SECMOL (A): Envisioning Radical Change in Ladakh
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
IIMB-WP N0. 558 WORKING PAPER NO: 558 SECMOL (A): Envisioning Radical Change in Ladakh Ramya Ranganathan Visiting Faculty Organizational Behaviour & Human Resource Management Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 5600 76 Ph: 080-26993699 [email protected] Yangerjungla Pongener Doctoral student Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 5600 76 [email protected] Raviteja Kancharla Doctoral student Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 5600 76 [email protected] Year of Publication – September 2017 IIMB-WP N0. 558 SECMOL (A): Envisioning Radical Change in Ladakh Abstract: In a world where people are either chasing material success or succumbing to mediocrity and conformity, ‘a life of significance,' appears almost utopic. Yet there are those among us who strive beyond necessary and sometimes, even beyond odds to make changes that contribute to a larger good. Our case study revolves around the life of a man who was determined to change a system that was not working, no matter how deeply entrenched the systemic patterns were. We find that this is a story of commitment, resilience, creativity, relationships and above all, the strength of character. This case will be used to explore and teach principles from positive psychology and leadership literature to examine how this systemic change was initiated and achieved despite severe challenges. Keywords: Leadership, Resilience, Character Strengths, Change, Positive Psychology 1 IIMB-WP N0. 558 1. INTRODUCTION The evening of February 28, 2007 was particularly turning out to be chilly for Sonam Wangchuk, a 41- year-old resident of the secluded and mountainous province of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. Taking another sip of his tea, Sonam intently pondered about the government notices lying on his study table. It had been almost a year since the onset of the trouble, but this time, Sonam worried that the situation was spiraling out of control. The government had just issued a notice against him with multiple allegations. These accusations included demoralizing government staff, illegal occupation of land, misuse of funds, and anti-national connections with China. Sonam had spent almost 18 years of his life working towards the betterment of education for Ladakhi children. That was the mission he had started out with, and while he had known that his team would face hurdles along the way, he never expected that it would come to this. 2. LADAKH: A UNIQUE SETTING 2.1 Topography and Economic Conditions Ladakh is one of the three administrative regions of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India. It is bounded by two international borders, China and Pakistan. Situated at 12,000 feet above the sea level, this mountainous region has fresh lakes and rivers flowing through it. Among them, Ladakh mainly relies on River Indus. The region experiences extreme weather conditions with the temperature dropping to minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter. Owing to severe snowfall, Ladakh remains cut off by road from the rest of the country for several months in a year. Ladakh is one of the most breathtaking tourist spots in the world. The region is connected by weekly flights to the state capital, Srinagar and the country's capital, New Delhi. The topography here supports rare animals and birds which attracts many tourists. Tourism in Ladakh has contributed to more than half of its revenue, but the tourism industry lies in the hands of very few people, that is, only 4% of the total population of 0.25 million. The main sources of livelihood are animal husbandry and agriculture. Cultivation of pulses such as barley and wheat is evident. Forestry, medicinal herbs, and cultivation of vegetables and fruits such as apple and apricot are other sources of livelihood. Rice is rare and considered to be a luxury diet. The water required for agriculture is funneled from ice and snow in the mountains. The region is also known for commercial activity in carpets, dyestuffs, and textile. As it is a desert and owing to its topography, the cultivation of food crops is limited. The per capita income for this region has been Rupees (INR) 17,5551 which is 30% much lesser than the national average. 2.2 Political History The political origins of Ladakh can be traced back to the Kushan Empire around the 1st Century. Evidence from the 7th century sheds better light on the administration of Ladakh which shows that Ladakh was under the suzerainty of Tibet. Even though a commissioner was stationed in Ladakh for regular administration, rebellion broke out against the Tibetan administration. However, in the 8th century, Ladakh facing pressure from both Tibetan expansion in the east and Chinese expansion through the central passes came under the dominance of Tibet, once again. It was only when the Tibetan monarchy collapsed in the 9th century that Ladakh was finally free from this suzerainty. While it may be assumed that the people of Ladakh were quite different from Tibetans, they remain closely associated because the first Ladakhi Empire was founded by a representative of the Tibetan royal house 1 1 USD = INR 70 2 IIMB-WP N0. 558 and, thus the cultural influence of Tibet expanded in Ladakh, and that of India diminished. The rise of raids and plundering by the Muslims in Central Asia led to partial conversion and fragmentation of Ladakh. In the 16th century, the Namgyal dynasty unified Ladakh by ousting most of the raiders and later one of the kings agreed on a peace treaty with Baltistan by marrying a Muslim princess. This contributed to the Muslims settling in Ladakh and taking part in trade practices there. Further, to placate the Mughal emperor, a mosque was established in Ladakh during the 17th century. When the Mughal Empire collapsed in the 19th century, Ladakh was conquered by the Rajput rulers who held the Dogra region of Jammu and Kashmir. Since the partition of India in 1947, Ladakh has faced detrimental consequences owing to the conflicts between India and Pakistan, and China. For instance, Ladakh borders two disputed regions, that is, Aksai Chin in the east with China and most of the northern areas in the north-west with Pakistan. The Kargil wars between India and Pakistan which occurred during 1948, 1965, 1975 and 1999 were triggered by such disputes. Moreover, territory disputes also led to China closing the 1000-year-old trade routes between Nubra and Xinjiang in 1949, thus ending the 700-year-old relationship between Ladakh and Tibet. Needless to say, Ladakh is a located in a politically charged area (see Exhibit 1, Ladakh Political Boundary). During the partition of India, Ladakh remained under the administration of the State of Jammu and Kashmir much to the dismay of Ladakhis who wanted to be a union territory administered under New Delhi. This was so because the Ladakhi people felt that Srinagar could not resonate with their culture and religion. Moreover, there were constant clashes between Muslims and Buddhists to the extent of the Buddhist Council boycotting Muslims. Owing to violent riots between the two groups, the government agreed to grant an autonomous council under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Developmental Council Act in 1995. 2.3 Cultural History Belonging to the Kushan Empire, Ladakh was an early proponent of the Buddhist faith. As suggested in the preceding paragraphs, the culture of Ladakh is similar to that of Tibet. For instance, Ladakhi language, which is prominent in Leh district of Ladakh, is part of the Sino-Tibetan languages with over 100,000 speakers. Ladakhi language also borrows the Tibetan script, but there is a controversy as to whether Ladakhi should be written in Tibetan script or another script that is in the form of classical Tibetan. Besides, the Muslim population of Ladakh can speak Ladakhi but cannot read the script. While people from the Eastern and Central parts of Ladakh are predominately Buddhists, people from the West are Shia Muslims. Buddhism has been the dominant religion in Ladakh for over 1,000 years as the wall paintings in Alchi Gompas, and Ladakh’s political history suggest. Further, the numerous gompas built by ancient kings hold a testament to the prominence of Buddhism in Ladakh. The Gompas have a big courtyard for religious festivals where masked dances are widely known to be held. These dances generally signify the triumph of the good over evil which is deep seated in the philosophy of Buddhism. In the past, the food of Ladakhi people was also similar to Tibetan food. While people consume Tibetan diets such as thukpa (noodle soup) and tsampa (roasted barley flour used during trekking), the influence of other foods from the plain regions of India has beeen common in Ladakh. This holds true even for attires; even though traditional attires (such as Tibetan costumes) are worn by the older generations, the younger generations wear indo-western outfits such as jeans and t-shirts. When it comes to family, traditional practices such as fraternal polyandry and primogeniture inheritance were common in Ladakh until the State 3 IIMB-WP N0. 558 of Jammu and Kashmir made it illegal. The older generation retires to small houses taking just enough property for sustenance and leaves the rest of the ownership to the next generation. 2.4 Education In the past, there was no structure of formal education in Ladakh except in the Buddhist monastery where one son per family was obliged to learn Tibetan script to read the Holy Scriptures. For the other children, the contribution of education was to live a meaningful life in the community. Therefore, an informal system such as teaching children how to work in farms and how to practice Ladakhi cultures were the primary objectives.