum. So far, the new government has not shown any willingness to re-engage in discussions. Should there be no offer of dialogue, we will have no choice but to resume the fast. This is not an act of defiance but a call for the government to honour its commitments.

Simultaneously, it is intended to serve as a reminder to citizens to reflect on their own lifestyle changes, particularly in light of the escalating climate crises affecting regions like the Himalayas and Wayanad in Kerala.

What was the most significant outcome of your 21-day hunger strike in March this year?

The impact of our hunger strike may not be immediately visible. As the saying goes, “A stone breaks at the hundredth hit, though the previous 99 may seem ineffective.” However, our protest has successfully mobilised public awareness and solidarity across the nation.

Five years after Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature, how has the region’s democratic landscape changed, despite the presence of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council?

There is a significant democratic deficit in the region. Hill councils are excluded from major decision-making processes and primarily handle local civic issues. These councils manage less than 10 per cent of Ladakh’s total budget, with over 90 per cent controlled by the lieutenant-governor alone. As a result, democratic representation is severely lacking.

This situation resembles a colonial system, where a governor acts as an envoy or executor.

There is no justification for keeping such a friendly, supportive and positive population in a border region deprived of democratic governance. India must showcase its commitment to democracy. Instead, we are inadvertently projecting the opposite to the world.

What are the key concerns that drive the push for Sixth Schedule Constitutional safeguards?

Ladakh runs the risk of over-development. The fragile hills and mountains of Ladakh could be exposed to unchecked industrial and mining interests. There are fears about demographic shifts due to the influx of large businesses and industries in a region which otherwise has a very low population density.

Despite its vast size, Ladakh’s environment can only sustain around 3,00,000 people [the existing population]. A sudden increase to 3 million due to unchecked economic activities would result in ecological disaster and potentially marginalise the local population, reducing them to an insignificant minority with diminished electoral power.

In the remote areas of Ladakh, the government has begun allocating large tracts of land to corporations without the approval of Hill Councils. Despite claims that Hill Councils are responsible for land decisions, significant areas are being given to major power corporations for solar projects without local consent.

For instance, the government’s 13-gigawatt renewable energy project in Ladakh involves allocating 20–30 acres of land — equivalent to a city like Delhi or larger — to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in Leh district’s Pang area, near the Himachal border. The Hill Council has stated that it did not approve this land deal, raising questions about who authorised it. Work on the project has already commenced.

We support solar power and would be pleased to see Ladakh contribute to the country’s energy needs. However, the land must remain accessible to local pastoral communities. Fencing off these areas could negatively impact local shepherds.

How has Ladakh’s job market and economy fared since 2019?

Over the past five years, Ladakh has seen minimal progress in employment opportunities. While the government has not advertised even a single gazetted job posting, only a few non-gazetted positions have been filled in the last year or two.

In terms of economic development, there have been remarkable advancements so far as road infrastructure is concerned. The budget for Ladakh jumped from Rs 300–500 crore to Rs 6,000 crore after it became a UT. On the ground though, the intended results are not showing up on that scale. Every year, more than 50 per cent of the budget remains unspent.

The government has set up an engineering college and a Central university, even though a university was already established in Ladakh five years ago. While this demonstrates some generosity, it also means that these institutions may struggle to attract students from the local population. For instance, the new engineering college is expected to admit 400 students annually, yet the region typically produces only 10–20 candidates suitable for such a programme. A more effective approach would be to reserve seats for Ladakhi students in existing, reputable educational institutions elsewhere.

Furthermore, the harsh winter climate may deter non-local students [from coming to study] in Ladakh, making the situation even more challenging.

What kind of economic model would you recommend for the development of Ladakh?

I would endorse Gandhiji’s idea of gram swaraj. Ladakh’s problems are not the kind that can be solved by simply throwing money at them. Massive tourism infrastructure will have a counter-intuitive impact. The tourism in the region remains organic so far. It is quite homely, with a humane face. A homestay model of tourism should be promoted in the interiors of Ladakh so that the impact of tourism is not concentrated in two or three places. We support responsible tourism.

Independent candidate Mohmad Haneefa won Ladakh’s Lok Sabha seat, unseating the BJP after two consecutive terms. What message does this send?

Most people in Ladakh were immensely grateful when they received Union Territory status in 2019. Many mainstream political parties in the region had publicly declared that if the ruling BJP fulfilled its promises to provide safeguards under the Sixth Schedule and establish a legislature, they would support the BJP wholeheartedly. They would have given the Lok Sabha seat to the BJP on a platter. However, despite widespread public demonstrations and protests, these promises were not kept. This failure has deeply hurt and humiliated the people of Ladakh.

You’ve voiced concerns about pastoral tribes losing access to grazing lands along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). How has this situation evolved?

The current government may argue otherwise, but it is evident that large tracts of land, once used by our shepherds for grazing livestock during the summer, have now become extended buffer zones throughout eastern Ladakh in recent years.

It is not as if Chinese soldiers are stopping our shepherds from accessing the frontline pastures; rather, it is now Indian troops who are preventing them from doing so. These extended buffer zones have been established on Indian soil. The ‘no man’s land’ that used to be 20 km away now exists [right] next to our populated villages. Just as glass breaks regardless of whether it falls on a stone or a stone falls on it, herders have lost their pastures regardless of Chinese occupation or the establishment of buffer zones.

This interview first appeared in Frontline