Issue Brief # 234 August 2013
Innovative Research | Independent Analysis | Informed Opinion
Contemporary Ladakh Identifying the “Other” in Buddhist-Muslim Transformative Relations
Sumera Shafi Jawaharlal Nehru University
Changes in the relationship of major sub- identity being a fluid concept is often divisions of a society are reflected in the misappropriated by a certain section of development of active scholarly analysis the society for the furtherance of their of those changes. The ongoing interests. It is the age old congenial inter- transformations in the Ladakhi society communal networks that face the brunt of have also attracted certain amount of such maneuverings leading to irrevocable attention from scholars from within and transformations in the everyday relations. outside the area. Currently there is a select list of material for one to be able to This essay is mainly based on available evaluate the trajectory of social change literature and keen observations made as in Ladakh and also to identify the a native of Ladakh. The conclusions are causative factors for such change. In that preliminary in nature and aimed at the direction this paper seeks to specify the possibility of bringing out a theoretical process of identity formation amongst the standpoint through the use of empirical Ladakhis by emphasizing how the data. differential circumstances faced by the Who is the other? locals has led them to approximate religion as the prime identity marker. This essay does not aim at identifying the Through the illustration of Ladakh’s other but in contrast it is an attempt to experience, this essay seeks to argue that illustrate the complexity involved in doing just that!
Identity is a fluid concept and there are This essay was initially presented in a multiple identities which an individual can conference organized by the IPCS in approximate based on various collaboration with the India circumstances. This applies to the case of International Centre (IIC) Ladakh wherein any attempt to label the Views expressed are author’s own. society in terms of primordial identities
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leads to a very parochial understanding sense of personal sameness and historical of what it means to be a Ladakhi. continuity. In the realm of sociology, identity can be located in theories of Ladakh with its rich history and culture has symbolic interactionism specifically in the temporal and spatial dimensions which theory of ‘self’ discussed by G.H Mead have led to the build-up of a diverse (1962). In the later works of Erving social composition in the region. It boasts Goffman (1959) and Peter Berger (1974) of a social structure with multiple identity is explicitly termed as ‘socially ethnicities largely documented to have bestowed and socially transformed’. lived in harmony over a long period of Michael Foucault’s (1979) work Discipline time. Moreover with the globalization and Punish brought in a whole new wherein change has become the only aspect to the concept of identity, i.e. constant, it becomes difficult to classify considering individuals as inhabiting the society based on a particularistic multiple identities and how these interact character; acknowledging and with each other. In modern sociology accepting pluralism is essential to there is no consensus on the concept of maintaining peace and stability in self/identity as some see it as occurring society. out of the process of socialization, while others argue that in a modern world with Before getting into the details of the an increasing sense of individuality, Ladakhi case one needs to take into people are more likely to self-actualize. consideration the various stances that The afore-mentioned theoretical scholars take on the idea or concept of perspectives clearly show that identity. conceptualization of identity is difficult and consequently leads to obscurities The essentialist perspective of the when applied to societal classifications. concept understands it as a coherent attribute which more or less remains the By laying out the process of identity same throughout an individual’s life. formation among the Ladakhis this essay Contrarily constructivists take an aims to show how identity is not just a exception on such a conception and lay contentious concept but also that it can emphasis on how identity is invented or lead to the breach of societal balance constructed to varying degrees. Following when misused. Freud’s theory of identification the psycho -dynamic theorists particularly Erik Erikson I (1963) in his book Identity: Youth and Ladakh: Coping With Crisis, approached identity as a process Winds of Change linked to the individual as well as the society/community, where he came up Geographically and historically, Ladakh with the notion of identity crisis as a phase has been very distinct from other regions of confusion occurring due to the lost of the Indian nation state. Though there has been a steady flow of outsiders into the Ladakhi terrain from Tibet, Xinjiang, and Central Asia amongst others, it has for the major part of its existence been Ladakh with its rich history and culture has cut off from the world outside its temporal and spatial dimensions which have led immediate contact. to the build-up of a diverse social composition in However, after its borders were opened the region. It boasts of a social structure with to the outside world in the late 1970’s, the multiple ethnicities largely documented to have influx of travelers, mainly foreigners, film makers and researchers interested in lived in harmony over a long period of time. Ladakh has led to the revelation of interesting facts about Ladakh’s
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landscape and its people. As a result, today there exists a sizeable amount of literature on various aspects of Ladakh. The strategic location of Ladakh which led to Consequently these works provide a sporadic conquests from its neighboring areas has foundation on which this essay is based. not only affected its political situation but also Administratively, Ladakh is believed to molded its social composition. The blending of have lost its status as an independent ethnicities due to the flow of different people over kingdom in the 1840’s when the Dogra time has shaped the present constitution of rulers conquered its territories. As a result of the Treaty of Accession signed by the Ladakhis. Maharaja Hari Singh, Ladakh automatically became absorbed into the Indian nation state and thereafter Ladakh has remained a part of the state of are believed to be the descendants of Jammu and Kashmir. Though at the time the traders and merchants who mainly of its inclusion into India Ladakh came from Kashmir or parts of Central represented a single district, in 1979 it was Asia such as Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan divided into two districts Leh and Kargil. etc in the 17th century. At present each of these two districts are headed by their respective autonomous The western part is largely inhabited by hill councils which work as a the Balti tribe, who share a common decentralized form of partial self- heritage with the Tibetans and the rest of governance in the area. the Ladakhis in terms of language and culture. The Arghons are practitioners of The strategic location of Ladakh which Sunni Islam and the Baltis mainly follow led to sporadic conquests from its Shia Islam. Apart from the Sunni and Shia neighboring areas has not only affected communities, Islam is represented by the its political situation but also molded its Nurbhakshia community, who are small in social composition. The blending of number but have a stronghold in the ethnicities due to the flow of different border areas of Turtuk and Bogdang in people over time has shaped the present the northern reaches of Ladakh (Rizvi, constitution of Ladakhis. Though there are 1996; Sheikh, 2007). conflicting views on the question of who the first settlers of Ladakh were, there The spatial spread of the two major seems to be a consensus that the Mons, religious communities of Buddhists and Dards and the Tibetans were among the Muslims clearly reflects that the regions first to inhabit the region. close to Tibet have chosen to remain Buddhist while the western part having In contemporary Ladakh, the Tibetan borne the influx of the Muslim traders and influence is prominent in the central and preachers seems to have taken to Islam. eastern parts; on moving westwards The Arghons who mainly came as traders towards the town of Leh and the nearby also seemed to have purposefully settled villages the Mongoloid features are visible around the commercial hub of Leh. with some element of Indo-Aryan traits. However it must be acknowledged that Most of them follow the Buddhist faith there are areas of mixed population as and form almost half the population of well and many scholars point to the the entire Ladakh region. However there prevalence of a composite history are a small number of practitioners of wherein the Buddhists and Muslims are Islam in the Leh district who belong to the believed to have shared a syncretic Balti and Arghon communities. culture.
The Arghons who are mostly confined to Scholars such as the Ladakhi historian the Leh town and a few nearby villages Abdul Ghani Sheikh, Nawang Tshering
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Shakspo, and Ravina Aggarwal illustrate in point being the 1989 communal riots of their view through examples of mixed Leh that led to a major clash and sparked customs drawn from both the faiths in off a rupture being replayed continuously various areas across Ladakh such as through the occurrence of similar or at Khuksho, Achinathang and Purig. They least recognizable communal also emphasize that these are not disturbances. isolated cases and that such coalesced lifestyles could have possibly been a Similarly in the most recent communal common practice amongst the Ladakhis. outbreak it was reported that after 26 members of 6 families residing in Padum The fact that the triennial Lopchak mission and Zangla of Zanskar region converted which consisted of offerings for the Dalai from Buddhism to Islam, there were Lama on the occasion of New Year or immediate reactions by the Buddhists mon lam was often carried out by Muslim who called for a strike and boycott of the families particularly the Radhu or Khwaja converted families. The pressure that was family of Leh is also indicative of the deep exerted on the new converts is believed religious understanding or tolerance that to have impelled one of the families from existed in those times. This is not to suggest Zangla to revert back to Buddhism. Soon that there were absolutely no distinctions after there were widespread tensions and between the Buddhists and Muslims in the violent clashes which forced the past, but the differences that were there government to impose curfew in the in terms of religious beliefs and practices region. (Economic Times Bureau, Oct 24, were not so pronounced. The 2012) commonality in culture more or less overshadowed those differences. Likewise there are instantaneous reactions Moreover, religion in the past was to any such incidents marked with practiced within the personal domain violence or by a social boycott of the and the dissimilarities in faith did not ‘other’ community. The loudspeaker override the Ladakhi identity based on a competitions between gompas and common linguistic and cultural heritage. masjids or the marking of public places with particular religious symbols such as However if we were to visit Ladakh now, flags - all point to a voracious attempt at we would not be able to find the same bringing to the fore the emphasis on level of harmony amongst its present distinct religious identities. Each incident inhabitants, for since the past few of a supposed ‘discretion’ such as inter- decades Ladakh has witnessed an ever religious marriage or conversion is seen widening crevice along religious lines. from the apprehensive view of a diminishing stronghold especially in The Ladakhi society now is permeated by relation to the number of constituents for inter-religious hostilities which sporadically each community, otherwise known as a take the shape of violent clashes. A case game of numbers.
The Buddhists blame the Muslims for astutely trying to outnumber them through mechanisms such as The fact that the triennial Lopchak mission encouraging Muslim youth to marry which consisted of offerings for the Dalai Lama Ladakhi Buddhist women or through on the occasion of New Year or mon lam was forced conversion of Buddhists into Islam. often carried out by Muslim families particularly There have even been vague accusations suggesting that Muslims the Radhu or Khwaja family of Leh is also intentionally opt to forgo family planning indicative of the deep religious understanding or initiatives with the objective of increasing tolerance that existed in those times the Muslim population in the region.
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Similarly Muslims particularly in Leh accuse the majoritarian Buddhist population of The dynamics of change in Ladakh can be resorting to violence in matters of inter- religious marriages or underline their attributed to several internal and exogenous under-representation or neglect in local influences each of which plays in to synchronize politics. The occasions where Muslim- the process of transformative identity formation. owned taxis, shops or hotels are The present atmosphere in Ladakh is such that boycotted are fairly common. religion serves as the primary basis of Similarly in Kargil district where the Muslims identification amongst the locals are in majority, there seems to be a grievance amongst its miniscule Buddhist population against what they perceive as majoritarian authority with minimal representation of Buddhists in politics and The instrumental use of religion in politics, a feeling of disrespect for their faith for example, can lead to the politicization among the Muslims of the region. Thus the of religion and consequently result in Ladakhi identity has gradually taken communal riots or clashes. shape in the form of Boto, Balti and Kache communities. The clear emphasis In Ladakh, there has been a slow being on the geographic and religious transformation beginning from the period differences, thus a Boto is someone close during the monarchy where the Buddhist- to Poth (Tibet in Ladakhi), Balti means Muslim ties were peaceful with discords someone from Baltistan or a Shia Muslim being sorted primarily at the familial or and Kache stands for Kashmiri or Sunni neighborly levels. Around the time of Muslims implying the ‘outsider’ notion on India’s independence there arose the two latter communities (Sara Smith, political organizations in Ladakh which 2009). were aligned along religious lines.
II The Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) Communal Divide: Identifying the was also a result of such communal Causative Factors groups created after the Glancy Commission reports. (see van Beek, 1996; The dynamics of change in Ladakh can Kaul, Sridhar & H. N. Kaul, 1992) No sooner be attributed to several internal and had Ladakh been absorbed into the exogenous influences each of which Indian nation state than a Memorandum plays in to synchronize the process of (1949) was passed by the LBA stating their transformative identity formation. The grievances with the state government present atmosphere in Ladakh is such and their intention of coming under direct that religion serves as the primary basis of rule of the central government. identification amongst the locals. A deeper look at the particulars of the Religion as a social phenomenon plays a memorandum shows how the Ladakhis pivotal role in the construction of led by the political leaders ‘imagined’ the collective identity and may often serve as Ladakhi community to be distinct from an essentialist understanding to one’s the people of the other parts of the state. identity or a sense of belonging to a There seems to be a delineation of the community. However, it must be Ladakhi identity on the basis of ethnic underscored that ethnic conflicts in most characteristics with the specific emphasis cases are not based on doctrinal placed on the Buddhist identity. The altercations. As religion does not play an crucial point here is to figure out under isolated role in bringing about societal what context such imaginings take place change, it is invariably supplemented by and how such ‘perceived’ notions of parameters such as politics or economics. identity actually come to represent
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people in the socio-political realm. context of larger national politics.
There seems to have been a widespread The discontentment with the state belief amongst the people in Ladakh, government over time has led to that despite its secular claims the Indian separatist sentiments among the Ladakhis political system particularly the state and a demand for a Union Territory (UT) government in Kashmir acted on status, a demand which till date finds communal lines. This conviction among resonance during election campaigns. the people of Ladakh is what van Beek The demand for ‘UT’ as it came to be believes has led to the consequent trend known in common parlance was of relying on communalistic strategies reiterated several times at the center, throughout political affairs in Ladakh. however in citing ‘security interests’ the (Van Beek, 2000:528) demand was turned down consecutively.
The developments that led to the The debate surrounding the UT status transformation of the Ladakhi identity are which primarily deals with devolution of largely understood as the implication of power has also acquired a communal exogenous factors such as the imposition hue. Bray (2007) explains that ‘this debate of centralised administrative structures has often had a communal tinge with and a political system that increasingly Ladakhi Buddhists claiming that the appropriates the use of as a strategical reason for their neglect has been the maneuver. However, as Paul Brass (1997) Muslims’ domination of J&K, while their cautions ‘villagers’, or in this case Ladakhi own separate religious identity offers one Buddhists, should not be regarded as of the prime justifications for separate innocent victims of exogenous political status’. (Bray, 2007, p.6) communalist forces. Local level politics as elucidated by van Beek (2000) involved Moreover, though there is strong demand the representation of the plight of the for the UT status among the Buddhists of Ladakhis in communal terms. Therefore Ladakh, the support from the people of the unfolding of the whole process of Kargil is not of the same intensity. This identity formulation amongst the people marked difference in demands among of Ladakh has been a gradual process the different religious communities is affected not only by external forces but representative of the fact that the people also by the shifting needs within the belonging to the same geographical Ladakhi community itself. space under similar conditions and needs may appropriate separate identifications. Local agencies, particularly the political This ambiguity in identity formation arises elite, thus played an important role in the out of specific social, economic and communalization of the movement for political processes prevalent within the secession from Kashmir but at the same society at a particular time period. time it needs to be viewed within the Beek (2000, p. 540) clearly elucidates the ‘shifting tastes in the imaginings’ of the leaders in Ladakh ever since it became a There seems to have been a widespread belief, part of India until present times. He thus that despite its secular claims the Indian states that the 1960s saw a rise in demand for a NEFA type administration in Ladakh, political system particularly the state government which coincided with the Indian acted on communal lines. This conviction among Government’s attempt to quell the stir in the people of Ladakh is what van Beek believes the north eastern regions. has led to the consequent trend of relying on The 1970s also saw the beginnings of the communalistic strategies throughout political plea for the declaration of Ladakh as a affairs in Ladakh. Union Territory (UT) which would bring it
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under direct control of New Delhi. Then around the late 1970s, the Indian political sphere was encompassed by The opening up of the vast array of opportunities Mandalization with the focus of the also created immense competition and ill feelings Ladakhi leadership also shifting towards among the various groups that came to compete an assertion for Scheduled Tribe status. Enticed by the benefits that would be for their place in the market. These rivalries on available to them; the leaders tried to the economic front slowly made its way to local capitalize on the situation and started politics, which perpetuated the ever widening gap making demands for the inclusion of among the people of Ladakh. Ladakhis amongst the Scheduled Tribes.
Later in the 1980s, taking inspiration from the Darjeeling Hill council, the demands moved onto the establishment of an hand, the government was blamed for autonomous hill council in the region. favoring Muslims in the allocation of (Aggarwal, 2004, p. 540) These shifting governmental jobs, while on the other, trends in demands were also new job opportunities such as in the army complimented with changing ties among and the tourism sector did give the the Buddhist and Muslim political elite Ladakhi people options apart from the who used religion as a mechanism to conventional professions such as maneuver their political gains even to the agriculture, animal husbandry and trade. extent of what van Beek calls ‘normalization of communalism’. At the same time, the opening up of the vast array of opportunities also created Ladakh’s integration into India also immense competition and ill feelings transformed the region from a trading among the various groups that came to zone to one which served as a strategic compete for their place in the market. borderland with massive military These rivalries on the economic front presence. Secondly the region also got slowly made its way to local politics, incorporated into nation building process which perpetuated the ever widening as a whole. The economic development gap among the people of Ladakh, that the government attempted to bring ultimately leading to conflict-like about in the area supplemented by the situations. Similarly exposure to media and new links that Ladakh formed with the rest education led to an urge to reinstate the of the world brought about deep seated distinct identity or sense of belongingness changes. The whole process of through mechanisms such as the integration of local communities such as preservation of the ‘purity’ of religious Ladakh into larger national regional and beliefs and practices. Thus it is the national entities caused the weakening of ‘ordinary’ Ladakhi who suffers in the end former social ties. due to the breach in the age old ties with neighbors and kin belonging to separate Thus Buddhists and Muslims who boasted religious groups. of a syncretic culture gradually came to be threatened. Gerhard Emmer (2007) in Conclusion her article on the condition of the Argons of Leh argues that once the Clearly Ladakh is a region in flux where homogenization project started by the rampant developments in the diverse State failed, local social groups started spheres have led to changing patterns in fragmenting along religious lines. She also the societal structure. In such societies believes that the changes in the socio- there is a need felt by the locals to economic structure due to the inflow of appropriate an identity from which they modernization added on to the already can gain a sense of belonging. The weakening social ties. So, on the one Ladakhis in this case have mostly resorted
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to emphasize their religious identity. The cultural heritage and commonalities in conflicts that ensued were never conflicts language and aspirations to identify or over the right to assert one’s ethnic or relate to each other. cultural identity, but were based on competing claims to rights such as References employment, welfare and political influence. Such a process is detrimental to Memorandum submitted to the PM in 1949 by Chhewang Rigzin, President, Buddhist the peace, stability and development of Association of Ladakh on behalf of the People the region for important issues get of Ladakh, Hindu World 41 (February 1949), sidelined in the fervor of religious pp. 30–33. identification. The example of the recent Paul Brass (1997). Theft of an Idol: Text and Zanskar riots points to the fact that due to Context in the Representation of Collective the overemphasis on the religious Violence, Princeton University Press, Princeton. differences amongst the two groups other Beek. Martijn, van (2000 b). ‘Beyond Identity parameters of social exclusion such as Fetishism: "Communal" Conflict in Ladakh and caste based discrimination are being the Limits of Autonomy, Cultural totally ignored. The furor over what the Anthropology, Vol. 15, No. 4 , Nov., 2000, pp. 539. Buddhists of Zanskar believe to be ‘forced conversions’ is putting a smokescreen Behera, Navnita Chadha. Autonomy in J&K- over important issues that need to be The Forgotten Identities of Ladakh, Vol. 6, Faultlines. immediately addressed. Even to this day the people considered to be belonging Aggarwal, Ravina (2004). Beyond Lines of to the lower section of the Ladakhi Control- Performance and Politics on the Disputed Borders of Ladakh, India, Duke society such as Mons, Bedas and Garas University Press, USA, pp. 540. are treated differentially. For example, during weddings they are made to sit Emmer, Gerhard (2007). ‘The Condition of the Arghons in Leh’ in Recent Research on separately towards the far end of the Ladakh 2007, eds. John Bray and Nawang seating space. In Kargil also the Aghas Tsering Shakspo, J&K Academy of Art, Culture and the Kachos are seen as belonging to & Languages, Ladakh, pp. 184. a different stratum altogether even Rizvi, Janet (1996). Ladakh- Crossroads of High though the basic tenet of Islam is against Asia, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. any such form of discrimination. Erikson, Erik. 1963. Identity, Youth and Crisis, These trends seem to be a problem faced New York, Norton. by multi-ethnic societies where cultural Berger, Peter. 1974. " Modern Identity: Crisis elements needed to adjust to a changing and Continuity," in The Cultural Drama: world are lost to the machinations of a Modern Identities and Social Ferment, ed. Wilton S. Dillon, Washington, Smithsonian certain section of the society. The Institution Press. ongoing research in this area gives hope that questions and issues related to Foucault, Michel. 1979. Discipline and Punish- The Birth of the Prison, trans. Alan Sheridan, identity will be examined well so as to find London, Random House. possible solutions to such problems. Above all it is the masses that need to find Mead, G. H. 1962. Mind, Self and Society. a voice of their own and use their agency Goffman, Erving. 1959. Presentation of Self in to spread and strengthen inter-communal Everyday Life, New York, Doubleday. networks to build a society without Sheikh, Abdul Ghani. 2007. ‘Transformation of religious divides. Thus it becomes Kukso Village’ in Recent Research on Ladakh- necessary for people to stop identifying 2007, John Bray & Nawang Tsering Shakspo the other and instead focus on shared (eds.), J&K Academy for Art, Culture & Languages, Leh Ladakh.
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