Leh Boils: BJP’s Policy of Divide And Rule Backfires

Writer : Dr. Waleed Rasool

Nothing is normal in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The Leh district of Ladakh—once showcased by New Delhi as a “one-sided saga” of its unilateral annexation—is now in open revolt. The BJP may have fêted the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A as its crowning triumph, parading the illusion that calm had returned and resistance was crushed. Yet today, that illusion lies shattered. The very policy of brute force has backfired, igniting the flames of dissent in places once deemed passive, even masses of .Leh—the Buddhist and Muslim heartland of Ladakh—has risen. Generation Z of Leh, born in the shadow of occupation but unshackled in spirit, has declared in unison: “Nothing is normal.” The ground does not whisper peace—it trembles, it boils. The myth of normalcy, crafted in Delhi’s corridors, has collapsed under the weight of its own falsehood.

The streets of Leh are soaked in anger. Four young lives have been lost, seventy injured, and thousands more stand in defiance of Indian might. What New Delhi once claimed to have pacified has erupted with a vengeance. This is not an isolated disturbance—it is the inevitable consequence of policies that treat people as subjects to be ruled rather than citizens to be heard. The BJP gambled that by stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, by dividing it into two Union Territories, and by flooding the region with military garrisons, it could impose a “peace of silence.” Instead, the youth of Ladakh, once seen as apolitical or submissive, are now the vanguard of democratic resistance.The irony is sharp and bitter. For decades, BJP’s propaganda insisted that Kashmir’s resistance was driven solely by Kashmiris grievances, painting it as sectarian and separatist. But today, Buddhists, and Muslims are standing shoulder to shoulder in Ladakh, united in their demand for democratic rights. This is the phenomenon that BJP’s strategists never anticipated: repression breeds solidarity. Where Kashmiris once stood alone, the resistance now spreads its tentacles into the cold deserts and high passes of Leh. The miscalculation is profound—by attempting to crush dissent in Srinagar, the BJP has sown seeds of rebellion in Leh.

The Ladakhis are not asking for the moon. They are demanding what was promised, what was theirs, and what has been unjustly snatched away—statehood, Sixth Schedule protections for their land and resources, and a dignified voice in governance. They tried every peaceful avenue. Their leaders traveled the long distance to Delhi, knocked on doors, pleaded for justice. They opposed the dismemberment of the state, urging instead that Jammu and Kashmir remain intact. But their cries fell into a wilderness. Delhi responded with arrogance, with adamance, with the cold indifference of rulers convinced that military camps are more effective than democratic negotiations.Today, the 13th Corps, raised after the Kargil war and stationed in Leh, stands as a symbol of India’s heavy-handedness. But even 100,000 soldiers cannot run a territory forever. No military, however mighty, can govern the human soul, the yearning for dignity, the demand for rights. Peace imposed at gunpoint is fragile; it collapses at the first tremor of popular resistance. The experts of peace and conflict studies are unanimous: negative peace—the peace of fear, silence, and suppression—never lasts. Positive peace, built on justice, dialogue, and recognition, is the only sustainable way forward. Yet the BJP has chosen the former, and the cracks are now visible in Leh.This moment carries deep symbolism. The BJP, which boasted of integrating Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Union, is now confronted by an uncomfortable truth: integration by force is disintegration in spirit. The more it tries to hold Ladakh through the iron fist of Indian rule, the more it alienates the people. The youth of Leh are not afraid. Their slogans are not anything new but democratic right. They speak of rights, not the Indian label. They demand representation, not subjugation. And therein lies the tragedy—India, which calls itself the world’s largest democracy, is crushing the most democratic of demands with the most undemocratic of means.

The blood spilled on the streets of Leh is not just a statistic. It is a stain on the conscience of a India that celebrates Gandhi but rules with the mindset of colonial masters. It is a reminder that every bullet fired at an unarmed protester carries the echo of history—the echo of empires that thought they could silence people forever, only to collapse under the weight of their own arrogance.

The Ladakh movement is a turning point. It signals that resistance in Jammu and Kashmir is no longer confined to the valley. It has spilled into the mountains, deserts, and passes. It has united communities across religious lines. And most of all, it has exposed the bankruptcy of BJP’s divide-and-rule policy. What Delhi thought was a masterstroke of control has become a boomerang of defiance.India faces a choice. It can continue down the path of repression, relying on corps, curfews, and crackdowns to sustain a false peace. Or it can return to the path of dialogue, democracy, and dignity. The blood of Leh’s youth cries out for the latter. But if history is any guide, New Delhi may once again choose arrogance over wisdom, force over reconciliation.

If so, the fires of Leh will not die down. They will spread, as fires of injustice always do. For you can silence a generation, but you cannot erase their dream. And in Leh, that dream has already been born.The Leh uprising is a chilling reminder that the State of Jammu and Kashmir, illegally occupied and fragmented by the BJP on 5th August 2019, remains one indivisible entity—a disputed territory under United Nations resolutions and international law. No unilateral move by India can alter this reality or erase its disputed character. The people of the State possess the inalienable right to survive with dignity and justice. Therefore, the demands of the people of Leh–Ladakh are not favors to be granted, nor derivative concessions, but genuine and fundamental human rights.

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