Aatif Ahmad Mehjoor
14-09-2006

Journey of Ladakh with Atif

The valley of Kashmir makes up only a small proportion of the area of Jammu and Kashmir but it gets the most attention. Of the three regions that constitute this state, the largest by far is Ladakh. Hence, a visit to Kashmir is incomplete if it does not include a tour of the fascinating high-altitude desert of Ladakh, a land studded with towering mountains and home to an ancient Buddhist culture. It was for this reason that I recently decided to visit Ladakh. Apart from enjoying the panoramic views of high peaks, my trip gave me the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the political situation in the region.

The people of Ladakh are ethnically homogenous. It does not matter whether one is in Kargil or in Leh, racially the people are of Tibetan stock, barring a few tribes tucked away in Kargil’s remote valleys. The language spoken by the people throughout Ladakh is a variant of Tibetan, although it is not mutually intelligible with the standard Tibetan spoken in Lhasa. The script in which the Ladakhi language is written varies with the religion of the writer. The people of Kargil, who are mainly Shia Muslims write their language in the Perso-Arabic script. They call their language “Balti” even though it is nearly the same as the language spoken around Leh. The Buddhists of the region write their language in its original Tibetan script.

Even though the region lacks decent infrastructure, tourism has flourished and continues to be a growth sector. In Leh itself I encountered a large number of foreigners from Europe, Israel and America, who are drawn by the cheap rent, cheap food, excellent views of mountains, and the exotic culture. The natural beauty of Ladakh is of a different kind from the one found in Kashmir. Since the region receives scanty rainfall, there is hardly any greenery on the mountains, which are just bare peaks of rock and mud. Most of the mountains in Ladakh rise above 6000 metres in altitude, and famous ones include Nun Kun (more than 7000 metres) and Stok Kangri (6150 metres). This has made mountaineering and adventure tourism a major source of income for Ladakhi businessmen. Hundreds of travel agencies have sprung up that offer guided tours and expeditions of the mountains.

Due to bad weather, I was unable to visit the Nubra valley, which is famous for being the roadhead to the high battlefields of Siachen glacier. The other major attraction in Leh district is Panggong lake which I was able to visit. This lake lies partly within India and partly within China. To get to the lake one has to cross the third highest road in the world on Changla pass (17800 feet altitude) and the road that leads up to the pass is perhaps one of the most dangerous in the world, prone to frequent landslides and rockfall. We negotiated the pass at a time when it was raining heavily and a number of heavy goods vehicles had suffered accidents. We were lucky to cross the pass safely.

Ladakh has always had an uneasy relationship with the rest of Jammu and Kashmir state. Ever since power in the state shifted into the hands of Kashmiris like Sheikh Abdullah, the Ladakhis have constantly complained of discrimination and demanded separation from the state. Even now separatist sentiment continues to dominate the politics of the region. The people of Leh have now been given a “Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council” (LAHDC) and its powers were strengthened recently by the PDP government. Yet, the people continue to harp on their old demand of separation from J&K state. They still wish to be made a Union Territory of India. At the same time communal harmony has been disrupted by a number of riots between the Muslims and Buddhists of both Kargil and Leh district. In January this year there was a riot in Leh sparked by an incident in Kargil. Despite their avowed commitment to non-violence, the Buddhists of Leh have never shied away from using violence to make a point or to intimidate the minority community. In fact, there is a de facto law in Leh that a Muslim man cannot marry a Buddhist girl and vice versa. There are many men, Muslim and Buddhist, who have had to go into hiding because of their love affairs with girls of the other community: the punishment for such acts is lynching.

For all practical purposes, Leh district is so fully integrated with India that it has ceased to be a part of Jammu and Kashmir. The district has a democratically elected body that provides self-governance and that receives much of its funding direct from the Centre. The letterheads of the LAHDC and other officials in Leh do not even include a reference to their being part of Jammu and Kashmir. Last year, the political parties of Leh decided to dissolve their separate existences and united to form one political party: the Ladakh Union Territory Front. This party won a landslide victory in the LAHDC elections, a clear indication of the political aspirations of the people of this region.

It should be noted though that separatist politics is only popular with the people of Leh district. The people of Kargil have made it clear that they have no truck with the separatist demands of the Leh Buddhists. Relations between the predominantly Shia Muslims of Kargil and Leh and the Buddhists have deteriorated in the last few years. There is little chance of any rapprochement between the two communities, and in the future their political stances are likely to diverge further. Despite the central role of non-violence (ahimsa) in Buddhism, the Buddhists of Leh are as liable to turn to violence as a method of political expression as any other commitment. Hence, in any future solution of Kashmir their aspirations must be recognised and addressed. At the same time, the people of Leh will have to recognise that the Kargilis are more loyal to Srinagar than to Leh. Ideally, the people of Kargil would want to be united with their co-religionist brothers in Baltistan. However, it is not true that they wish to be united with a Buddhist Leh and that too as a union territory. The idea is being propagated that the people of Baltistan and Kargil are fully supportive of the Leh people’s fight for union territory status. This is utterly ludicrous. As one Kargili told me, “if they [people of Leh] wish to link themselves with Himachal or Punjab, we want to link ourselves with Khachul [Kashmir].” This is confirmed by the fact that large numbers of Shia Muslims from Kargil and Leh have bought properties in Srinagar.

It is unfortunate that a culturally and linguistically homogenous region like Ladakh should be divided along communal lines. However, the blame for inflaming communal feelings in this region lies partly on the various governments that have ruled from Srinagar and discriminated against the Ladakhis, and partly on the Sangh Parivar which has sunk its claws deep into Ladakh and incited disaffection amongst the Buddhists. It is probably too late to repair the damage that six decades of mismanagement and nearly two decades of communalist subversion have inflicted. Politicians in Kashmir should understand, though, that separatism is merely a tool used by the people of Leh to win benefits from the government in Srinagar. The only communication link to this region is via Srinagar. The people of Leh should realize that Kashmiris are willing to grant them self-rule, as the establishment of the LAHDC by the NC and the devolution of more power to it by the PDP demonstrate. They should look at their brothers in Tibet and how their culture has been wiped out by the Chinese. On the other hand, politicians in Srinagar ought to do more to reassure the Buddhist community in Leh. Otherwise, the alienation of this community from Srinagar will continue and lead to its separation from Kashmir.