Washington, DC – The establishment of five districts in Ladakh following the formation of the union territory in 2019 could be described as a game-changing milestone in local politics. The reorganization of the administrative map could potentially help locals move away from the Leh-Kargil rivalry, which has polarized society and exacerbated a long-standing regional divide.
In 1979, the Kashmiri ruling party, the National Conference, divided Ladakh into two districts along religious lines in order to gain sympathy from the Muslim population, and the schism has since become permanent. Locals claim that Kashmiri rulers’ greed reduced the territory to a Buddhist-Muslim binary, resulting in endless disputes and impasses.
Binary politics fueled religious and racial bigotry and had an impact on all aspects of society, including economic development. It shattered the peace in this tranquil haven, which is home to a variety of religions and languages. This polarization posed significant challenges to social cohesion, not only at the district level but also within each tribe and family. Extreme views and deep prejudices, fed by astonishing levels of ignorance on social media, harmed many friendships. People lost sight of the importance of truth, reason, and merit as the social fabric weakened. The intelligent few who proposed alternative solutions were deemed untrustworthy by the religious elite and thus isolated and discarded.
Having Kargil as a power base rivaling Leh resulted in a rigid and divisive voter base. This divide served as a distraction during the election, with people voting based on region and religion rather than merit. Any development work done outside of Kargil was viewed through the lens of a Buddhist dominance agenda and portrayed as apartheid against Muslims. It prevented many communities from recognizing Leh as the capital of the Union Territory. It also harmed efforts to develop the Ladakhi language and recognize the Ladakhi script as a unifying cultural medium.
The neighboring union territory of Jammu and Kashmir benefits the most from Ladakh’s polarized minefield, where the Kashmiri ruling parties exploit the Kargil-Leh divide to gain an electoral advantage. Because of the National Conference’s strong influence, Kargili Muslims continue to oppose the Union Territory status for Ladakh that resulted from the division of Jammu and Kashmir.
Every community strives for political autonomy so that it can engage in activities that are consistent with its integrated sense of self, but Ladakh is probably the one place on Earth where Muslim residents consistently demand a re-merger with Kashmir valley rather than owning and working for their union territory’s success. The influence of Kashmiri politics can be seen in the fact that the Muslims of Kargil see no future with their own Buddhist Ladakhi kin and would rather be subservient to Kashmiris with whom they share no language or culture. In the name of preserving Islamic values, the Kargilis are following in the footsteps of the Kashmiris, who gave up their native language and script for Urdu.
The Leh-Kargil binary had turned Kargili politics into quicksand, with the public allowing the media and politicians to artificially craft division. Over time, voters felt trapped in a zero-sum game in which the political campaign against Hindus and Buddhists yielded no results, and following the religious establishment into an unending cycle of uncertainty and bewilderment only exacerbated the stalemate. This binary, which had locked local politics in checkmate for far too long, made the stakeholders realize that they were voting to isolate themselves from one another, all in an attempt to bring back memories of a bygone era.
Many in Kargil now admit that Ladakh has no political or economic future in a unified Jammu Kashmir. All 562 princely states that acceded to India or Pakistan lost their pre-partition shapes and merged into modern provinces and states, so why should Kashmir be an exception?
The government’s decision to establish five districts as new power centers would discourage power concentration in Leh or Kargil towns, allowing citizens to see beyond the Leh versus Kargil zero-sum binary game. The new five power centers are spread out to benefit people in remote areas like Changthang, Zanskar, and villages along Gilgit-Baltistan. It is hoped that development funds for new districts will not end up in the pockets of a few families in Kargil or Leh, as this would only strengthen the mafias, which function as extended arms of the Kashmiri elite. The administrative restructuring should expedite infrastructure modernization in isolated regions. Otherwise, the new districts would remain dysfunctional and in despair.
Senge Sering
Senge Sering is a native of Pakistan-occupied-Gilgit-Baltistan and runs the Washington DC based Gilgit Baltistan Studies
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