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| Toward the end of this year’s warm summer, a thaw in relations between two sharply divided communities brought an end to a six-decade-long conflict in Ladakh, a region that sits on the border of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Under Indian control, Ladakh is home to large populations of Buddhists and Muslims — both of whom are religious minorities in Hindu-majority India. “Ethnically, the Ladakhi Buddhists and Muslims are one,” said Sajjad Kargili, a political representative of the Shia Muslim community in the Ladakhi district of Kargil. “The only difference is in religious beliefs.” Until recently, that had been a painful difference that sometimes led to violence. | | In a remarkable series of events, the Ladakhi Buddhist and Shia Muslim communities have gained a fresh new perspective on their long-standing conflict — thanks to highly contentious moves by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.  | | In 1961, Kargil’s Muslim community objected to the state government allotting a quarter-acre of land for the Ladakh Buddhist Association to construct a gompa, or temple. Under pressure, the government then modified the land’s zoning status to commercial or social use, effectively halting temple construction. Thereafter, tensions between the two groups grew. The militant secessionist movement in nearby Kashmir, the conversion of Buddhist tribes to Islam, and even interfaith marriages escalated tensions. On both sides, simmering resentments and, in some cases, misunderstandings perpetuated mutual anger. Muslims in Kargil felt they were deliberately discriminated against as infrastructure development took place in the Buddhist-majority city of Leh. Meanwhile, the people of Leh claimed Muslim-majority Kargil’s interests were aligned with the nearby Kashmir Valley due to shared Islamic ties. These differences kept the region politically divided. Yet, in a remarkable series of events, the Ladakhi Buddhist and Shia Muslim communities have gained a fresh new perspective on their long-standing conflict — thanks to highly contentious moves by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. |
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| On Aug. 5, 2019, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) revoked the partial autonomy of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, which had been in place since India’s constitution was drafted in 1949. This unilateral move by the Hindu-led government, which has presided over a surge in Hindu nationalism, split Jammu and Kashmir into two so-called Union Territories (UTs): Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir. As a UT, Ladakh does not have legislative powers. The Buddhist community of Leh initially erupted with joy over the separation of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir, while many Muslims in Kargil were shell-shocked at being split off from Muslim-majority Kashmir. Then tensions rose to a new boiling point. Earlier this year, a young Buddhist monk, Chokyong Palga Rinpoche, launched a surprise campaign vowing to push forward with the construction of the historically controversial gompa. Even though this campaign ostensibly favored Buddhists, his inflammatory speeches raised alarm bells within the Buddhist community about the monk’s real intentions. As local leaders later told OZY, they suspected that the monk, who had been seen in the company of BJP leaders, was being egged on by the powerful national party that has inflamed anti-Muslim sentiment. | | Because we are Muslims, there is a strong perception that our mindset is aggressive and we are fundamentally intolerant of other religions. - Asgar Ali Karbalai | | Suddenly, leaders of both minority groups saw their historic conflict in a new light: as a wedge issue that kept them from acknowledging their common interests. Indeed, India’s unilateral move to convert Ladakh into a UT — without the legislative powers of a state — brought negative consequences for all Ladakhis, regardless of religion. “The UT status has suddenly robbed the people of the hard-earned democratic dividends,” said Delhi University professor and Kashmir scholar Navnita Chadha Behera. Buddhist leaders now felt that they could not allow their religious dispute to continue unresolved. They had a new goal: to meet their historic rival at the negotiating table and find a way forward. For their part, Muslim leaders said they were encouraged to reach a settlement in order to prevent national forces from pitting their communities against one another, which would only further weaken their leadership in Kargil. In early September, after two rounds of talks, the two groups reached a settlement in which representatives of the Muslim community agreed to allocate new land for the construction of the gompa. According to Asgar Ali Karbalai, co-chairman of the Muslim-led Kargil Democratic Alliance, the major gain for Muslims was “brotherhood.” “Because we are Muslims, there is a strong perception that our mindset is aggressive and we are fundamentally intolerant of other religions,” Karbalai told OZY. “The message Kargilis have succeeded in delivering for the rest of India is that even the most sensitive religious conflict can be settled amicably with dialogue.” “It was necessary to resolve the religious conflict so that we could jointly move ahead politically and focus on pressing demands,” said Jigmat Paljor, a member of the Buddhist-led Leh Apex Body, a political organization established in 2020 to demand statehood. Moving ahead is precisely what they have done. |
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| After their historic settlement, leaders of the Buddhist and Muslim communities made a striking joint appearance in a mass agitation held on Nov. 2. The demonstrations, which were co-hosted by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, took place in both Leh and Kargil and were widely attended by students, political representatives, members of local social and religious organizations and an array of residents. That leaders from both religions stood together on a common platform was symbolically powerful. Ladakh was now seeking statehood with one voice. | | The moment you have an inclusive political mobilization at the grassroots level, your hands are strengthened. - Delhi University professor and Kashmir scholar Navnita Chadha Behera | | Behera of Delhi University called the bridging of religious differences a momentous — and politically potent — event. “The moment you have an inclusive political mobilization at the grassroots level, your hands are strengthened,” she told OZY. “Our objective is the one and the same,” said Chhering Dorje Lakrook, vice president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, in reference to his Muslim counterparts. “A statehood to protect the rights of Ladakhis.” Local elected official Konchok Stanzin is using social media to publicly emphasize how the national government has neglected the region. “We are already lagging on every aspect of development, from mobile network connectivity to education,” he told OZY. This is not an issue for one religious group or another, he said, but for all who reside in Ladakh. Happymon Jacob, associate professor of diplomacy and disarmament at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said that Ladakh’s drive for statehood is reflective of the “triumph of political power over ethnic identity and ethnic politics.” Both Muslim and Buddhist leaders of Ladakh’s new movement for statehood have begun to visit far-flung villages to gather support for their cause, and they have announced plans to intensify their protests in the coming year if the national government fails to listen. Said Karbalai of the Kargil Democratic Alliance, “If the government ignores the constitutional demands of the population that is sitting in a highly strategic region — flanked by Pakistan and China — it will only hurt the national security in the long run.” |
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What might influence other historically divided groups to recognize common interests and move forward together? | | |
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