Sonam Wangchuk accuses Ladakh leaders of planning to facilitate loot of natural resources

Ladakh’s Kargil district observed a complete shutdown while thousands took to the streets in Leh in response to a joint call from local Buddhist and Muslim organisations in support of the statehood and special status demands

Sonam Wangchuk: File picture

Muzaffar Raina, TT, Srinagar, 05.02.24 : Environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, Magsaysay Award winner and the key campaigner seeking special status for Ladakh, has accused elected representatives in the Union Territory of joining hands with the country’s top industrial lobbies to facilitate the loot of the region's natural resources.

Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal is from the BJP, which also runs the Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council. Wangchuk, however, mentioned no names.

His allegation came on Saturday before a thousand-strong crowd at a meeting held in Leh to press for statehood and special status for Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The crowd appeared to agree, with cries of "shame", as Wangchuk accused the local elected leadership of corruption and betrayal.

Namgyal told The Telegraph: "Everybody has the right to criticise. (What Wangchuk said) is a general opinion (not a specific one against the MP or his party). If there are any specific allegations, they should bring them."

Ladakh’s Kargil district observed a complete shutdown while thousands took to the streets in Leh in response to a joint call from local Buddhist and Muslim organisations in support of the statehood and special status demands.

The two religious communities have joined hands to seek land and job reservations for Ladakhis, fearing they will be overwhelmed by non-local people.

Wangchuk said some 30,000 men and women out of Ladakh’s population of 2 to 3 lakh had joined Saturday’s protests.

He said central government leaders had backed the calls for special status after Ladakh was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. But this was followed by a long silence, prompting Ladakhis to question their intentions, he added.

"In recent months, we learnt it was not so. Central ministers, (the) home minister, are friendly towards Ladakh, (they) want our good," Wangchuk said.

However, he suggested, industry lobbies backed by local representatives were putting up hurdles because the grant of special status would come in the way of their ability to loot the region.

"The veil has now been lifted. (We find) there were industrial lobbies, like those interested in mining, who see money in our mountains and valleys…," he said.

"They don't think about tomorrow but today; they are busy with the loot of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and the entire people of the Himalayas are bearing the brunt."

Wangchuk said the same people were knocking on Ladakh’s doors and, when the announcement of Union Territory status was made in 2019, they started lobbying for resources.

"Those leaders who were elected to represent us — more than us, (they) came under their (industry's) influence. They joined them in putting Ladakh on sale,” he said.

"They started conveying to you that nobody wants this battle, Sixth Schedule, (that) it was a demand of a few people, Opposition political parties, and asked you not to pay heed. They know that if Ladakh does not get the Sixth Schedule, then industry will (be able to) act arbitrarily and mess around (with resources)."

Last year, Wangchuk had held a five-day “climate fast” to highlight the ecological risks of throwing the region open to “outsiders”.

Saturday’s protests came after the central government on Friday announced a second round of talks between its representatives, led by junior home minister Nityanand Rai, and Ladakhi representatives in Delhi on February 19.

In January last year, the Centre had set up a committee led by Rai to discuss the demands of Ladakh’s twin districts of Kargil and Leh.

The committee was reconstituted in November after accusations that it was making no progress. The reconstituted committee held its first round of talks in Delhi in December.