In a surprising move, the Central Government recently announced the creation of five new districts in Ladakh, in addition to the existing districts of Leh and Kargil. This decision was historic, as hopes were primarily focused on the creation of only two new districts—Zanskar and Nubra. There had been no significant demand for the creation of Drass, Sham, and Changthang as separate districts.

Therefore, the BJP Government deserves congratulations from the people of Ladakh. However, on the day of the declaration, there was not much jubilation among the people in Leh town, though it was natural for BJP workers to celebrate the occasion.

 It is important to note that before 1979, the Ladakh region had only one district with its headquarters in Leh. To meet the aspirations of the people of Kargil, the Sheikh Abdullah Government later bifurcated Ladakh into Leh and Kargil districts, granting Zanskar special Sub-Divisional status within Kargil. Before this, Zanskar had only been administratively overseen by a revenue officer, or Tehsildar, due to its isolation from the rest of Ladakh for five to six months each winter. 

 With the creation of five new districts, several questions arise: What will be the shape and scope of these new districts? Will they have autonomous hill development councils like Leh and Kargil, or will they function as subsidiary districts with only a Deputy Commissioner and a Superintendent of Police? These hard questions will undoubtedly emerge in the coming months as the Union Territory administration, given a three-month timeline, works to sort out the administrative implications, including creating posts and locating the headquarters for each new district..

 Ladakh is a sparsely populated region, primarily due to its harsh climatic conditions and barren mountains and deserts. Over the years, the government has invested significantly in improving the living standards of the region's people. However, due to limited job opportunities for the educated and semi-educated youth from the region’s more remote areas, they often struggle to compete with job seekers from other parts of the country where better educational facilities and coaching are available. This, coupled with the shrinking population of border areas as people migrate to affluent towns like Leh, has led to environmental challenges and traffic congestion in Leh.

In the past two and a half decades, Ladakh's administration has seen significant changes. After more than fifty years of struggle post-Independence, two Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC)—Leh and Kargil—were established in 1995. However, the government did not create a sufficient number of posts in the government departments, leading to dissatisfaction among the people. Consequently, there were demands for a separate revenue or administrative division called Ladakh Division.

In response to popular demand from the people of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, the Government of India appointed a three-member interlocutor to study the region’s administrative grievances. The interlocutor's report recommended that Ladakh be separated from the Kashmir Division and made a separate Division. Despite the lack of immediate action on this recommendation, I personally advocated for Ladakh’s division status, including raising the issue at the 2013 bi-annual colloquium of the International Association of Ladakh Studies in Heidelberg, Germany. My writings on the subject were also published in prominent newspapers like the Daily Excelsior (Jammu), Greater Kashmir (Srinagar), and Kashmir Times (Srinagar/Jammu). In 2019, the government granted Ladakh Divisional status and subsequently declared Ladakh a Union Territory.

Today, Ladakh is experiencing multiple administrative and political upheavals. I doubt that the creation of five more districts will satisfy the people of Ladakh or the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, which are leading agitations and hunger strikes for statehood for Ladakh, Constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, two Lok Sabha and one Rajya Sabha seats for Ladakh, and the filling of 10,000 to 12,000 government vacancies.

I see no reason why the Government of India would grant statehood to Ladakh, especially since the 10 Councilors in the Autonomous Councils of Leh and Kargil already enjoy ministerial status with all the accompanying privileges. However, I am puzzled as to why the government is reluctant to bring Ladakh under the purview of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The people of Ladakh are among the most loyal citizens in the country, committed to the unity and integrity of India.

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