Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : Divide-and-rule comes to Ladakh and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
“It’s obvious the MHA is trying to splinter us,” says Konchok Stanzin, former Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council executive councillor from Chushul. “Kargil has a slightly higher population growth rate than Leh, which the VBL is exploiting.”
An outspoken critic of the BJP, Stanzin adds that Ladakhis are becoming strangers in their own land. “After 2019, most of our land is being bought by outsiders to set up their own businesses.”
Asgar Ali Karbalai, co-chairman of the KDA and former chief executive councillor of the LAHDC, is equally upset. “The Centre is trying to divide us on the basis of religion but they won’t succeed. Their claim that the people of Zanskar did not support our struggle for autonomy was shattered on 16 March. People from Zanskar right up to Turtuk village abutting Pakistan, from Matayen (the first Ladakhi village after crossing Zoji La Pass) right up to the border village of Chushul, rallied in huge numbers to support our legitimate demands, as did many Buddhist monks.”
Accusing the Centre of gerrymandering, Karbalai said, “Only protest marches get us meetings; otherwise, dead silence. In five years, we’ve had 15 meetings with the MHA. Our demands are clear: statehood and our own legislature. As a UT without a legislature, we have no control over our finances.”
Karbalai’s logic is sound: “If four northeastern states can be included under the Sixth Schedule, which provides for autonomous councils that create laws as per local customs, why can’t we be similarly empowered?