Cold Promises

The Centre's recent regulations for land, jobs and cultural preservation aim to address concerns raised by civil society in Ladakh, but Ladakhis feel this is just a quick-fix bureaucratic solution as their primary demands—inclusion in the Sixth Schedule and statehood—have been ignored

- Ishfaq Naseem

SHAHID Hassan, 70, a farmer, drove seven hours from his village in Kargil to Srinagar for an eye surgery. Unable to afford a hotel or a rest room, he had to stay in a room that was a part of a mosque complex known as Imam Bargah on a narrow street in Dalgate. The room was cramped with Hassan’s luggage that the family had to carry for the rather long stay. The mosque led to a street that opened to a bustling wide road across which boats rowed on Dal Lake.

Hassan rested his back against the stained wall of the room where three other people, including his daughter, stayed. They had been living in the cramped space for over two weeks, waiting for Hassan’s eye to heal post-surgery. Then, it would be another seven-hour drive back home.

“We had to spend over Rs 50,000 for the surgery at a private hospital. If we had a decent eye facility in Ladakh, we could have saved the money on travel. Even for basic health checkups, people have to travel all the way,” says Hassan, as his daughter puts drops in his eye.

Hassan and others like him were hoping that their socioeconomic situation would change after August 5, 2019—following the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir—when the Muslim majority Kargil became a part of the Union Territory of Ladakh, along with the Buddhist-dominated Leh.

While the lack of basic facilities and widespread unemployment continue to make the lives of people difficult, over the past five years, locals have been fighting for issues that define their identity and that of their region.

On June 2 and 3, the Centre notified a series of regulations for Ladakh’s land, jobs, and cultural preservation, aimed at addressing concerns raised by civil society in Ladakh. The new legal framework introduces a domicile-based job reservation system, recognition of local languages, and procedural clarity in civil service recruitment.