Three geographical components of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir have now all turned restive. The hollowness of the Centre’s normalcy narrative in Kashmir has been exposed, time and again, by blood drawn by terrorists: Pahalgam was a recent example. Jammu, too, has suffered a spike in militancy: recently, it also witnessed a massive public outpouring after the arrest of a legislator in Doda. Now, disturbances have shattered the fragile calm in Ladakh. Four persons were killed and over 80 injured in clashes with security personnel in the course of a protest by the youth wing of the Leh Apex Body to express solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk and others who had been fasting to demand statehood and special status under the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh. The responses of the State and Mr Wangchuk in light of the death and the violence have been contrasting. The Centre, having pointed fingers at Mr Wangchuk for provocative statements, not only imposed curfew and other security restrictions but has also cancelled the FCRA licences of Mr Wangchuk’s non-government organisation. Mr Wangchuk’s targeting could well be an attempt to deflect attention from allegations of the Centre adopting a go-slow strategy when it came to addressing the demands of Ladakh’s people. On his part, Mr Wangchuk, whose voice appears to carry more weight than most political representatives in the region, has called off his fast objecting to the violence. The recent developments have acquired an added urgency on account of the fact that elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils are on the horizon.
Political parlour games are not what the people of Ladakh want. What is required is the redressal of the political, administrative and even environmental concerns that have rent Ladakh’s air: Mr Wangchuk is the voice of an anxious constituency. It would be ideal to avoid a delaying tactic on the Centre’s part, notwithstanding the complicated nature of the challenge. The bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 left Ladakh without a legislature, leading to a political, legal and administrative vacuum. Public demand for autonomy and identity protection was the result. The outcome of State inertia, as Manipur has shown, is, quite often, the deepening of social cleavages. This bodes ill for Ladakh and India given the former’s strategic location. Instead of indulging in electoral math, or striving to demonise Mr Wangchuk, the powers that be must strive to resolve the crisis in a representative manner. That is the democratic way.