‘We thought 370 was a curse, but it protected us for 70 years,’: Top Ladakh leader

September 29, 2025 by News Desk

Senior Ladakh leader and Buddhist figure Chering Dorje Lakruk has acknowledged that while people in Ladakh once opposed Article 370, in retrospect, they now see it as a safeguard that protected their land, culture, and livelihoods for decades.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Lakruk, Co-chairman of the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, said the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 left Ladakh vulnerable to outside interests. “We used to curse Article 370 because it was an obstacle in our way to becoming a Union Territory. But it protected us for 70 years. Our land was totally safe. Now Ladakh has been opened up for the entire India. We have no safeguard,” he said.

Lakruk warned that outsiders are purchasing land, hotel chains are expanding in the region, and locals are struggling to keep pace. He linked the current wave of protests, some of which have turned violent, to frustration among unemployed educated youth. “If they were lumpens, they would not have known the difference between a BJP flag and the national flag when the BJP office was attacked,” he remarked.

The former J&K minister argued that the promises made when Ladakh was carved into a Union Territory remain unfulfilled.

The region still lacks a Public Service Commission, no gazetted posts have been filled in six years, and local recruitment has been replaced by contractual hiring, which he alleged has fueled corruption.

He added that the Autonomous Hill Development Councils have been reduced to “virtually defunct” bodies, with major decisions resting in the hands of bureaucrats and the Lieutenant Governor. “On paper, land is under the jurisdiction of the councils. But unless the UT administration agrees, no file moves forward,” he said.

Lakruk also stressed that Ladakhis wanted Union Territory status with a legislature, not direct rule from Delhi. “Srinagar was far, but Delhi is farther. Now, only 10% of funds reach the councils. Commissioners and secretaries have become our rulers,” he said.

Raising concerns about ecological and cultural damage, he criticised the government’s mega solar power project, which he said would swallow fragile pastureland vital for Pashmina goat herders.

“With 45,000 outside workers expected, how will 15,000 locals compete? What employment will nomads get? You are making a fool of us,” he said, echoing concerns raised by activist Sonam Wangchuk.

For six years, Ladakh’s Apex Body and other groups have been demanding constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, but Lakruk said talks with the Centre have yielded little beyond a limited domicile-based job reservation. “Our main issue has not even been discussed yet. Will that take another six years?” he asked.

According to Lakruk, the sense of betrayal in Ladakh is deepening. “Earlier, we thought Article 370 was a curse. Now, we realise it was our safeguard.”