Pinto Norbu has been a tea planter in Assam, represented the Nobra seat from Ladakh in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and has been a member of the National Conference, which he quit. In an interview to Aditi Phadnis, he explains the peculiar problems of Ladakh and why he opposes the call for ‘azaadi’ by those in the Kashmir valley
As a Ladakhi, you have sounded a very different note on ‘liberation’ of Kashmir.
Well, our reality is very different. Foreigners were welcome in Ladakh from 1948 to 1962 - we used to get the Germans, the French, the Pakistanis, the Tibetans…it was the most open place in the world. Then, in 1962, after the Chinese invaded India, it became the most closed place in the world. Between 1962 and 1975, even Ladakhis had to take permission to go to their homes. Because it was totally closed, many of us, including me, left to earn a living elsewhere in India. I worked in a tea plantation in Assam, while my father Sonam Norbu became a minister in the Sheikh saab (Sheikh Abdullah) government.
In 1975, the government lifted all restrictions on travel to Ladakh. Now, everyone was free to travel there. I returned to Kashmir and became a member of the Legislative Council on a National Conference ticket. In 2002, I contested as an independent from the Nobra seat and was in the Assembly till 2008. After that I contested but lost.
What are the specific problems of Ladakh?
As it is part of Kashmir, when government systems break down in Srinagar, we are also badly affected. We are totally engrossed in development because the odds are stacked against us — we have just a five-month working season. The rest of the year, the region is unreachable. Nature is very important for us. Ours is a region which gets less than 50 millimetres rain every year. So, glacial melt is the principal source of water and Ladakh residents fear they will be the first victims of global warming. Both Pakistan and India depend on river systems fed by Ladakh’s glaciers for much of their water needs. Occasionally, there is a flood - like the one we had earlier this year - and because we are so hard to reach, help takes time.
So for us, it is infuriating when politics gets in the way of development. The political cry in the valley is for independence. We’ve been an independent country for thousands of years. But we are mature enough to realise that we cannot live on our own, in isolation. We’ve seen what the Chinese have done in Tibet. We’re continually at risk. India has given us a lot.
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I was thinking more in terms of azaadi and its ramifications for Kashmir’s minorities. Some Kashmiri leaders have said they would like Shariah law in independent Kashmir
If Ladakh is part of that, there will be resistance. But I have to say that we don’t fear anything like that. Our place in Kashmir has always been protected. When Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was chief minister, he empowered the Hill Development Council. Unless we have control over our systems of governance and our destiny, it will be hard for this region to develop.
What is your assessment of the current chief minister?
Omar? Well, Kashmir has seen its good days and its bad days. In 1990, when the Indian Army was posted in every nook and cranny of Jammu and Kashmir, that was one period. Since 2008, there have been some good periods, some bad. When Omar took over, that was Kashmir’s better period. But he has been unable to win over the youths. They are out on the streets because promises made to them were illusory - nothing materialised.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is cited as the single biggest oppressive piece of legislation. But will problems disappear if it is revoked or repealed?
It depends on the district. There are places where it has never been imposed. But it is a state of half-a-million people. If there are fellows carrying guns, they mean discipline. Inevitably, there are excesses and atrocities, and these feed further hostilities.
Your colleagues in neighbouring Kargil also have a grouse.
They are Muslims, Shias, and they feel Kargil is neglected. I don’t blame them. Ladakh was a kingdom. Now, it is only a district. Leh and Kargil should be provinces and should govern themselves. Look at us (Ladakh).
Before we got the Hill Development Council, we were governed by an official who used to sit in Srinagar and Jammu.
The Chief Executive Councillor now heads the Hill Development Council. But he should not be at the mercy of deputy commissioner.
What do you think Ladakh needs the most now?
The latest example of mismangement is before us — the floods. The agencies working in Ladakh are not working properly and coordinating with each other. And now, we’ve been victims of politics. An election has been forced down our throat, something we need the least right now. We’re in the midst of reconstruction of Ladakh. Instead of that we’ll be spending our time campaigning.