Article 370 abrogation throws Ladakh ‘open for entire India’: Buddhist leader

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LEH (Kashmir English): Prominent Ladakhi Buddhist leader, Chering Dorje Lakruk, has admitted that while people of the Ladakh region once resented Article 370, they now realise it acted as a protective shield that kept their land, culture and livelihoods safe from outsiders.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Lakruk, co-chairman of the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and head of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, said the abrogation of Article 370 has thrown Ladakh “open for the entire India” without any safeguards.

“Outsiders are buying land, big hotel chains are moving in, and locals are fast losing out,” he told media.

He lamented that Ladakhis had “cursed Article 370” in the past, but in hindsight, it safeguarded them for 70 years.

“Our land was totally safe. Even people from Jammu and Kashmir did not come here. Now Ladakh has been opened up for the entire India. We have no safeguard,” he said.

Protests in Ladakh

Lakruk noted that the continuing protests in Ladakh, some of which turned violent recently, are “totally spontaneous”, driven by thousands of educated but unemployed youth.

He stressed that the anger had been building for six years since the Union Territory was carved out in 2019.

The Buddhist leader said promises made at the time of UT formation remain unfulfilled.

No public service commission or local cadre has been set up, no new posts have been created, and recruitment has been reduced to contractual jobs, fueling corruption and middlemen exploitation.

He added that the Autonomous Hill Development Councils are “virtually defunct”, as all key powers now rest with the Lieutenant Governor and bureaucrats, leaving the local people powerless.

“Today, commissioners and secretaries have become our rulers,” he remarked.

Lakruk warned that big corporate projects, such as the 15,000 GW solar power project, threaten fragile pastures and will displace nomadic Pashmina goat herders.

“With 45,000 outside workers expected, the local population of 15,000 would be overwhelmed. You are making a fool of us,” he said, echoing concerns raised by activist Sonam Wangchuk.

He further said that Sixth Schedule constitutional safeguards, repeatedly demanded by Ladakhi groups, have been ignored by the Modi regime.

Instead, bureaucrats have been allowed to interfere in local customs, traditions and even village leadership.

“For now, the anger on the streets of Leh and Kargil stems from a deep sense of betrayal. Earlier, we thought Article 370 was a curse. Now, we realise it was our safeguard,” Lakruk concluded.

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