Perspective and commentary

On 27 April, 2026, The Ladakh Gazette (SG-LD-E-27042026-1712) carried a seemingly routine four-page notification. However, it was anything but routine. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, the Union Territory of Ladakh created five new districts: Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar, and Drass. To the untrained eye, this was administrative housekeeping. To those who follow the slow, often opaque contest along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), it marked a calculated step in statecraft.

This was not merely redrawing of administrative boundaries. It was India institutionalising its frontier. At the centre of this move lies Changthang District, headquartered at Nyoma. By formally enumerating 24 revenue villages including forward locations such as Nyoma, Chushul, Koyul, Damjok, and Anlay, the notification converts ambiguity into administrative fact.

A territory that exists only as a patrol zone is prone to contestation. A territory that exists in revenue records, with defined jurisdiction, administrative oversight, and civilian presence, is much harder to question. In strategic terms, this is a shift from claimed space to governed space.

It also marks a shift from episodic patrol presence to institutionalised governance embedded in the terrain itself. With Nyoma serving as the district headquarter and a high altitude airbase, civilian administration and military capability are now closely aligned. The result is not just presence, but continuity of control. However, administrative consolidation alone is insufficient unless it is also anchored with durable human presence, which in frontier geographies ultimately depends on viable local economies embedded within ecological limits.

Furthermore, in frontier statecraft, even names carry strategic weight. The notification adopts local phonetic renderings common in revenue records. For instance, ‘Damjok’ for the Demchok sector, ‘Anlay’ for Hanle, ‘Kungaym’ for Kungyam, ‘Kariy’ for Kerey, and ‘Hemya’ for Himya. These variations arise because historical revenue records in Ladakh were not maintained in the Tibetan script or Changthang dialects. They primarily used Urdu and were often documented by officials from outside the region. This created inherent limitations in capturing the precise phonetic and tonal nuance of Tibetic languages spoken on the plateau. Subsequent transliteration into English further distorted original sounds.

While these renderings reflect an attempt to integrate remote Changpa settlements into formal administration, they also underscore the urgent need for toponymic standardisation. In contested regions along the LAC, where nomenclature itself can acquire strategic utility, consistency across revenue records, Survey of India maps, military documentation, and historical cartography is essential. Precision in naming, grounded in authentic local phonetics, is not cosmetic. It is foundational to durable sovereignty.

The deeper challenge, however, is demographic. The Changpa nomads have long sustained human presence across this harsh plateau. Yet younger generations are drifting away to Leh and other urban centres, drawn by education, income, and stability. If this out-migration accelerates, India risks a paradoxical situation with stronger administrative structures but thinner human presence on the ground; a gap with direct strategic implications.

The answer lies in making Changthang economically viable for its own people. The pashmina economy must evolve from raw wool extraction into a value-added ecosystem encompassing design, branding, processing, and global marketing anchored locally.

A promising livelihood model lies in value-added yak dairy production, particularly hard and soft yak cheese (locally Churpey). Nepal’s highland communities have already demonstrated how the same product can be transformed into a global export success, marketed as ‘Himalayan Dog Chews’ and ‘Bone Candy’, which sustain pastoral economies at scale.

Ladakh has begun to show similar potential. Thenlay Nurboo of Nordic Farm, Durbuk, recently won a Gold Medal at the Mundial do Queijo do Brasil 2026 for his Yak Churpey (soft). With proper scaling, quality certification, and locally-anchored processing and branding that preserves authentic nomenclature, Churpey-based products, whether for gourmet consumption, wellness markets, or premium pet nutrition, can become a high-margin export ecosystem. More importantly, they can generate stable income to anchor habitation in this frontier region.

Complementing this, the cultivation of high-value Sowa Rigpa medicinal plants such as Resilient Stonecrop (Rhodiola imbricata), Ephedra (Ephedra gerardiana), and Pink Arnebia (Arnebia euchroma), species adapted to the plateau’s extreme ecology, offers a parallel livelihood pathway. Supported by institutions such as the National Institute of Sowa Rigpa, these plants can be integrated into nutraceuticals and traditional formulations, creating culturally resonant income streams while reducing pressure on wild populations.

Similarly, Changthang’s geothermal assets, particularly the hot springs at Chumathang, Demchok, and Puga valley, the latter representing India’s most significant geothermal energy prospect in the region, extends this logic further. Alongside their therapeutic role, they open a long-term pathway toward high altitude energy experimentation and sustainability. Integrated with efforts to conserve dark sky through the creation of Hanle Dark Sky Reserve can evolve into a rare convergence of ecology, energy, and astronomy-linked tourism.

Equally critical is how development is structured. While Changthang’s solar potential is widely recognised as a strategic asset, large-scale installations can disrupt fragile grazing ecosystems by altering solar radiation, soil moisture patterns, and wind flow to change microclimates. Elevated solar infrastructure is not ecologically neutral and should not be assumed as a viable model for pastoral landscapes. Evidence from similar cold steppe and desert systems, including the Mongolian plateau, suggests that fixed arrays can impose long-term constraints on the nomadic pastoralism practiced by the Changpas.

A more cautious pathway would be to carefully explore site-specific, grazing-sensitive agrivoltaic designs. These would require high clearance structures, wide spatial spacing, and clearly defined migration corridors, supported by genuine community-led pasture mapping, co-management frameworks, and multi-year ecological monitoring to determine its continued viability. Energy security and livelihood security must therefore be treated as co-dependent objectives, not competing imperatives.

The elevation of Nyoma is deliberate, not incidental. A remote administrative unit is now positioned as a forward node where governance, logistics, and air power converge. This reflects a longer-term effort to consolidate presence. Through Changthang district, India is signalling a shift from guarding borders to structuring them.

The notification is only the first step. Its success will depend on execution, including clean revenue records, systematic toponymic harmonisation rooted in local phonetics, economic anchoring of local communities, and ecologically-informed development. India has drawn the lines. The real test lies in sustaining them through consistent governance, presence, administration, and continuity. In the high altitude expanses of Changthang, sovereignty will not rest on declarations alone. It will depend on whether governance takes root and endures. The map has been written. The task now is to ensure it holds.

By Phuntsog Tsering

Phuntsog Tsering is former Deputy Advisor, Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

In January 2026, I visited Delhi. Along with seeing many famous places, I was fortunate to attend a special exhibition that displayed the sacred Buddha Relics. Being a Buddhist, this particular visit felt like a pilgrimage.

The exhibition explained that after the Mahaparinirvana of Gautama Buddha, his body was cremated. The sacred relics that remained were then divided into eight portions. Each portion was given to a different kingdom and clan that deeply revered the Buddha. They built stupas to enshrine these sacred remains so that people could offer prayers and pay homage. These stupas became important sites for pilgrimage and a reminder of the Buddha’s teachings of peace, compassion, and enlightenment.

The exhibition was devoted to the Piprahwa Relics, whichwere unearthed from a stupa in Piprahwa in present-day Uttar Pradesh. It is believed to be the portion given to the Sakyas of Kapilavastu. It was unearthed in 1898 by British Engineer, William Claxton Peppé and it was subsequently taken overseas. In May 2025, descendants of Peppé tried to sell the sacred relics at an auction in Hong Kong. Government of India’s Ministry of Culture managed to halt the auction and declared the relics as India’s inalienable heritage. Thus, in July 2025 the relics returned to India after 127 years.

As I watched the relics, I felt that Government of India has made a sincere effort to bring these precious relics back from various countries around the world and saved them from being auctioned. I read that this was done through a unique collaboration between the Godrej Group and the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. I have often heard the word ‘secular’ being used to describe our nation and in connection to our Constitution. However, during this visit, I felt that I was witnessing true secularism in action.

The exhibition venue itself felt very special. It was set on a large green lawn near the Qutub Minar. A beautifully designed structure had been constructed, which looked like a chorten (stupa). Later, I learned that the design was inspired by the famous Sanchi Stupa.

When I visited, there were very few people present at the site. Because of this, an attendant personally guided me and showed me the sacred relics and other precious articles displayed at the exhibition. This made the experience even more personal and memorable.

I also came to know that the exhibition had been inaugurated, a few days prior to my visit, by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. As a Buddhist, I felt deeply grateful for the effort taken to organise such a meaningful exhibition. The visit left me with a sense of peace, pride, and spiritual connection. It was an experience I will always cherish.

Stanzin Dechen is currently studying in Class 10 at Ladakh Public School.

Samstan Sponbo is passionate about photography, with a keen interest in wildlife and astrophotography.

Text by Stanzin Dechen

Photograph by Samstan Sponbo

The recent transition of government schools from J&K BOSE to the CBSE curricula marks a significant step towards standardising education in the Union Territory of Ladakh. However, the lack of a dedicated environment science (EVS) subject in the CBSE curriculum poses a big challenge for students, subject teachers and society as a whole. This change not only impacts the quality of education but also undermines the efforts to build an environmentally literate society and undermines the government’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework. The absence of EVS significantly impacts ecologically-sensitive regions like Ladakh where environmental consciousness is not just an academic course but a survival imperative.

In my opinion, environmental science is the foundation for nurturing environmentally-literate minds. It instils concern and sensitivity about the environment in young minds from the very beginning of their lives in school. In turn they grow into sensible and nature conscious adults who act as environmental stewards. In an era defined by climate crises, biodiversity loss, and pollution, EVS equips students with the knowledge to understand ecological systems, sustainable practices, and their role in protecting the planet.

More specifically, Ladakh, which is one of the most sensitive and fragile ecological zones in the world with its unique landscape and biodiversity, is disproportionately affected by climate change. For Ladakhis, environmental stewardship is not a choice but a necessity ingrained in their way of life. Thus, the lack of EVS in the CBSE curriculum undermines this sense of urgency. In turn, Ladakhi students, who will inherit this vulnerable landscape, are being denied the tools to understand and address these challenges. The absence of EVS in school curricula risks creating a generation of disconnected students from the region’s fragility and sensitivity, which could accelerate its ecological collapse.

Key topics like conservation, waste management, renewable energy, and climate change are not abstract concepts but real-world issues that future generations must understand and address. Removing EVS deprives students of critical literacy in a field directly tied to their survival and well-being. Moreover, EVS fosters interdisciplinary learning. It bridges geography, biology, chemistry, and social sciences, while also encouraging students to think more holistically. It cultivates problem-solving skills, empathy for nature, and civic responsibility in young minds. These are qualities that are essential for building a sustainable society.

It is ironic that on the one hand global leaders and climate activists emphasise the urgency of climate action. And yet, on the other hand, policymakers and people who develop and frame school education curriculum are paradoxically downplaying the role of environmental science and environmental literacy. It’s like organising a green conference for carbon neutrality by using hundreds of flights, lavish hotels and energy intensive venues, which significantly increases the carbon emissions. Likewise people are blamed for causing climate change with their lifestyle choices even as students in schools are deprived of environmental education.

It is possible that the people who make decisions and develop curricula at Central Board for School Education think that other subjects such as biology and geography cover these topics. However, at the senior secondary level, EVS offers a more dedicated focus, understanding and builds a rational bonding of students and the environment. Integrating it with other subjects might dilute the message and effectiveness in the real world.

Students are in their adolescence in the secondary and senior secondary level and are more likely to be drawn towards modern, lavish and carbon-intensive lifestyles. They are living in an age in which lavish, extravagant lifestyles are superficially attractive and aligned with aspirational social status. Therefore they might prioritise things that are trendy and give them a false sense of satisfaction and belongingness to their peers. In such a situation where people value such standards and lifestyles, why should they care about the environment? Without a proper formal environmental education, how could we blame them of being careless and negligent of the environment and the impact of their choices? Their present choices and environmentally irresponsible habits will have long-term impacts in the future. Therefore an introduction to the importance of the environment is important for students at their age to help them connect with nature and understand its importance to their lives. Through this subject, they can understand and realise that sustainability does not mean one has to abandon modernity. Instead, one needs to redefine it to include environmental processes in our decision-making. This helps them realise that lavish lifestyles are not desirable in a world threatened with environmental collapse.

Since CBSE recognises the value of subjects such as home science, fashion design, music, beauty and wellness, yoga etc, then why not environmental science? This is a discipline that is critical to the survival of humanity and other life-forms. If yoga nurtures physical and mental wellness and music fosters creativity and cultural preservation, then EVS teaches harmony between humans and nature, without which there can be no creativity or cultural value. Without pure and unpolluted air, the breathing exercises done in yoga are futile. It’s a call for parity. This contradiction is not to diminish these subjects but to demand balance, equity and fairness.

Without a structured EVS curriculum, students are deprived of opportunities to engage with pressing environmental issues and they graduate without understanding their ecological footprint. Ladakh is a rural, ecologically vulnerable region where livelihoods are dependent on natural resources and such a gap in the education system can be catastrophic. It also dissuades students from opting for a career in the environmental sector. The absence of this subject at the secondary level creates an uncertainty in the minds of hundreds of students who have dedicated years to master the subject. In addition, the absence of EVS demoralises skilled professionals and wastes human resources such as in-service EVS lecturers, who are frustrated as they are compelled to teach subjects in which they have no expertise. It is also disrespectful of their subject specialisation.

Environmental education is also a global and national priority. India has committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals including SDGs 3, 6, 7, 13, 14 and 15, which can only be achieved through imparting environmental education to students. EVS aligns very well with national initiatives such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Jal Shakti Abhiyan and renewable energy campaigns. Carbon neutrality in Ladakh was envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it aims at restructuring development activities to minimise greenhouse gas emissions. This vision can only be achieved if the local populace is environmentally educated. This can be done only through their school education. By omitting EVS in schools, we undermine the government’s efforts of meeting the SDGs as well as the vision of making ‘carbon neutrality’ in Ladakh. The National Education Policy, 2020 also emphasises environmental awareness and critical thinking, and EVS is an ideal subject for it.

A lot of effort has been made to introduce this important subject in the CBSE curriculum at the secondary level in different ways but there has been no positive response so far. We, as lecturers of EVS in Ladakh, took up this issue with the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, former Member of Parliament, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, and the two LAHDCs but no one has been able to re-introduce environment sciences in the curriculum. We once again appeal to all authorities to reinstate EVS in Ladakh’s school curricula—the future of our planet depends on it. Let’s not teach our children to breathe deeply through yoga while ignoring the polluted air they inhale. Let’s not teach them to sing the music of rivers, while those rivers are dry and let’s not teach them about a glacier trek while those glaciers continue to disappear.

Editor’s note: We have withheld the identity of the writer(s) to protect them from any potentially negative reactions and to focus attention to the issue they have raised.

In 2019, Ladakh’s former Member of Parliament (MP), Jamyang Tsering Namgyal became a social media sensation for his famous speech in the Indian Parliament. He accused Congress governments of ignoring Ladakh since 1947 and termed it as “seven decades of neglect”. He quoted the famous statement by Nehru, ‘…not a blade of grass grows there…’ to drive home his point. As a BJP MP, he was speaking in support of the J&K Reorganisation Bill. It might be worthwhile to explore Nehru’s history with Ladakh.

This statement was made by Nehru during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on 31 August, 1959. It was in response to a ‘short notice question’ raised by then Rajya Sabha MP, Devendra Prasad Singh from Praja Socialist Party (PSP Bihar), which was founded by Jayaprakash Narayan in in 1952. He asked four questions of the then Prime Minister, who concurrently held the Minister of External Affairs portfolio. These deliberations occurred in the presence of distinguished Bharat Ratna, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who served as the Vice President of India, ex-officio chair of the Rajya Sabha, and later as President of India. This underscores the high-profile nature of these debates and its institutional gravitas.

The questions raised by D. P. Singh pertained to the road built by the Chinese on Indian territory in Ladakh. D. P. Singh had asked, “In view of the fact that the Chinese claim is unjustified and no reply has been sent to the Indian government, does not the government contemplate ousting the Chinese from this Indian territory by force? Will not the Government of India at least consider the advisability of bombing the road, built in our territory, out of existence?” To this, Jawaharlal Nehru replied, “No, Sir. Government will not consider that course, because that is not the way government would like to function in such matters. The hon’ble member started by saying that this is admittedly Indian territory but the Chinese would not agree to it. That is a contradiction in terms. As a matter of fact, it is Indian territory and we claim it so because we think that the weight of evidence is in our favour—maps etc. But the Chinese produce their own maps, equally old, which are in their favour. And the territory is sterile. Ithas been described as a barren, uninhabited region without a vestige of grass and 17,000 ft. high…In places like this, decisions can only be made by conferences by agreement. Countries do not, should not, go to war without proceeding in those other ways over such matters.’

The misrepresentation of this rhetoric was addressed the same day when independent MP, Jaswant Singh stated, “The Prime Minister stated a little while ago that this portion of Ladakh is absolutely desolate and unfertile and that not even a blade of grass grows there. Even then, China is attaching importance to that area and is building a road there. I would like to know, when China is attaching so much of importance to this desolate bit of land, why, when the territory is ours or is under dispute even, we do not attach any importance to this area?” Nehru replied, “I spoke only about the Yehcheng area and not about the whole of Ladakh although the whole of Ladakh, broadly speaking, is 11,000 to 17,000 and 20,000 feet high. Presumably, the Chinese attach importance to this area because of the fact that this route connects part of Chinese Turkestan with Gartok-Yehcheng. This is an important connection.”

Another interesting pivot of this argument is to blame Nehru for the entire debacle of Line of Actual Control, and failure to intervene proactively in the Tibet issue in 1950, which brought China to the borders of India and undermined the treaties signed with Tibet. This narrative hints at the India-China border issue as a problem created by Nehru. However, history would be served better if we look back at the Shimla conference in October 1913 and July 1914. Republic of China, British Government of India, and Government of Tibet convened in Shimla to address the territorial and political status of Tibet and underline the boundary in an area marked by Tibet’s ambiguous relationship with India and China. Historian Kyle J. Gardener writes in his book, The Frontier Complex: Geopolitics and the Making of the India–China Border, 1846–1962  that the British were wary of Chinese expansionism in 1911 after the Chinese revolution. The Chinese refused to accept the draft treaty prepared by the British as China wanted to assert control over the region and Tibet wanted autonomy.

Scholar of International Relations, Monika Chansoria has written that the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai tried repeatedly to alter Nehru’s position on Ladakh during three days of negotiations in April 1960 but failed to deter Nehru from his stand on Ladakh as Indian territory. He demanded that Chinese withdraw troops from this regions and that it was non-negotiable.

Journalist Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk has written that Nehru invited the 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche to Delhi and met him at his residence at Teen Murti to reassure Ladakh’s Buddhist community on 20 May 1949 and also accepted an invitation to visit Ladakh. Two months later, on 4 July, 1949, Nehru visited Ladakh. Undoubtedly, Kushok Bakula Rinpoche would have distanced himself from Nehru and Congress if they were harming Ladakh. Rinchen quotes a letter that Bakula Rinpoche had written to Indira Gandhi, which outlines what Nehru meant for Ladakh.

He wrote, “The passing away of our most beloved and distinguished Pandit ji is one of the saddest events in the history of man. Mother Earth has become poorer. Man will have to perform deeds of merit for thousands of years before [another] one like him walks upon this earth again…It is the pious wish of our people that a portion of the last remains of the ones who took so much interest in their well-being should be taken to Ladakh so that they may have the sacred opportunity of showing their reverence according to their religious rites. This implies the building of a Stupa and enshrining the sacred remains therein. I would, therefore, request you kindly to feel considerate to our deeper sentiments and oblige us by giving a portion of the last rites of our Pandit ji in favour of the people of Ladakh.”

China’s political history has been marked by significant policy shifts in response to varying regimes. The complex geopolitical manoeuvres surrounding Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Kashmir has underlined the importance of Pakistan for Western powers. In this context, Nehru, against considerable odds, steadfastly maintained a commitment to Ladakh despite geopolitical unpredictability. He engaged in complex negotiations with China to delineate borders and strove to safeguard Ladakh’s strategic integrity. This was particularly challenging given that the region’s boundaries were a vestige of colonial cartographic delineations, contentious and susceptible to geopolitical manipulation. Nehru’s efforts to navigate these turbulent waters while preserving Ladakh’s status underscore his diplomatic resilience. The neglect of Ladakh can be attributed to systemic developmental inequities, compounded by its historical integration into J&K, which often marginalised the region. Nehru’s policies and priorities were influenced by a confluence of strategic, economic, and sociopolitical factors, and regional developmental deficits must be contextualised within this broader framework rather than ascribed solely to individual negligence or prejudice. Through Steven A. Hoffmann’s book, India and the China Crisis, we can understand that the complex border issue in Ladakh with China was a colonial problem. British attempts at creating a stable boundary line in this region was ongoing since 1865 resulting in multiple boundary lines, internal disunity between London and India offices, and clumsy dealing in the Shimla Conference 1914 on the Tibet Issue. Nehru had inherited these complex borders in the north with China as well as Pakistan. What Nehru did, however, was bring Ladakh and Kashmir closer to India based on principles that he envisioned for the world. Nehru’s efforts to consolidate these regions within the Indian framework reflect his broader geopolitical aspirations and the nuanced challenges of statecraft, balancing national interests with international dynamics in a highly sensitive regional context. It is crucial to recognise that Western political narratives have often perpetuated a distorted image of Nehru’s policies but were not necessarily personally antagonistic towards him. These perspectives were shaped by a geopolitical apprehension of a resurgent India, emerging from a legacy of anti-colonial struggle against Western imperialism. Thus, asking Nehru to defend himself in his absence is rhetorical manipulation that leverages the absence of a key figure to gain an undue advantage in the discourse of Indian nationalism, while diminishing the integrity of an individual.

By Mutasif Hussain

Mutasif Hussain (Thiksey) is former Assistant Professor in Delhi University and currently the Chief Coordinator of Ladakh Research Scholars Forum.

(Photograph credit: Bakula Labrang Spituk Gonpa)

Staple pin packaging has a ubiquitous presence in Ladakh, especially in Leh. It is used by everyone from dry fruit vendors to self-help groups who sell different food items. This includes Khuras (deep fried savouries), local bread, and various home-baked snacks, cakes and cookies. These are available at grocery shops in every nook and corner of Leh town. In addition, if you buy apricots or dry fruits from any of the vendors in Leh, they will package them in plastic bags that are then stapled shut.

Such forms of packaging methods violate safety practices and they can become a potential hazard in our kitchens, especially for children. People in Ladakh often eat Khura with tea or any of the other products that they buy from the market. If it has not been opened carefully, the staple pins may get mixed with the edible items inside. If such a pin is swallowed, it can cause harmful medical conditions. Furthermore, swallowing a staple pin that has either one or both its sharp prongs prised open can be very harmful as the sharp ends can cut or cause abrasions in the digestive system and cause bleeding. It is very difficult to detect such small pins even through x-rays or CT scans.

It is thus very important to ensure that all kinds of retail units that sell food items in Ladakh, should be regulated. This can be done using the FSSAI accreditation or registration with either a basic registration or state licence. This means they will have to comply with regulations and guidelines under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2018 with due diligence before they sell anything to a consumer. There are multiple ways to package food items to preserve their quality while also protecting the consumer from harm. This would be one way of reducing the risk posed by unsafe packaging, which is currently very common in Ladakh. The ones who do not comply can then be booked under relevant laws to ensure that the consumer is safe.

By Er Konchok Ishey

Er. Konchok Ishey is Assistant Engineer in Ladakh Power Development Department, Leh.

Recently, I filed a formal complaint with Secretary, Youth Services and Sports Department, Administration of UT of Ladakh, Shri Vikram Singh Malik, IAS and the Hon’ble Executive Councillor in LAHDC, Leh for Youth Services and Sports, Shri Tsering Angchuk. In my letters, I drew attention to a serious public grievance regarding the use of Nawang Dorjay Stobdan (NDS) Indoor Stadium, a government-owned public sports stadium, for private events and activities unrelated to sports. This has caused inconvenience and been a hindrance to sportspersons who use the stadium regularly for practice and training, especially handball and badminton.

My letter was sparked by a series of non-sports events being hosted inside the stadium. This included the Ladakh dPal rNgam Duston celebrations for which the stadium was shut for two days. This was followed by the stadium being shut from 13 to 15 August for an event related to Independence Day for which metal poles were installed in the stadium for tents. The installation of these metal poles caused irrevocable damage to the professional-grade mats that have been used for the courts at the stadium. This has compromised the safety and quality of the infrastructure for sports activities.

Furthermore, the indoor stadium was then handed over to Ladakh Marathon for 21 days for use to conduct various back-end activities. The use of this specific space is not a necessity for conducting the marathon and an alternate space could easily have been allotted for this activity. The allotment of NDS indoor stadium for backend activities for Ladakh Marathon will further hinder the players and athletes from accessing this public infrastructure.

I personally use this stadium on a regular basis for badminton along with a number of others who pursue this sport for leisure as well as a potential career. In addition, handball coaching takes place at the stadium every morning for school students. The repeated closure of the stadium and the damage that is caused to its facilities not only undermines the quality of the infrastructure but also deprives sportspersons of the opportunity to practice and pursue these disciplines.

Thus, in my letter I requested the secretary to intervene and ensure that no non-sports events or activities are allowed in the stadium to preserve its primary purpose for sports and training. I also asked that the stadium’s infrastructure be protected from damage caused by non-sports events. Finally, I requested him to prioritise sportspersons and players who regularly use the stadium for practice and training. I also requested him to cancel the permit for the private event and to provide the organisers with an alternative space for their activities.

In response to my letter, a meeting was held with the organisers of Ladakh Marathon in the presence of various government officials on 16 August at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Leh. In light of the arguments and objections raised, the stadium was made accessible until 20 August. After this, the organisers of Ladakh Marathon will be allowed to use NDS until 11 September as the event and venue details have already been publicised with more than 6,000 registrants from Ladakh, India and abroad. However, the administration has agreed to the request that such events are not held at NDS indoor stadium in the future. Unfortunately, this is a not a new trend. In the past, similar events have been organised at various sporting facilities ranging from exhibitions to electioneering. However, given the importance that is being attached to promoting sports and healthy lifestyles, it is ironic the sports infrastructure continues to be used for non-sport activities. I sincerely hope that the Administration of UT of Ladakh ensures that sports infrastructure in the region is only used for sports-related activities and remain accessible throughout the year.

Photographs and text by Smanla Dorje Nurboo

Smanla Dorje Nurboo is Councillor from Saspol in LAHDC, Leh