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Calls for autonomy in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh

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Background

Historically, Ladakh was the main place for the calls for more autonomy following India's independence in 1947, a movement emerged in Ladakh to "free Ladakh from Kashmir". Leh's Buddhist leadership largely defined its politics through a sense of antagonism towards Kashmir. Early demands for separation and direct rule under the Indian Union or amalgamation with Hindu-majority areas of Jammu were articulated by organizations like the Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA) and the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) to Maharaja Hari Singh and later to Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru, declined these demands to avoid weakening India's stance on Kashmir in the UN Security Council.

The political system in Kashmir was perceived by many Ladakhi's as fundamentally communalist, influencing their strategies. Ladakhi leaders, both Muslim and Buddhist, felt discriminated against by the state government. The Gajendragadkar Commission of Inquiry (1968) officially recognized that J&K was composed of three separate homogeneous regions: Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh.

In 1979, Ladakh was split into two districts: Leh (predominantly Buddhist) and Kargil (predominantly Muslim), a move seen by some as an attempt to divide the population along religious lines and weaken the Buddhist movement. This led to distinct political alignments, with Leh's Buddhist-based identity politics often diverging from Kargil's Muslim-based politics.

The late 1980s saw a renewed and at times violent agitation for Union Territory (UT) status, launched by the Ladakh People’s Movement for Union Territory Status (LPMUTS), which accused the Kashmir government of treating Ladakhis as "third-rate citizens". This period also saw a "social boycott" of Kashmiri Muslims, and later all Muslims, which severely impacted inter-communal relations. Following the 1989 agitation, a significant portion of Ladakh's population was granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, and Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) were established for Leh (1995) and later Kargil (2003) as an interim measure, though the demand for UT status persisted.

The abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 by the Narendra Modi Government led to the reorganization of J&K into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without a legislature). This move was largely celebrated in Leh, where leaders had long sought separation from Kashmir. However, in Kargil, the decision was met with despondency and protests, with leaders observing it as a "black day" and initially identifying with Kashmir-based sentiments.

The creation of Ladakh as a UT without a legislature meant that political representation was significantly reduced, with only a single Member of Parliament (MP) representing the region. This centralization of power, with administration largely in the hands of bureaucrats and the Lieutenant Governor led to a sense of political disempowerment and alienation.

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