- Monday, April 29, 2024
He staged a hunger strike in March demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution to shield it from exploitation.
By: Twinkle Roy
INDIAN innovator, education reformist and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who became a household name following the release of 2009 Bollywood film ‘3 Idiots’, has urged prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah on X to uphold the ideals of Lord Ram to honour their promises made to Ladakh in the country’s northernmost part.
The 57-year-old recently staged a 21-day strike in challenging conditions seeking statehood for Ladakh and protection for its fragile ecology and local culture and had even called for a people’s march — Pashmina March — from Leh to the border with China last Sunday (7) to highlight the difficulties faced by the Changpa nomadic tribes who he said lost hundreds of square kilometres of land because of Chinese intrusions in the north and “our own corporates in the south”. The march was to be spearheaded by local tribal leaders.
He later called off the march fearing a potential violence as the administration of the Union Territory imposed Article 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure prohibiting assembly of four or more persons in the area and curbed internet services.
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Speaking to The Week, Wangchuk raked up Lord Ram to drive home his point about Ladakh. “Modi ji, a devotee of Ram, built the Ram temple, but what are the values of Lord Ram? In Ramcharitamanas, Raghukul reet sada chali aaye, praan jaaye par vachan naa jaaye (promise should remain same even in death). Lord Ram was in exile for 14 years because he did not want to break his promise,” the activist, who is a mechanical engineer by training, was quoted as saying.
He appealed to the PM to fulfil his promises to Ladakh, and expressed hope that both the prime minister and the home minister would follow their ideals.
Wangchuk has been seeking constitutional safeguards for the UT besides protection for its ecologically fragile ecosystem from industrial and mining activities.
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Speaking about Ladakh’s environmental woes, he told The Week, “Ladakh, situated in the Himalayan region, is grappling with the effects of global warming. Melting glaciers, coupled with shifting weather patterns, have led to an increase in flash floods, landslides, and droughts, significantly impacting the lives of residents in the sparsely populated villages.
“There are growing concerns about safeguarding Ladakh’s mountains from indiscriminate exploitation, particularly mining activities, which have already wreaked havoc in other Himalayan regions like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.”
About including Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, he said it is vital for protecting the region’s indigenous tribal communities who constitute around 97 per cent of the population.
While expressing gratitude that Ladakh was made a UT in 2019, fulfilling a 70-year-old demand, Wangchuk also pointed out that unlike under Article 370 of the constitution (which was abrogated in 2019 to make Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh two separate UTs), hilly regions like Ladakh have no safeguards.
“Despite assumptions, the Sixth Schedule, designed for areas like Ladakh with a 97 per cent tribal population, grants substantial autonomy. It establishes Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) with legislative and judicial powers, enabling them to regulate various aspects such as land, forest, water, agriculture, health, sanitation, and mining. The hunger strike serves as a protest to emphasise the importance of honouring commitments made to Ladakh’s tribal communities,” he was quoted as saying by The Week.
The Sixth Schedule includes provisions about the administration of tribal areas in northeastern Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Inclusion in the schedule would allow Ladakh to have its autonomous district and regional councils — elected bodies that are empowered to run administration of tribal areas. Ladakh has been recognised as a separate UT with no legislature, unlike UTs such as Delhi and Puducherry.
Expressing concerns over the future of Himalayas fragile ecosystem, including Ladakh’s glacier system that sustains around two billion people, Wangchuk said the Sixth Schedule is crucial foe safeguarding the region’s customs, culture and land.
“The Sixth Schedule isn’t a hindrance to development; rather, it ensures that development decisions involve consultation with indigenous communities. These communities, through empowered councils, can better discern what developments are suitable for their region. This local involvement contrasts with decisions made by transient administrators unfamiliar with the area’s intricacies, as Ladakh currently experiences under the UT’s governance without a legislature,” he said.
Explaining how investment and development could spell doom for Ladakh, Wangchuk said mining companies and large hotel chains’ exploiting its resources could see hundreds and thousands of people arriving in the region.
“This influx would strain Ladakh’s delicate desert ecology, where residents rely on just 5 litres of water per day, not 150 litres like in Delhi. Every drop is important. Imagine if 2,00,000 people using 150L of water come to Ladakh, there will be no water for anybody. Ladakh’s limited capacity cannot support such numbers, and unchecked development could turn locals into refugees. Even tourism has wreaked havoc in Ladakh,” he was quoted as saying.
On the Modi government not granting Ladakh the Sixth Schedule status despite giving favourable signals earlier, the activist said the lack of constitutional safeguards would see the rich buying whole valleys and mountains.
The local MP, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, who is also a former chief of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s unit in Ladakh, had raised the matter in August 2019 and the government was supportive, Wangchuk said. He said the tribal minister, Arjun Munda, visited the region the same year and agreed that Ladakh must be safeguarded under the Sixth Schedule.
Meetings of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and others were also in Delhi and it was said Ladakh is the most suitable candidate for the Sixth Schedule but nothing materialised after that, he added.
