Unity uncertain: Politics of power and belonging in the post-370 Ladakh

This article delves into the politics of identification and differentiation within the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh. More specifically, the paper underscores how the politics of autonomy remained a contested phenomenon before the declaration of Ladakh as a separate UT and its aftermath. Challenging the popular narratives about the post-UT coherence in Ladakh, this paper argues that in spite of the apparent politics of coherence against a set of shared concerns within the new dispensation, sustained politics of religious and regional differences have created significant challenges to the exhibition of an inclusive ethno-tribal Ladakhi identity. While centralizing the question of Ladakh's quest for autonomy, this paper argues that the Buddhist and Muslim Ladakhis had divergent standpoints in relation to the region's political association with the state of J&K. These differences, added to the enduring politics of religious and regional belonging, have significantly affected the post-2019 politics of coherence in Ladakh.