Monastery issue resolved after 5 decades

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, September 3

The five-decade-old controversy over a Buddhist monastery (gompa) in Muslim-dominated Kargil was laid to rest after Muslims and Buddhists of the cold desert held a meeting to reach a conclusion on Saturday. Now, two-kanal land will be allotted in Kurbathang (new town area) through Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, in favour of the Ladakh Buddhist Association for the construction of a gompa.

In June this year, an influential Buddhist monk had planned a march in Ladakh, demanding upgradation of the makeshift gompa at the two-kanal land in old town area into a proper monastery that had triggered communal tension in the Union Territory. The march was cancelled mid-way after government’s intervention.

The controversy had made two major organisations of Ladakh— Kargil Democratic Alliance (backed by Muslims) and Ladakh Buddhist Association—initiate talks over the issue. “In a meeting today, the LBA and the KDA decided that two-kanal land will be allotted at Kurbathang (new town area) through the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, in favour of the LBA,” said a joint statement signed by leaders of the LBA and the KDA.

The controversy started when the then J&K government had in 1969 modified the 1961 order regarding construction of a monastery on the land, stating that a structure only for commercial or residential purpose could be built at the site in old Kargil town where the makeshift gompa existed.

The joint statement signed by LBA president Thupstan Chewang states, “The land allotted in favour of the LBA in terms of the J&K government order in 1969 will be honoured by all stakeholders and that the land in question will be utilised solely for the purpose as mentioned in that order.”

All the stakeholders, including KDA co-chairman Qammar Ali Akhone, also agreed to work together to maintain communal harmony in Ladakh.

Kargil LAHDC Chairman Feroze Ahmed Khan said the council would expedite the process of allotment of land in Kurbathang.

The controversy

• In 1961, the then J&K government allotted land to Buddhists for a monastery, but the order was modified in 1969, allowing construction of only commercial or residential structure where the makeshift gompa exists
• Since then Buddhists had been opposing the government order