The BJP-led Ladakh Hill Development Council in Leh passed a resolution on Thursday seeking safeguards for Ladakhis over land, employment and other opportunities, dealing a blow to the party’s integration theory.
A source in the council said the resolution was tantamount to seeking Ladakh exclusively for Ladakhis, although it did not say so explicitly.
When the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, of which Ladakh was then a part, was revoked last year, the BJP had argued the provision — which reserved land and jobs for local people — was hindering the state’s full integration with the rest of the country.
Now, with Article 370 revoked, the Ladakhis have sought similar safeguards under Article 371, which grants special privileges to the residents of some Indian states.
“Keeping in view the aspirations of the people of Ladakh, I would like to move the resolution that the Union Territory of Ladakh be granted constitutional safeguards for land, environment, employment, business and cultural resources either under 6th schedule, or under Article 371 or domicile act under Constitution of India to protect the tribal rights of the indigenous people of Ladakh,” the resolution said.
When the Union Territory of Ladakh was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir last year, its Buddhist minority had cheered the decision. But it has since been raising concerns over the region’s identity and environment.
In Hindu-majority Jammu, too, many have objected to “outsiders” being allowed to take up government jobs and buy land.
In November, Ladakhi environmentalist and Magsaysay Award winner Sonam Wangchuk had voiced fears about the rise of a separatist movement in Ladakh, claiming Ladakhis were beginning to compare their treatment by India to that of Tibetans by China.
Thursday’s resolution was moved by the deputy chairman of the council, who is from the BJP, and seconded by three other members.
“It was unanimously passed with all parties supporting it,” a source said.
Sources said 30 councillors, including six from the Congress, had participated in the meeting. Also present was the BJP parliamentarian from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal. He welcomed the resolution.
The resolution said Ladakh’s distinct cultural aspects, strategic location and fragile ecosystem were the reasons Ladakhis from all sections of society were seeking “constitutional safeguards” for the protection of their land, employment, environment, business and culture.
Ladakh’s Muslims, who enjoy a slender majority, had fiercely opposed the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its division into two Union Territories.