Since 2019 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the leaders from the Union Territory of Ladakh have demanded constitutional protections for land ownership, economic opportunities, preserving tribal cultures and languages, and a more representative government. Each of these clusters of demands is rooted in the unique historical and demographic profile of the region, and the promise — both explicit and implicit — at the time of the abrogation of Article 370 was that they would be addressed. Earlier this week, a slew of notifications by the central government moved the needle significantly on many of the demands from Ladakh, especially around domicile-based government jobs, protection and promotion of languages and quotas. Welcome as they are, these orders should be followed in due course by measures that ensure a deepening of representative democracy in Ladakh and assuage some of the anxieties around land rights.
The Ladakh Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment (Amendment) Regulation introduces a domicile requirement for government jobs: To be eligible, a person must have resided in Ladakh for 15 years or appeared in Class X or Class XII examinations in the UT. The Union Territory of Ladakh Reservation (Amendment) Regulation has placed a cap of 85 per cent on reservation, excluding the EWS quota. This, in effect, provides nearly blanket reservation for local people (the UT has a 90 per cent Scheduled Tribe population). The Centre has also recognised English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti and Purgi as official languages of the Union Territory, in addition to facilitating other mechanisms for promoting and protecting the region’s culture and heritage. Bhoti and Purgi are spoken by a majority of the population, and their long-delayed recognition has been a demand for many years.
