Mutasif Hussain (Leh)

Asst. Prof. (History), Indraprastha College for Women, DU

I can understand, Covid has distracted Ladakh from a wide-ranging experience of a Union Territory. At a glance, Ladakh appears more of a bureaucratic state than a modern democracy. Constitutionalism abhors the creation of Power Corridors, one must be reminded. A single MP at the helm, however efficient is not an adequate political office for the entire UT, the lockdown evacuations, the deadlock over unemployment, domicile issue etc. echo this fact. Some positives are overnight welcome change for youth in terms of opportunities, especially sports, centrally sponsored schemes, access to funds, new university etc. The KDA continues with its distinct aspirations post UT formation despite attempts at unity by Apex body, which is the skeptical side of Ladakh. For now, the biggest question is, what if in the future the ruling party and the office of His Excellency don’t see eye to eye? (Delhi!) Post courting, Ladakh’s tryst with bigger ‘power’ has only begun.

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Shazeya Nazir (Kargil)

President ALSWAJ (All Ladakh Students’ Welfare Association Jammu)

The purpose of the inception of the Union Territory of Ladakh promised a holistic development of the region. The government of India promised due share to the people of Ladakh in terms of socio-economic development and political empowerment. People were excited about job creation and booming infrastructure development from the new dispensation. But now people have realised that Union Territory administration is nothing but a tighter bureaucratic control over the autonomy of the region creating new problems in the region. The unemployment issue has taken the centre stage since Ladakh was formed as UT, which is becoming gruesome day by day. UT Ladakh has not advertised a single post since its inception. The bureaucratic control on the whole administrative machinery has made the political voices dim. The Autonomous councils have been limbless without legislative power. As quoted by Karen White “sometimes Hope is all we have, and to lose that we lose all”.

PT Wangyal (Leh)

PG Economics 

Ladakh was granted with UT on 5th August 2019, since then many changes occurred; be it in socio-economic infrastructure developments.  The UT has blessed with big projects like medical college, engineering college, central university, up-gradation of the civil airport, installation of mobile towers.  Unfortunately, the new UT was badly hit by the COVID pandemic and tension at the Sino-India border at Galwan nallah. UT Ladakh is about to complete two years but still, it has not framed laws for recruitment, and domicile. On the other hand, all central laws are applicable now in Ladakh.  

People are in chaos, especially youth as unemployment is at the highest peak,  at this critical juncture it is the responsibility of both LAHDCs to come forward to demand recruitment policy for local indigenous people for the common interest of Ladakh.

Saif Ali Khan (Kargil)

Lawyer, President AKSAD

Ever since Ladakh has become UT, the control of the government has shifted in the hands of bureaucracy. Earlier Ladakh has had a strong public representation with elected representatives in the Lower and Upper house of the erstwhile J&K State Assembly. The Autonomous Hill Development Councils were free to govern on innumerable matters with a reasonable financial Autonomy. The public representation was so strong that it indeed translated into electoral democracy where the people held absolute power over the representatives.

Now there is no real electoral democracy in Ladakh. The Autonomous council’s power has been drastically reduced; the financial Autonomy of the council has been clamped down. The public representations speaking for the interest of people are independent bodies like KDA and Apex Body. This signals the diminishing democratic institutions in Ladakh after Union Territory and people falling back on the traditional leadership to carry forward their demands.

Tufail Ahmad (Kargil)

Undergraduate, University of Delhi

Proven, ignoring all the constitutional absurdities with the destruction of the provisions of Article 370 since the time of Nehru, it is ultimately the ideological leaning, no matter how unjustifiable it gets, given the assurance of power, and the effectively brainwashed populace that will determine law of the land. The latter is true for democracies in general, the former, a peculiarity of the Indian polity. We will inevitably have to deal with the consequences. One such consequence is Ladakh becoming a Union Territory, a centrally administered territory, that is, for some “heroes” like Sonam Wangchuk, for reasons unknown to the discipline of Political Science, a step towards decentralization. Now what some optimistic Ladakhis are expecting from the regime, is nothing short of asking it to strike a dent in the hull of its so carefully carried out centralization plot. One needs to be even more cut off from reality to assume that a dignified future lies ahead for Kargil under the same order.