Q. Briefly introduce yourself. How did you get into politics and was the BJP party your first preference?

I studied at Lamdon Model School, Leh, and pursued further studies at Delhi University. I did my post-graduation at Anant Fellowship. I’ve previously worked with several organizations like Naropa Fellowship, Ladakh Student Welfare Society in Delhi, Student’s Association for Village Education (SAVE), and Young Drukpa Association (YDA), Ladakh. At present, I am the Councillor of Kungyam Constituency and State President, Bharatiya Janata Party, Yuva Morcha.

I didn’t particularly think about joining politics. It was never a planned step. I was inspired by Jamyang Tsering Namgyal who eventually convinced me to enter the political realm. I can say that circumstances also prompted me to take this decision. My uncle, Late Dorjay Motup was a three-time Councillor from Kungyam. After he passed away, I had numerous people who had previously supported him approach me, along with several persons from BJP. This motivated me to take the next step and I ultimately joined BJP, with all consent from my family and friends. 

Talking about the preference of political parties, I don’t think there’s an alternative to BJP in times of the Modi regime.

Q. You are the youngest Councillor in 6 LAHDC, Leh. Share with us your experiences and achievement. What are the challenges you faced?

Being the youngest is never quite an achievement when you have so many examples to look up to, like our honourable MP, who has always been a great inspiration and has had breakthroughs while standing the test of time. 

Since the inception of my political trajectory, I’ve primarily focused on youth and women empowerment. A major fraction of my constituency fund goes to the youth, for their education. I’ve also simultaneously managed to build on existing infrastructure for several self-help women’s groups. 

 A major challenge for any politician/public representative is to manage and meet the diverse sets of demands and each of them having multiple perspectives, ‘One man’s meat is another man’s poison’, balancing that is the biggest challenge. 

Q. Ladakh is demanding constitutional safeguards under the 6th schedule and statehood for Ladakh. What are your views about it?

I don’t believe in the fact that any safeguard is typically permanent. I feel that safeguard and reservation are what is keeping Ladakhi from the mainstream competition and I think it makes us feel ‘handicapped’ in one sense. Until we compete in the blue ocean, I don’t think we’ll be able to survive or thrive amidst competition. 

Regarding constitutional safeguards, LAHDC Leh, under the chairmanship of Tashi Gyalson, has passed a resolution which they are strongly committed to, for the protection of the environment, jobs, and trade for Ladakhi youth. PM Modi has assured to fulfill the demand. We ought to be more prudent in using this safety net. 

I am certain that we should trust the government that is in the favour of Ladakh since its inception and keeps in consideration all the good that has happened for Ladakh. 
The people of Ladakh need to nurture harness and revive many of the values that seem lost among us.
 
Q. How important do you think for youth to participate in politics and especially for Women as there is the least participation of women in politics?

 I think the youth has plenty of opportunities. Politics can certainly be one of them. The same applies to women. They are important decision-makers at home and in society and can apply the same acumen to politics.

Q. Education status in Changthang what you will say about it and what needs to be done to strengthen it? 

Despite the claims of the Education Revolution through NGOs and social reformists through the years, the actual state has been pathetic in many of the regions. However, after the formation of the UT, many efforts through the Changthang Development package focused on strengthening infrastructure. I do strongly believe that quality education is directly equated to well-informed teachers. The Government should work on sourcing more faculty and mentors and should ideally work towards gaining the trust and confidence of parents. The Govt. should implement the PPP model in schools, where one can assess impact and monitoring. The population of Ladakh is a great model for handholding every child. 

Message to the readers

“I would like to repeat my statement that, any safeguard is temporary to shield and preserve our identity, we must work on ourselves to have a thriving community and set examples like Kashmiri Pandits, Parsis, and Tibetans. So please do not consider any narrative that is a hoax, we rather have to understand that the past years and era under the Kashmir regime have numerous shackles that have pulled and kept us down, we need to accept the fact that there is not much our leaders could have done; but now we must realize that we are in a free and a democratic nation, with compulsions and restrictions. We shall not fall prey to the same old political tactics of leg pulling, because of unbalanced egos among the leaders.”