In the struggle for Ladakh’s demands for statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule, the Apex Body, Leh (ABL), has been joined by the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), despite the historically divergent political interests of Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil. Now, both outfits have joined forces.
KDA founder-member Sajjad Kargili tells The Indian Express that after the ABL pulled out of talks with the Centre on October 6, his outfit will follow suit. He weighs in on the situation in the Union Territory, why the government should “act with wisdom”, and the way forward. Excerpts:
Why have the protests taken this turn now?
Unfortunately, we have seen violence for the first time during these protests. We do not know the reason why this violence erupted because we were in Kargil and the protest was going on in Leh. The Apex Body, Leh, and the youth had given a call for a bandh, not for protest. And the violence was a very unfortunate part. And then they (police and security personnel) opened files on peaceful protesters.
We are demanding a high-level inquiry and justice for the four people killed and the more than 70 injured. The people of Ladakh have always been very peaceful and patriotic. There are two borders on both sides; people are very much patriotic; they love their nation, they love their country. They have always fought wars alongside the Army. What happened is really unfortunate. Otherwise, our movement is very peaceful and we are demanding our rights.
The Apex Body, Leh, will not attend a meeting with the Centre on Tuesday and announced it was pulling out of talks on October 6. What is the KDA’s stand?
Our stand is the same as that of the Apex Body.
Is there a timeline to meet your demands?
It can be done easily. If the government says, ‘We are very familiar with masterstrokes and guarantees’, they should give a masterstroke by granting Ladakh statehood.
There have been allegations of ‘a foreign hand’ being behind the protests.
This should not have happened because we are demanding the Sixth Schedule, which the BJP promised to us. And we are demanding statehood because we need democracy; India is known for its democracy and federal structure.
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Levelling such allegations against a peaceful movement is very unfortunate, particularly for people who are hardcore nationalists and patriots in a very sensitive region. It means you are pushing them against the wall. I think, and I appeal, that the government should act sensibly and with wisdom.
What can be a lasting solution? Is a new framework required?
First, the people of Ladakh need their voice to be heard. And then they (the Centre) should ensure democracy. How will they ensure democracy? That can be debated. If they are not ready to give full-fledged statehood, we can (make a start) … they should at least give a us a legislature … The (Transaction of) Business Rules between the Hill Council and the UT administration has not been decided yet. There is no single job they have given to the people of Ladakh, gazetted jobs, till date, for the last six years. There is no Public Service Commission, so there is no single recruitment that has happened. So, you can understand the level of frustration among the people.
We came into this for two things: the domicile issue as well as reservation. Both these are executive orders, not Constitutional guarantees. Executive orders can be changed, amended, any time. We want some assurances, some concrete Constitutional rights, some concrete constitutional guarantees for Ladakh.
How has the situation among the youth, especially on the issue of jobs, changed since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A?
When we were a part of Jammu and Kashmir, we had administrative issues with the government. But at least we had some voice. We had some reasons to put blame on our leaders for weaknesses, for the lack of opportunities, because we had our own elected representatives. At least we had some Constitutional guarantees then, and not a kind of fear for our existence. We were not feeling any kind of existential threat to that.
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Today, we do not have any safeguard for our land, for our jobs, for our representation. We are disempowered on three levels. First, they snatched our representation; there is no legislature, so we are politically disappointed. We have a land-culture identity and don’t have any land rights. So we are disempowered on this, too. And thirdly, we don’t have any Public Service Commission, no gazetted posts for recruitment.
Initially, Ladakh wanted to be a Union Territory. What made you want statehood?
No, we don’t want this idea of a UT to exist because of the failure to address the issues of the people of Ladakh. We want full-fledged statehood along with the Sixth Schedule, which the BJP promised.
How was your meeting with Lieutenant-Governor Kavinder Gupta?
We can maybe blame him for the recent law-and-order situation. But issues such as statehood and Sixth Schedule are not his domain. Hence, there is no reason to discuss these things with the L-G. These things should be discussed with the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister.
What is required for lasting peace in the region, especially in border areas?
The government should listen to the youth and try to address their issues. Some issues will remain, but it also depends on the gravity of the issue. That is why the serious issues, particularly job-related ones, must be resolved.
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Hundreds of students from different universities across the country returned to Ladakh with PhDs in their hands, but are jobless … So you can understand the gravity of their frustration and resentment.