by Syed Shadab Ali Gillani
SRINAGAR: For agitating residents of Ladakh seeking protection under the Sixth Schedule and an assembly, the Government of India gave them five additional districts. Comprising Leh and Kargil districts, Ladakh will now have seven districts for a population of 274,289.
Home Minister, Amit Shah announced five new districts including Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang. While Zanskar and Drass are being carved out of the Kargil district, Sham, Nubra and Changthang have been carved out of the Leh district.
“The Modi government is committed to creating abundant opportunities for the people of Ladakh,” Shah said. “The new districts, namely Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang, will take the benefits meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny.”
On August 5, 2019, Ladakh was sliced out of Jammu and Kashmir as a federally governed Union Territory that lacks a legislature. The residents – Muslims and Buddhists, are seeking protection under the Sixth Schedule, a legislature and other protections for their age-old culture and fragile economy. A year before, the government created Ladakh a full-fledged division, after it separated from Kashmir.
“The creation of five new districts in Ladakh is a step towards better governance and prosperity,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter. “Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang will now receive more focused attention, bringing services and opportunities even closer to the people. Congratulations to the people there.”
Ladakh is a Muslim-majority desert region with most Muslims living in Kargil and most of the Buddhists living in Leh. There were, however, minority-population pockets in both districts. While the demography in the region is unlikely to change, now there will be two Muslim-majority districts and five Buddhist-majority districts. It is only in Nubra where the population is 60:40.
Sham is a belt located on the periphery of Leh towards Kargil. Sources said it will comprise Saspol, Alchi, Hemisshukpachan, Gera Mangue, Ulley Tokpo, Nurla, Tar Hipti, Tia Temisgam, Khaltse, Skindiyang, Lamayuru, Wanla, Fotoksar, Kanji, Skubuchan, Domkhar, Hanu, Achinathang, and Baima.
Chnagthang is going to be the biggest district in Ladakh now. Drass is now one of India’s smallest districts.
Now, the Congress has asked a new question.
“The elected Autonomous Hill Development Council for Leh was established in 1995. The elected Autonomous Hill Development Council for Kargil was set up in 2003, “Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh wrote on Twitter. “Now 5 new districts have been formed in Ladakh in addition to Leh and Kargil. Will there be elected Autonomous Hill Development Councils for each of the 5 new districts as well?”
Jairam further revealed: “Presently, the two existing elected Autonomous Hill Development Councils have control over less than 10% of the total expenditure allocated to Ladakh, the balance 90% being under the control of the LG and the bureaucracy. Will the elected AHDCs have a much more meaningful and relevant say in how budgets are spent?”
So far the reaction to the decision is not negative. In Drass actually BJP came out with a huge rally to celebrate the new status. Leaders are weighing the decision and will formally react to the decision.
Sonam Wangchuk, the popular ecology activist who is leading a major movement for the rights of the people has welcomed the decision. He said it was in 2019 that the people of Zanskar were promised that they would be given a district and it has finally been done.
“The response to the decision will be known only after it is clear if the new districts are administrative districts or autonomous districts which will have elected council as happens under Sixth Schedule areas,” Wangchuk said in a video that he posted on Twitter. “If these districts are part of the districts that fall under the Sixth Schedule, then it is a very welcome development. If these districts do not fall under the Sixth Schedule, then our movement for these rights will continue.”
Wangchuk said the people were happy when Ladakh was declared a UT but it created a crisis when it lacked assembly and the Sixth Schedule was not extended.
“We welcome the decision taken by the Government of India. However, I appeal for an amendment to include the Suru Valley region as a district as well. Not giving district status to the Sankoo Suru region is an injustice towards the people of that region,” Sajjad Kargili, who is part of the Ladakh Apex Body said in a tweet. “Moreover, it is also important to clarify whether these new districts will be fully functional with all powers and responsibilities, or if they will resemble the sub-divisions created earlier, where powers were not been transferred to them till today.”
In an earlier tweet, he had responded to the Home Minister’s decision by writing: “The creation of new districts can be truly beneficial if accompanied by the establishment of an assembly and further democratic processes. Without this, there is a risk of adding bureaucratic layers in Ladakh instead of enhancing democratic governance.”
“Once again Modi government has proven his enmity against Muslim majority peoples of Kargil & try to smash the unity of Ladakh, giving facilition to one sect try to get their support,” an activist and resident Nasir Hussain wrote on Twitter. “We want Sankoo, Chiktan, Shargol, Suru Valley, Soth, Shargol as district, “Hum daikhaan gy”.
