Who Ignited Fire in Cold Desert?

Major world powers are plotting against India in different ways. If we remain internally strong, no external power will be able to harm us.

It is believed that the main character Phunsukh Wangdu, played by Aamir Khan in the film 3 Idiots, was based on the life of Sonam Wangchuk, an environmentalist and social activist from Leh in Ladakh. People already knew him, but after the film, he found a place in the hearts of people across India. The irony, however, is that now, after the recent violence in Leh, he finds himself surrounded by serious allegations. The police have already arrested him. However, the question is: Is Wangchuk truly responsible or are there some hidden forces plotting to weaken India along its borders?

Till now, four people have lost their lives in the violence in Leh and many others have been injured. Before understanding the causes of the violence, one must first understand the background of the issue. Ladakh is the name of the region, with Leh as its main town. Ladakh was earlier a part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, but the people there always felt neglected. Just a few years after Independence, the then president of Ladakh Buddhist Association Chewang Rigzin wrote a letter to the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, demanding that Ladakh be separated from Jammu and Kashmir, since the region was completely distinct from Kashmir in terms of religion, race, language and culture. Another influential Ladakhi leader, Lama Kushok Bakula, had even expressed his displeasure with Sheikh Abdullah and went so far as to warn that if Ladakh’s demands were not met, they might even consider aligning with Tibet. Although it remained just a threat, the demand for Ladakh’s Union Territory status continued through decades of peaceful agitation. In 1979, when the Ladakh region was divided into two districts, Kargil was made a separate district because of its Muslim-majority population while Leh was carved out as a Buddhist-majority district. But soon after, Ladakhi Buddhists began accusing the Jammu and Kashmir state of showing greater sympathy toward Muslims than Buddhists. This discontent eventually erupted into the 1989 movement, during which three people were killed.

Finally, in 2019, when the state of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised and Ladakh was made a Union Territory, celebrations broke out across the region. There was jubilation everywhere. Even Wangchuk himself openly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So, when the region celebrated its new Union Territory status like anything, what triggered the hunger for statehood and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in just a few years? Many people may not even know what the Sixth Schedule is. For your understanding, the Sixth Schedule is an administrative provision that applies to certain tribal areas of four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura and is meant to protect their culture, land and other resources. Certainly, the culture of Leh should be protected and the people there should have primary rights over the resources but violence is by no means a justified path to achieve this goal.

I have visited Ladakh several times. People there are genuinely simple. My most recent visit, along with my younger brother Rajendra, was to inaugurate the warm shelters built by Lokmat Media Group for soldiers in Kargil. During our brief stopover in Leh on the way, we spoke to some people there. Life in this cold desert is extremely harsh, with temperatures plummeting to more than 10 degrees below zero in December and January. Despite this, the locals are peace-loving and deeply committed to preserving their culture. They even enacted a social ban on polythene more than 50 years ago! Given this long history of cultural integrity and peace, it’s naturally shocking to see the people of such a place driven to violence.

People say that environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk began his 35-day hunger strike on September 10. Extending support to his cause, the youth wing of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) called for a peaceful shutdown in Leh. The market remained closed and everything was normal. However, the situation quickly escalated. Some individuals attacked the BJP office, pelting stones, setting a building in the compound on fire and torching vehicles. In response, police and paramilitary forces attempted to control the rioters with shots, tear gas and other measures, resulting in many injuries. Distressed by this shift to violence, Sonam Wangchuk ended his strike, appealing to the youth that while their frustration was understandable, they must not resort to violence. The police have also registered a case against Leh’s Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag in connection with the violence and action is being taken against Sonam Wangchuk’s organisation as well. His organisation will no longer be able to receive foreign funding. But one unanswered question remains: Why would Sonam Wangchuk -- or anyone -- want to incite such violence when the Central government has been holding continuous talks with Ladakh’s representatives? Another round of talks is scheduled for October 6, in which both the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance are scheduled to participate. Violence can only weaken the demand for Ladakh to be given separate statehood! The clear implication is that youths are being deliberately misled. We need to determine the origin of this influence: Is it an internal force or is it linked to an external power? Answering this question is essential because Ladakh, bordering China, is a highly sensitive area.

Allowing any internal weakness to take root there could be as detrimental to our security as the situation in the Kashmir Valley has proven to be. In my view, we must respect the sentiments of the people of Ladakh and also understand that Sonam Wangchuk is not an anti-national person. He wants to keep Ladakh alive in its original form. Furthermore, we must remain aware that certain global forces are opposed to India’s rising economic power. It is crucial that we act with extreme caution to avoid any misstep that could inadvertently empower or provide leverage to these adversarial forces.

The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.