By: Stanzin Dawa
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Unemployment-A Silent Bomb In A Peaceful Land (Ladakh)
One of the major problems that Ladakh has been experiencing in the last one decade has been unemployment. The severity of the problem has been increasing over the years. “Due to the negligence of the administration and hill council in the recent past, about 3000 educated youth, capable indifferent professions, are still unemployed despite of huge vacancies in various departments in the district” extracted from the memorandum submitted by All Ladakh Unemployment Youth Association (ALUYA) on 15th of December 2005; by virtue of the right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining 1500 unemployed youth with support from locals NGOs, started a peaceful procession to sensitize the local government and administration. I had a brief discussion with my aunt whose children are also educated unemployed. Like every parents she is also waiting for her children to get employed and get settled in life. With a deep sigh she expressed her fears and anguish over the children’s career. I am sure she is not the only parent who is worrying for their children. There are thousands of parents in Ladakh who are dreaming day and night about getting a dignified job to their children. Many of them will die without fulfilling their dreams. Do our leaders have a vision for the future of our youth? Is there something wrong with our education system? Is government of India and state government alienating Ladakhi? Do we respect the dignity of labour? Is the local economy dying? How unemployment in Ladakh can weaken the Indian border? Can we dream of a Ladakh in which every youth will be enjoying a respectable life with a dignified job? Do we have the wisdom and will to translate this dream into a great reality? The brief discussion with my aunt has fertilized my mind to look at the issue from different perspectives. The calm lakes, the elegant mountains, the gorgeous river, the mighty yak, the captivating valleys, the blue sky, the twinkling stars, the splendid monasteries, the simple mud houses, the transcendent art and music, peace loving people makes Ladakh a paradise between earth and sky; but not for the Ladakhi unemployed youth who are suffering in this paradise. As they don’t have jobs to make a decent living in the paradise.
The government…
In many aspects the problems of Ladakh are different from other parts
of India. In democracy majority makes the government; Ladakh being comprised
of a small population were marginalized in the mainstream politics and
development. It was not only a constraint for the development but also
a threat for cultural extinction. Realizing these threats Ladakhis have
demanded for Union Territory decades ago to have their own government,
so that they can decide their own destiny. After lots of struggles and
sacrifices by ladakhi people India government have bargained and compromised
Ladakhis with the autonomous development council. The local government
LAHDC (Ladakh Autonomous Hill development Council) has almost completed
a decade after its formation. Under the circumstances people have chosen
the best possible leaders to run the government; sometime the best is
even not enough especially when it comes to meeting the expectations
of the people in a democratic country. Expectation leads to frustrations,
if it is unfulfilled. Initially local people have lots of expectation
from the council to accelerate the process of development and development
to be more justified. The valley centric state government has not given
adequate functional autonomy to the council, hence the council and the
councilors were handicapped in many respects to deal with the developmental
challenges. You cannot give something, which you are not having. Gradually
the people realized the powers, scopes and limitations of the council.
The silent bomb…
Unemployment problem in Ladakh is not a mere socio economic problem.
Unemployment in places like Ladakh is like a silent bomb. Ladakh being
located at a strategic position, bordering with two archenemies of India
and also a part of J&K state inflicted with terrorism. The growing
unemployment problem shows the lack of vision, clarity of purpose and
understanding of the local, state and center government to understand
the problems of the people. Government of India is spending crores of
rupees in guarding our borders from the enemies. Can we a have safe
and secured border if the youth living at the border are unemployed
and frustrated. Ladakhi people are known for their peace loving nature
and believe in the principle of non-violence. Our youth wants to spend
a peaceful and progressive life, but without jobs in their hands they
cannot pretend to be peaceful. “We hope from you that the concerned
authorities to understand the depth of the issue with our peaceful beginning
procession. Otherwise we will be forced to resort to violent actions”
taken from the memorandum. It shows sooner or later they may adopt violent
means not because they love but to awake the sleeping government; which
is blind towards the miseries of the youth and sensitivity of the border.
If the government of India wants the border to be strong and secured,
it should not ignore the basic needs of its own citizens who are living
at the edges of the border while struggling with the harsh conditions.
Every Ladakhi is an unarmed soldier of India and immensely contributed
in all the wars India had fought with its two archenemies. The terrorism
in the valley could not penetrated in the Ladakh region but it should
be taken for granted if the government attitude does not change. The
government of India should not hesitate to provide due economic justice
to the people of Ladakh. If any government could not meet the due right
of the peace loving people they giving them a chance to be violent.
After Kargil war the Government of India has launched operation “SADBHAVNA”
in order to gain the confidence of border people. The government should
have a long term vision and a plan of action for the overall development
of the region, so that these peace loving people who are faithful to
India can remain loyal to India. The Sadbhavna programme was limited
in its scope and operations.
The economy…
Poor performance of the economy: lack of adequate infrastructure for
the industries, lack of entrepreneurship skills, inadequate financial
support, difficult accessibility, short agricultural season, shrinking
glaciers, lack of dignity for labour are the major constraints for the
economic development of the region. The capacity of an economy to generate
employment opportunities is directly related to its performance.
The education…
Ladakh’s education system not geared for self-employment: The
education system has over the years prepared students for wage employment
in the formal sector. While job opportunities have been declining in
the formal sector. Under ONH (Operation New Hope) education system was
reformed to make it more relevant and appropriate. School should prepare
students for self-employment in the informal and private sector. Education
in Ladakh is responsible for making Ladakhi unemployable, it displaces
the local youth from their culture and practices. The wrong education
has taught Ladakhi youth to discriminate the work; in the process they
have lost the dignity for labour. Education should make the person more
creative and productive but unfortunately after investing/wasting more
than fifteen years in schools, colleges and universities youth still
wait for the government to create some job for them. “On the one
side education campaigns and movements are organised to improve the
education status especially 10th and 12th results in Ladakh. As a result
of that hundreds of students graduating every year. They return home
with a hope that our leaders would absorb them…” extracted
from the memorandum of ALUYA. It reflects the terrible plight at both
the end, on the one hand leaders have failed to employ them on the other
hand their education could not make them independent enough to create
a job for themselves. If every Ladakhi youth runs after the government
job, who is going to create jobs in the private sector? May be people
from Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Punjab but not Ladakhi. They have already
dominated the local economy either its tourism, construction, provisional
stores except the hotels and guest houses for which we should be thankful
to article 370 of Indian constitution. The vision 2525 is a mere dream
unless Ladakhi youth actively participate in the economic race. No community
can be prosperous if the people are running after he government job,
because it is more secured and less taxing. We need our own revenue
for development. How long we will continue the subsidy begging and tax
exemption from the government, when we are going to have a self-reliant
economy?
The Globalisation…
The region isolated from the rest of the world before three decades
is being sailing and sinking in the ocean of globalisation. While some
believe that globalization is the source of wealth and welfare, others
think that globalization is the source of persistent inequality and
social exclusion. For too many people the world seems full of opportunities
but they do not see how to connect their lives to the opportunities
available. Growing insecurity and a sense that the rules of the game
are unfair give rise to silent frustrations in the hearts of many individuals
and their families. The forces of globalization is displacing ladakhis
from its roots, as the forces of globalisation evolves outside of Ladakh
and goes back after making this ecologically and economically fragile
community more vulnerable. Clearly the present model of globalization
is not going in favour of Ladakh development. In the last one decade
the gap between haves and have not has increased very much. What is
needed is globalization with equity. The rich Ladakhis have taken the
major benefits of different incentives given by the government for economic
development. The LAHDC should craft a model of globalization that accommodates
the interest of all Ladakh, and which reduces uncertainty and increases
opportunities. It can only be possible if we look at globalization through
the eyes of people and be capable of responding to their hopes and needs.
Under these circumstances, it is clear that the kind of future people
want is one that can deliver opportunities for decent work in a sustainable
environment. Even in the midst of globalization, the meaning of work
in people's lives has not changed. Work is a defining feature of human
existence. It is the means of sustaining life and of meeting basic needs.
It is also the activity through which individuals affirm their own identity,
both to themselves and to those around them. It is crucial to individual
choice, to the welfare of families and to the stability of societies.
The Policy…
In efforts to provide an overall framework for employment creation,
the government must formulate an employment policy in order to adapt
and adopt changes taking place in the current domestic and global economic
climate. The objective of the employment policy is to promote peace
and sustainable development by creating employment opportunities. The
LAHDC should form an expert committee to recommend and suggest in formulating
the policy. The committee will identify sectors of high employment potential.
It will spells out responsibilities of the government, the private sector,
NGOs and the donor community in employment creation. Suggest strategies
for employment creation in the identified sectors and implementation
and monitoring mechanism.