Why Union Territory ?

Chhewang Dorje
Ladakh is the remotest part of J& K state, inhabited by the Buddhist who have close religious and cultural affinity with the Tibetan Buddhists and Muslims (both Shia and Sunni) and it is situated at the highest altitude. Ladakh is generally called “Roof of the World”. Since 1989 Ladakh has been struggling to preserve its separate identity vis -a-vis Kashmir and in this struggle it has come up with many demands like inclusion of Bodhi language in the 8th schedule of the constitution and demand for union territory is also one of them. The Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution contains a list of 22 scheduled languages. At the time the constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission, and that the language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi, the official language of the Union. The list has since, however, acquired further significance.
The Government of India is now under an obligation to take measures for the development of these languages. In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service at a higher level is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper. Since then Ladakh has been struggling to get what it deserved from the concerned authorities. Union Territory demand for Ladakh has been a long standing demand and the formation of Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) in 2002 has been a step in this direction. But it was to the misfortune of people of Ladakh that few of the nominated candidates of LUTF shifted sides and joined Indian National Congress (INC). Since then a kind of bipartisan politics began in Ladakh between the LUTF (BJP) and the Indian National Congress. Total area of Ladakh is 96,440 km2 (including Leh, Kargil and Chinese occupied Ladakh), nationally it is far more than Arunachal Pradesh which is a state of India and internationally it is more than United Arab Emirates. There are many countries in the world which are smaller than Ladakh in terms of area, but then the question arises can territory alone  be the criteria for the demarcation of state or Union territory? My answer to this question is affirmative because there are many theories and practice which supports this criterion.
I am talking about thinker like Will Kymlicka who proposes the right of self govt. for national minorities. In Jammu and Kashmir people of Ladakh are national minority so we deserve this right of self-rule which has been denied so far. In the dominant discourse of Kashmir Ladakh has been forgotten and it has been deprived of all developmental projects. Why Ladakh demands UT, this is the dominant question that we face today but answer to this lies in its underdevelopment, exploitation and its separate identity from mainland Kashmir. People of Ladakh are totally different from rest of the population of Jammu and Kashmir. People of Ladakh are not without history in fact we have very rich history and culture. In the dominant discourse of Kashmir it is Kashmir that is debated as marginalized society but internally it is the people of Ladakh that is marginalized and they are the society without democratic voice. Unfortunately democratic voice is no longer democratic and it has been reduced to numbers. Demand for UT from Ladakh is one of the oldest demands in the Republic of India; it is since 1947 that people of Ladakh are demanding Union Territory but Govt. of India continued to neglect  genuine demand of the people of Ladakh. If we do a comparative study of other Union Territory than we find that there is nothing that can prevent Ladakh from having Union Territory status. There are seven union territories in India. Out of the above seven Union territories, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Pondicherry have legislatures, Council of Ministers and Consolidated Funds. The rest of the Union territories are without legislature. The total area covered by the seven Union territories is 10,973 sq. km, it is including all the seven Union Territory and their population, as per the 2001 census, is 1,65,20,983. As compare to this total area of ladakh is 86,904 km² which is far more than total area of all other Union Territory.
The Union Territories are specified in Schedule I Part II of the Constitution of India. These territories are administered in accordance with the provisions of Article 239 to 241 of the Constitution of India. Under the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal Ministry for all matters of Union territories relating to Legislation, Finance & Budget, Services and appointment of Lt. Governors and administrator.
If you think,  Union Territory a real solution to the underdevelopment of Ladakh, then my answer is positive because all the union territories have made significant progress in terms of various socio-economic indicators.
I have listed few points in support of Union Territory for Ladakh
Why Union Territory?
* Protection of Indigenous and Tribal culture of Ladakh, which constitution of India also permits us to do so under Article 29(1).Presently Ladakh faces the danger to its culture from the Kashmiri intruders so under the condition it is very important to protect our Tribal culture that we can only be able to do if have a separate existence from Kashmir.
* A response to the underdevelopment of Ladakh and being neglected in the entire development project of Jammu And Kashmir State since it became part of Jammu and Kashmir during Dogra rule.
* To break the shackles of Article 370, which is considered divine gift for Kashmir but in case of Ladakh it became a source of exploitation. Article 370 needs to be demystified it is not the special status for Jammu and Kashmir in fact it is special status for Kashmir to dominate other two regions that is Jammu and Ladakh
* Dominance of Kahmiri in the administrative system of Ladakh and the marginalization of Ladakhi unemployed youth in the process. Failure of state to accommodate educated youth of Ladakh makes the youth dissatisfied with the state govt.
We talk about Kashmiri’s right of self determination but we forget that Jammu and Kashmir is not a homogenous entity it is a plural state with diverse population. Diversity is the hall mark of Jammu and Kashmir which should be taken into account while proposing solution to the Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is a multi cultural society, so it should be ruled according to multi cultural principal.
(The author is JNU scholar)

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