A video from the protest can be viewed here:

BIG BREAKING

The Biggest protests by the citizens of Leh and Ladakh.

Narendra Modi’s Godi Media won’t even show you a clip of what’s going on in the border states .pic.twitter.com/Lzkq15nYGH

— Ravinder Kapur. (@RavinderKapur2) February 4, 2024

#WATCH | Leh, Ladakh: Thousands brave the freezing cold as they march demanding statehood for Ladakh and protections under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution for the Union Territory. (03.02) pic.twitter.com/gwsiGZBxXc

— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2024

The said protest, named as ‘Leh Chalo’, took place on February 3 on the joint call for shutdown raised by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). These two civil society bodies have been advocating for Ladakh’s statehood and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which makes special provisions for administering tribal areas.

As per a report of the Indian Express, as the citizens were gearing up for observing the shutdown on Saturday, on Friday, the Union had announced a second round of meeting of high-powered committee set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to address the demands of the people of the region since its split from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The said talk has been scheduled for February 19, 2024. The 15-member committee comprises eight members from the government, including Lieutenant Governor Brigadier B D Mishra (Retd), Ladakh BJP MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, chairpersons of the Autonomous Hill Development Councils of both Kargil and Leh, and officials of the MHA. The committee was chaired by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai.

This announcement came after the first round of talks were held on December 4, 2023 wherein MHA had sought a list of demands from the two aforementioned civil bodies in writing.

ANI took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to share the statement made by Haji Ghulam Mustafa, the legal adviser of Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, during the protest. He has been quoted as saying, “Ever since Ladakh has become a UT, Apex body and KDA have had a demand on the four-point agenda. All our powers which were people-centric have weakened. When we were a part of Jammu and Kashmir, we had four members in the assembly and two in the legislative council. Now we have no representation in the assembly.”

The video can be viewed here:

#WATCH | Ladakh: Legal Adviser of Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance Haji Ghulam Mustafa says, “Ever since Ladakh has become a UT, Apex body and KDA have had a demand on the four-point agenda. All our powers which were people-centric have weakened. When we were a part… pic.twitter.com/op0x6Oablo

— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2024

It is essential to highlight here that as per the report of the Indian Express, the union government has been urging the two organisations, who joined forces in raise their demands in the year 2021, to end its protests in and outside the region.

The demands of the people of Ladakh:

Notably, on January 23, the aforementioned two organisations had also submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Ministry, demanding statehood for Ladakh, and status under the Sixth Schedule. In the said memorandum, reference has been made to precedents of states like Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and other north-easterns states and the protection enjoyed under the Sixth Schedule and Article 371 of the Constitution of India has been emphasised upon. According to a report of the India Today, a draft of a bill for amending the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019 to provide statehood to Ladakh had been submitted by the representatives.

In addition to this, the memorandum had pointed out that tribal communities like Balti, Beda, Bot, Boto, Brokpa, Drokpa, Dard, Shin, Changpa, Garra, Mon and Purigpa form a major chunk of population in Ladakh and deserved to be protected under the Sixth Schedule. It also demanded a Ladakh Public Service Commission, stating that opportunities for the gazetted posts for the students of Ladakh have become limited as there is no such provision at present.

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The Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) on Thursday September 7 took out a protest rally in Leh town against the marriage and warned the government of a full-fledged agitation if the girl was not returned. The association has ‘given’ the government a week’s time.

The protesters also submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at the office of the Deputy Commissioner, alleging Muslims of luring Buddhist girls into their fold.

“Young girls are being lured by Muslim boys to marry and finally convert them,” the memorandum said. The association also made a direct threat in the memorandum, saying that the situation could turn ugly if the girl is not returned back to Leh.

“We feel that the Muslim community leaders, administration, and other stakeholders need to warn Muslim community and the state government machinery for immediate intervention and arrange to bring back the girl before peace tranquility and communal harmony takes an ugly turn.”
Later, the leaders of LBA while addressing the protesters issued an ultimatum to local Muslims, who are in minority, to vacate the town within seven days.

However, among all these allegations, it seems the LBA has missed a small but rather important detail. The girl in question, whose earlier name was Stanzin Saldon, had converted to Islam way back in April 2015. In an affidavit signed by Stanzin now Shifah in April 2016 in Bangalore, Karnataka reads, “I have embraced Islam, giving up my former Buddhist faith on 22nd April 2015.Therefore I hereby confirm adopt and reaffirm faith in  Islam.”

The allegations of LBA of marrying and converting a Buddhist girl fall flat as the girl in question converted to Islam way back in 2015. “She had converted two years ago and was looking for a Muslim guy who could marry her. The question of Muslims marrying Buddhist girl falls flat here. The girl was Muslim even before meeting the boy,” says Sajjad Hussain, a Kargil-based journalist.

According to locals in Drass, the girl and her husband have gone underground after the threats emerged. The girl has also written an open letter in response to LBA’s memorandum.

The girl accused LBA of issuing false statements and presenting a concocted version of the events.

“They  (LBA) state that I was lured into Islam by him and also warning Muslim community in Ladakh (in general) to return me. So this is to clarify to your honourable self and the concerned parties that this statement of LBA is false and concocted, an effort to suppress and threaten the rights of an individual, a woman to be more specific,  in the disguise of “luring”,” she wrote.

She further wrote, “LBA is trying to objectify me and demanding my return as if I’m a property, which I’m not and cannot allow anyone to perceive me as such. I’ve accepted Islam long way back, not because I dislike any other religion but considering my spiritual quest and an interest in religious philosophies, which was way before I met Murtaza. I repeat, my marriage has nothing to do with my spiritual choices, love and companionship being the only reason for our marital bond. The spiritual choice is a very personal matter not to be mixed with my marriage,” she added.
She requested people to maintain peace and harmony by not letting dividing forces to deepen the fear and hatred.

Local Muslim leaders have also alleged LBA of communalising the issue and stoking communal tension in a region that has otherwise been mostly peaceful.

“The open letter written by the girl has already cleared many things and threatening Muslims to vacate the district is very unfortunate. We spoke to Superintendent of Police Leh to ensure the safety of Muslims because the administration is responsible for the safety of Muslims in the district,” Ashraf Barcha, President, Anjuman Islamia-Leh, told TwoCircles.net.

Sheikh Abdullah Jalili of Islamia School Kargil said the threat of communal violence is hardly a solution to this issue. “LBA has previously also issued open threats to the Muslim community in the region. Everyone has freedom of religion. If a person wants to convert to Islam or Buddhism, it is solely his/her personal decision and we are no one to interfere in that. Recently, a Muslim girl converted to Buddhism in Kargil, but we didn’t make such noise because this was her personal decision.”

The deadline given by the LBA to state government and Muslims is Thursday, September 14.

Courtesy: Two Circles
 

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