States / J&K/ Sexual Assault
44 July 22, 2019Y virtue of its idyllic loca-
tion and Buddhist influ-
ence, Leh district in J&K
comes closest to Shangri-
La, described by James
Hilton in his 1933 novel,
Lost Horizon. A glaring difference at the
moment is that it is not the mythical fic-
tional happy land. It is seething. The
disclosure of alleged sexual assaults on a
poor schoolgirl by Tsewang Thinles,
president of the powerful Ladakh
Buddhist Association (LBA), has trig-
gered widespread anger and anguish.
The students’ community, in particu-
lar, is up in arms. It is asking serious
questions of the LBA (which has enjoy -
ed high moral authority during the 86
years of its existence), politicians and
society as a whole. One of them said at a
rally in Leh on July 4 that enough was
enough. She herself, she said, had suf-
fered a sexual assault in the past, but
kept silent for fear of society. No longer
should girls suffer in silence, she assert-
ed, adding that culprits must be brought
to book.
The shocking incident took place in
March. The Delhi-based Ladakh Stu -
dents’ Welfare Society Delhi (LSWSD)
spilled the beans about it in a letter on
June 23 to the LBA vice-president, with
copies to its women’s and youth wings as
well as to the lone Lok Sabha member
from the Ladakh parliamentary con-
stituency of which Leh is a constituent.
The LBA did not react to the letter,
but lost no time in sacking its president
from the post as well as the organisation
after the victim filed an official com-
plaint and the police registered an FIR
on July 1. At an emergency meeting ofits central working committee (CWC) on
July 2, the LBA “unanimously and in
one voice condemned the alleged crimi-
nal act” of Thinles and described it as an
“alleged act of shame” and “an extreme
shock to the Buddhist community”. It
demanded a “free and fair trial of the
case through a fast-track court” and ele-
vated its senior vice-president, PT Kun -
zang, as president “till the term of the
present general council is completed in
the overall interest of the organisation”.
Speaking from Leh, Kunzang exp la -
ined to India Legal the LBA’s reasons for
not acknowledging the LSWSD’s letter
written by its president, Jigmat Paljor,
and its rapid strike in the wake of regis-
tration of the FIR: “How can we take
action on a complaint of an organisation
without any proof? We offered that we
could meet the girl to help her but they
did not all ow us, saying that we mightexert un due pre ss u re. But soon after the
police register ed the FIR, the CWC took
action and sac ked the accused from the
post of president.”
Paljor had stated in his letter: “The
victim belongs to a poor family with a
sick mother to look after; the mother is
currently undergoing medical treatment
at AIIMS Delhi. She approached our
organisation for help. We felt it was our
moral duty to seek justice. I expect the
same from your esteemed organisation.
You must immediately act and (hold)
inquiry into the sexual harassment case
with utmost seriousness. The girl is in
genuine need of special assistance both
morally and financially.” He demanded
the “immediate resignation” of Thinles.Shangri-La in Turmoil
B
CENTRE OF CONTROVERSY
Tsewang Thinles (in black) at an event in
Leh; two young girls have levelled sexual
harassment allegations against himAn alleged assault on a schoolgirl by the president of the powerful Ladakh Buddhist Asso ci at ion
has triggered anger and anguish and dented the high moral authority it has enjoyed so far
By Pushp Saraf
facebook.com