A Buddhist monk has started a march from Leh on May 31, which is to conclude today (June 14) in Kargil. The march aims to lay the foundation stone for the construction of a monastery at a site in Kargil.

The march by the monk has triggered communal tension in Ladakh, the northernmost UT of the country.

Choskyong Palga Rinpoche started the journey along with his followers. He aims at laying the stone of a monastery at a controversial site in Kargil. Some members of the Muslim community have already raised objections. The issue holds importance as members of both communities had, for the first time, forged an alliance last year to raise their demand for the 6th Schedule for Ladakh to safeguard the local heritage, culture and rights of people.

The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), an association of social and religious organisations, shot off a letter to the Deputy Commissioner stating that the march was politically motivated and could disturb communal harmony in Ladakh.

“The KDA has held a meeting with representatives of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) regarding the issue of construction of a Gompa (monastery) in Kargil. Both bodies agreed that the issue must be resolved amicably,” the letter read. Under such circumstances, a third person having no stake in the matter was trying to disrupt peace in the region, it read. While the KDA and LBA are in talks over the matter, the Kargil unit of the LBA has extended support to the monk.

Its chief Skarma Dadul said the Buddhists were not being allowed to construct a monastery in Kargil. “We don’t want to create any tension, but it is our right to have a proper place of worship,” he said. The administration and police are quiet on the matter, but it is learnt that police have been told to deal with the situation in Kargil if goes out of control.

Notably, Kargil residents have opposed the monastery construction on a 2-kanal land, citing a 1969 government notification, as per a report in One India. It states that the land can be used for commercial and residential purposes but not for the construction of a temple.

Earlier a ToI report stated that locals had said Buddhists do not live within 20 km of the land and that the current building there is a Buddhist guest house and should remain so. Members of the Buddhist community have, however, accused locals of not allowing them to even carry out repair works on the building.

As per reports, on March 15, 1961, the then-Government of Jammu & Kashmir, General Department, Ladakh Affairs, sanctioned the land to the Ladakh Buddhist Association for the construction of Buddhist Temple and Sarai. It was clearly mentioned in the order that religious construction was allowed on the land.

However, in 1969, the government issued another order, stating that the land allotted to LBA could only be used for the construction of residential or commercial buildings and refused to allow religious construction on the land.

Image source: Outlook