SECMOL (A): Envisioning Radical Change in Ladakh

WORKING PAPER NO: 558 SECMOL (A): Envisioning Radical Change in Ladakh Ramya Ranganathan Visiting Faculty Organizational Behaviour & Human Resource Management Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 5600 76 Ph: 080-26993699 ramya.ranganathan@iimb.ernet.in Yangerjungla Pongener Doctoral student Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 5600 76 yangerjungla.pongener15@iimb.ernet.in Raviteja Kancharla Doctoral student Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 5600 76 kancharla.raviteja16@iimb.ernet.in Year of Publication September 2017

Abstract: SECMOL (A): Envisioning Radical Change in Ladakh In a world where people are either chasing material success or succumbing to mediocrity and conformity, a life of significance,' appears almost utopic. Yet there are those among us who strive beyond necessary and sometimes, even beyond odds to make changes that contribute to a larger good. Our case study revolves around the life of a man who was determined to change a system that was not working, no matter how deeply entrenched the systemic patterns were. We find that this is a story of commitment, resilience, creativity, relationships and above all, the strength of character. This case will be used to explore and teach principles from positive psychology and leadership literature to examine how this systemic change was initiated and achieved despite severe challenges. Keywords: Leadership, Resilience, Character Strengths, Change, Positive Psychology 1

1. INTRODUCTION The evening of February 28, 2007 was particularly turning out to be chilly for Sonam Wangchuk, a 41- year-old resident of the secluded and mountainous province of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. Taking another sip of his tea, Sonam intently pondered about the government notices lying on his study table. It had been almost a year since the onset of the trouble, but this time, Sonam worried that the situation was spiraling out of control. The government had just issued a notice against him with multiple allegations. These accusations included demoralizing government staff, illegal occupation of land, misuse of funds, and anti-national connections with China. Sonam had spent almost 18 years of his life working towards the betterment of education for Ladakhi children. That was the mission he had started out with, and while he had known that his team would face hurdles along the way, he never expected that it would come to this. 2. LADAKH: A UNIQUE SETTING 2.1 Topography and Economic Conditions Ladakh is one of the three administrative regions of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India. It is bounded by two international borders, China and Pakistan. Situated at 12,000 feet above the sea level, this mountainous region has fresh lakes and rivers flowing through it. Among them, Ladakh mainly relies on River Indus. The region experiences extreme weather conditions with the temperature dropping to minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter. Owing to severe snowfall, Ladakh remains cut off by road from the rest of the country for several months in a year. Ladakh is one of the most breathtaking tourist spots in the world. The region is connected by weekly flights to the state capital, Srinagar and the country's capital, New Delhi. The topography here supports rare animals and birds which attracts many tourists. Tourism in Ladakh has contributed to more than half of its revenue, but the tourism industry lies in the hands of very few people, that is, only 4% of the total population of 0.25 million. The main sources of livelihood are animal husbandry and agriculture. Cultivation of pulses such as barley and wheat is evident. Forestry, medicinal herbs, and cultivation of vegetables and fruits such as apple and apricot are other sources of livelihood. Rice is rare and considered to be a luxury diet. The water required for agriculture is funneled from ice and snow in the mountains. The region is also known for commercial activity in carpets, dyestuffs, and textile. As it is a desert and owing to its topography, the cultivation of food crops is limited. The per capita income for this region has been Rupees (INR) 17,555 1 which is 30% much lesser than the national average. 2.2 Political History The political origins of Ladakh can be traced back to the Kushan Empire around the 1 st Century. Evidence from the 7 th century sheds better light on the administration of Ladakh which shows that Ladakh was under the suzerainty of Tibet. Even though a commissioner was stationed in Ladakh for regular administration, rebellion broke out against the Tibetan administration. However, in the 8 th century, Ladakh facing pressure from both Tibetan expansion in the east and Chinese expansion through the central passes came under the dominance of Tibet, once again. It was only when the Tibetan monarchy collapsed in the 9 th century that Ladakh was finally free from this suzerainty. While it may be assumed that the people of Ladakh were quite different from Tibetans, they remain closely associated because the first Ladakhi Empire was founded by a representative of the Tibetan royal house 1 1 USD = INR 70 2

and, thus the cultural influence of Tibet expanded in Ladakh, and that of India diminished. The rise of raids and plundering by the Muslims in Central Asia led to partial conversion and fragmentation of Ladakh. In the 16 th century, the Namgyal dynasty unified Ladakh by ousting most of the raiders and later one of the kings agreed on a peace treaty with Baltistan by marrying a Muslim princess. This contributed to the Muslims settling in Ladakh and taking part in trade practices there. Further, to placate the Mughal emperor, a mosque was established in Ladakh during the 17 th century. When the Mughal Empire collapsed in the 19 th century, Ladakh was conquered by the Rajput rulers who held the Dogra region of Jammu and Kashmir. Since the partition of India in 1947, Ladakh has faced detrimental consequences owing to the conflicts between India and Pakistan, and China. For instance, Ladakh borders two disputed regions, that is, Aksai Chin in the east with China and most of the northern areas in the north-west with Pakistan. The Kargil wars between India and Pakistan which occurred during 1948, 1965, 1975 and 1999 were triggered by such disputes. Moreover, territory disputes also led to China closing the 1000-year-old trade routes between Nubra and Xinjiang in 1949, thus ending the 700-year-old relationship between Ladakh and Tibet. Needless to say, Ladakh is a located in a politically charged area (see Exhibit 1, Ladakh Political Boundary). During the partition of India, Ladakh remained under the administration of the State of Jammu and Kashmir much to the dismay of Ladakhis who wanted to be a union territory administered under New Delhi. This was so because the Ladakhi people felt that Srinagar could not resonate with their culture and religion. Moreover, there were constant clashes between Muslims and Buddhists to the extent of the Buddhist Council boycotting Muslims. Owing to violent riots between the two groups, the government agreed to grant an autonomous council under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Developmental Council Act in 1995. 2.3 Cultural History Belonging to the Kushan Empire, Ladakh was an early proponent of the Buddhist faith. As suggested in the preceding paragraphs, the culture of Ladakh is similar to that of Tibet. For instance, Ladakhi language, which is prominent in Leh district of Ladakh, is part of the Sino-Tibetan languages with over 100,000 speakers. Ladakhi language also borrows the Tibetan script, but there is a controversy as to whether Ladakhi should be written in Tibetan script or another script that is in the form of classical Tibetan. Besides, the Muslim population of Ladakh can speak Ladakhi but cannot read the script. While people from the Eastern and Central parts of Ladakh are predominately Buddhists, people from the West are Shia Muslims. Buddhism has been the dominant religion in Ladakh for over 1,000 years as the wall paintings in Alchi Gompas, and Ladakh s political history suggest. Further, the numerous gompas built by ancient kings hold a testament to the prominence of Buddhism in Ladakh. The Gompas have a big courtyard for religious festivals where masked dances are widely known to be held. These dances generally signify the triumph of the good over evil which is deep seated in the philosophy of Buddhism. In the past, the food of Ladakhi people was also similar to Tibetan food. While people consume Tibetan diets such as thukpa (noodle soup) and tsampa (roasted barley flour used during trekking), the influence of other foods from the plain regions of India has beeen common in Ladakh. This holds true even for attires; even though traditional attires (such as Tibetan costumes) are worn by the older generations, the younger generations wear indo-western outfits such as jeans and t-shirts. When it comes to family, traditional practices such as fraternal polyandry and primogeniture inheritance were common in Ladakh until the State 3

of Jammu and Kashmir made it illegal. The older generation retires to small houses taking just enough property for sustenance and leaves the rest of the ownership to the next generation. 2.4 Education In the past, there was no structure of formal education in Ladakh except in the Buddhist monastery where one son per family was obliged to learn Tibetan script to read the Holy Scriptures. For the other children, the contribution of education was to live a meaningful life in the community. Therefore, an informal system such as teaching children how to work in farms and how to practice Ladakhi cultures were the primary objectives. In the late 19 th century, the Moravian Mission opened a school in Leh, and the British Government made it mandatory for every Ladakhi family to send at least one child to school. Given the religious background of these mission schools, the Ladakhis resisted this order fearing that it was a tactic to convert them to Christianity. The mission schools taught languages such Urdu, Tibetan, English, Geography, Arithmetic, Geometry, Science, Nature Study, and Bible Study. Later, in the 1970s, the first western school was introduced by the Lamdon Social Welfare Society which has grown to several branches with the support of the Dalai Lama and some international organizations. The schools are known to uphold and preserve Ladakhi culture and traditions. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the performance of Ladakh in the State matriculation examination was as low as 5% (until 1997). For instance, some of the Ladakhi schools had 0% (zero) pass results (see Exhibit 2a and 2b, Ladakh Educational Performance). This may have resulted from the prescribed modes of education, that is, Urdu and English, which were not conducive to be teaching languages in Ladakh. For instance, the prescribed teaching language and textbooks were written in Urdu until Class 8. It was only when the students were in Class 9 and ten years old that they began to learn English and appear for Class 10 examinations. It is a very short span to learn a new language and be able to use it fluently to pass examinations. The textbooks, curriculum, and motifs were also alienating for the Ladakhi children who could not relate to examples with ships, oceans, coconut trees, and so forth. Children were not interested in schooling, and a similar plight followed suit even for the teachers, who in most instances were irregular or held dual jobs. It may also be noteworthy to mention that the poor performance and pass rate did not matter to the Ladakhis who considered the education system irrelevant until the 1950s and 1960s. However, owing to the influence of other Indian places and also the opening up of tourism in 1974, the value of economic activities increased. Naturally, people realized that there was need for education to help Ladakhis secure professions other than farming. However, the village and community, most being illiterates, did not know how schools were supposed to run and even though some knew, they did not know whom to complain to or the actions that had to be taken. Moreover, the community also did not lend any support to teachers who were posted in remote areas and had actual problems. These inferences imply that education may not have been a priority for Ladakhis or they were not aware of the possibilities of education. On the other hand, education in Leh (a relatively developed town) was good, provided one could afford the fees of private schools which could be as high as Rs. 5,000/- per month. Clearly, it was a systemic problem in the education system of Ladakh (see Exhibit 3, System Failure). That being said, Ladakh had a turnabout and saw a significant spike in its educational performance by the late 1990s. Sonam Wangchuk is considered to be the man behind the changes that were brought to the Ladakh education system. 4

3. SONAM WANGCHUK: EARLY LIFE AND JOURNEY Sonam had spent his first seven years in a Ladakhi village and learned how to read and write the Ladakhi language. His father was a politician in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and when he became a minister, his family moved to Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. Soon, Sonam began his schooling in Srinagar but was unable to adjust there because of numerous reasons. Firstly, there was a lingual difference as he was brought up in a Ladakhi speaking environment, whereas Urdu was the predominant language in Srinagar. Secondly, he also faced racial discrimination because he looked different from other students. Thirdly, owing to language barriers, his teachers considered him as a slow runner and punished him when he could not perform. Therefore, he moved to New Delhi to join a government-run school for children from border areas of India. Here, he opted for Ladakhi language as part of his educational curriculum. This learning experience brought him out of the shell and made him a confident young boy. He went back to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and finished his 12 th standard in a private school. During his schooling, he became fascinated with laboratory experiments and the concept of a convex lens. He understood the relevance of convex lens in the generation of solar energy. He wanted to help his powerdeficit native place with science and innovations. This inspired him to opt for mechanical engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar. His father wanted him to excel in civil engineering because the employment opportunity in mechanical engineering was rather poor. However, Sonam was certain that he wanted to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering and remained undeterred irrespective of his father's aspirations for him. This non-conformist behavior resulted in conflicts between the father and the son, and Sonam had to find means to fund his higher education. This led him to provide tuitions for school-going children who were appearing for their matriculation exam. At this point, he began to realize that students possessed the knowledge and knew what to respond during examinations. However, they did not know how to respond because there was barrier to the language used in the examination processes. He understood the significance of learning in mother tongue, its importance in boosting growth and brain power of the students. He encouraged peer learning in his classes. At the later stages, he began offering classes for free. Since the response was beneath his expectation, he decided to move to Ladakh to help students. 4. REVAMPING EDUCATION IN LADAKH 4.1 Creation of SECMOL Along with a few close friends, Sonam Wangchuk started with the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) in 1988. The first initiative which was a fundraising event, a Ladakhi cultural show, turned out to be a big success. However, he did not begin an alternative education system because most schools were government-run. Moreover, the root cause of the systemic problems lay in the lack of awareness about the education system among the locals. He continued to coach students and provide vocational training until 1990. It was only in 1991 that he began to experiment with the government school in Saspol and work full-fledged with the education sector of Ladakh. 4.2 Saspol: The Experimental Success In 1991, with the permission of the Chief Education Officer of Saspol, Sonam began interacting with the village government school and sensitized them to participate in the educational system. SECMOL started a training program for teachers. It was kept under the radar and made popular only when the training program started producing effective results. Then onwards, villages who were in need of teachers training 5

would each contribute a small amount towards this cause. This not only ensured that the villagers were enthusiastic in the process of reformation, but the villagers also acted like monitoring agents in facilitating the reforms. Sonam realized that change in policy would occur, only if people were empowered to bring about the change. According to him, one of the chief reasons for the breakdown of education in Ladakh was the lack of awareness and involvement by the community. Therefore, he launched Village Education Committees (VECs) to instil a sense of belongingness and take better responsibility of the government schools and other educational practices. Finally, an intervention regarding the curriculum was brought about where all the motifs and content were made conducive to the Ladakhi context. In fact, their efforts paved the way for the government to introduce English in primary education. Together, these three factors were later known as the three-tier participation model, and it formed the premise of Operation New Hope. 4.3 Operation New Hope (Phase 1: 1996 2000) With the support of the government, SECMOL was able to grow the humble initiative at Saspol village into a district-level project. They adopted a three-factor model, that is, involvement of VECs, training teachers, and changing the curriculum of schools spread over 33 villages. Owing to its popularity, the Ladakh Hill Council adopted "Operation New Hope" (ONH) as the official education policy in 1996. Further, this also aided in the better structuring of the training programs and creating VECs. The ONH spread awareness among people and this mobilized the community to come together and take accountability to improve the educational conditions in Ladakh. Creation of VECs was considered to be the most efficient of the three factors in ONH because it helped spread the word and gave people a sense of ownership. In such committees, members were elected by the community, and it included at least one-third women and two students. The members were trained by SECMOL using graphic illustrations on how schools were to be managed, what their rights were, and how to do book-keeping (see Exhibit 4, ONH VEC Training). After the VEC members had been trained, the community was sensitized to give legitimacy to the newly trained VEC members. Further, village education festivals also helped in bringing people together and spreading awareness by showing films about education, conducting quiz competitions, and cultural performance. To make the initiative stronger, the VECs were merged with Block Education Committees and District Education Committees so as to enable better monitoring of schools. Through ONH, over 700 teachers, education officers, and administrators were trained. The teachers were trained to practice child-centered and meaningful learning. They were also made to incorporate games, songs, stories, and other low-cost teaching aids in the teaching pedagogy. Further, the government education department also sent resource persons to conduct follow-up visits to support teachers in the schools. Apart from training them, the teachers and other education officials were also taken on tours to witness and understand the successful education reforms in different parts of the country. Some of the visits included Rishi Valley Rural Education Centre, satellite schools in Andhra Pradesh, and Nali-Kali educational reforms in Karnataka. The group was also taken to Bhutan to experience the cultural relevance in educational systems. Gradually, the training programs were headed by the District Institute of Educational Training (DIET) who provided annual training in winter vacation to in-service teachers. Headmasters and officials were also sent on training programs to the National Centre for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi periodically. During this time, Melong Publications was initiated to start printing new textbooks and other studying materials that were more suitable for Ladakhi children. Although English was introduced in the primary 6

levels by 1994 onwards, the reading and educational material were still unfamiliar, thus making it a difficult task for children to learn the new language. These materials, created by a collaboration of the government school teachers, SECMOL personnel, and other experts, consisted of textbooks, storybooks, games, and charts. Further, the motifs were also changed, and the illustrations were made more familiar for the Ladakhi children (see Exhibit 5, Change in Educational Material). The consequences were remarkable with the pass rate growing from 5% to 55% in a span of 7 years. In fact, people would pull out their children from private schools and enroll them in the village schools because of the quality of education being provided in the government schools. In fact, Ladakhi government schools were lauded all over the nation as can be witnessed in the Independence Day speech of President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2006. Ladakhi schools were also visited by their neighboring states (such as Himachal Pradesh) and countries (Nepal) to learn from the Ladakhi experience. 4.4 Publications Ladags Melong (Mirror of Ladakh) was the only magazine in the Ladakhi language. The magazine started in 1993 and was published by the media wing of SECMOL (see Exhibit 6, Melong Publication). It was a bilingual (English and Ladakhi) and a bimonthly journal. The magazine was an open forum for Ladakhis to express their viewpoints, ideas, and to spread awareness about issues which were critical in the region. The intent of the magazine was to increase the Ladakhi literacy by giving importance to written Ladakhi. It also aimed to give a broad view of the outside world and was committed to giving Ladakhi people an informed choice about their future. In a place with negligible media presence, the magazine was bold in pointing out the wrongdoings of the government. One of the bitter criticisms faced by the magazine was the use of colloquial Ladakhi and moving away from the classical Ladakhi language. The other criticism faced by the magazine was its monitor role over the government school teachers. 5. SECMOL Alternative School According to Sonam, there is a difference between being intelligent and being wise. While being intelligent is to be exceptionally good at selected things, being wise is to have high average outcomes in most of the things. In the past, people revered wisdom, but today, people respect a genius better. It is no wonder that educational systems around the world design their curriculum based on intelligence. Schools select students who are exceptionally good at a few standard practices. Sonam, therefore, wanted to initiate an alternative school which recognized the importance of wisdom over intelligence. He began this initiative while simultaneously working with the government on ONH project. Construction of this alternative school, SECMOL Alternative School (SAS) started in 1994 and was formally inaugurated in 1998. In the initial phase of the building, Sonam and 14 other SECMOL volunteers moved to Phey, a village on the banks of river Indus but a barren site. They stayed in tents and were committed to constructing a school where students not only learned academics but also learned how to live. The campus was managed on total solar energy, be it for food, power, and water. The building was made of earth mud and filled with pieces of wood for insulation; this ensured that the winters were warm and summers cool. The once barren site also had over 1,000 trees, and there were also greenhouses for vegetation. SAS did not require any funding because the entire campus was constructed by volunteers and students. 7

The education system at SAS was unique as it was effective. The admission criteria at SAS, Phey was to be a failure by the conventional education standards. Indeed, it is as simple as that the school enrolled only those students who had failed in the past. Apart from academics, students were also exposed to the practical aspects of life. Students were encouraged to grow their produce, not only for self-consumption but to practice selling and understand the nuances of trading and commerce. They also strived to boost confidence among students and enhance their communication skills. For instance, students gathered every evening to participate in open debates and discussions. Further, at SAS, everyone contributed to cleaning or cooking or doing other chores such that it was entirely self-managed and maintained. The students played the roles of gardeners, farmers, cooks, and sweepers. 6. A TURBULENT TURN In Phase 1 (1996-2000) of ONH, it was decided that the shortcomings of people and institutions would be overlooked and given a second chance. It was designed in such a way that awareness was created and the community was mobilized. There was more focus on the creation and adoption of new curriculum and methods of teaching with emphasis on rewards and encouragement. During Phase 2 (2001-2005) of ONH, SECMOL undertook the role of a monitoring agency and whistle-blower because they felt that having given people a chance to reform in Phase 1, those who did not change had to be publicly exposed. While the changes brought in many positive results, the public exposure of those who resorted to malpractices became a challenge for certain government officials and those teachers who were holding dual jobs. This led to conspiracy theories against Sonam, even to the extent of the government accusing him of being a spy. It began in April, 2006 when the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Ladakh issued an order against Ladakh Voluntary Network (LNV an umbrella of NGOs which included SECMOL). The order alleged that the NGOs under this network were violating fiscal and administrative norms and that they were to submit a monthly report detailing their activities, sources of funds and resources. By February 2007, the Teachers Association expressed their concerns and resented Sonam s interference in the educational affairs of Ladakh. Additionally, government employees in the Education Department stated that the provocative propaganda against them was humiliating and affected their work. The same month, a notice was served against Sonam for demoralizing government employees, by-passing administrative norms, illegal occupation of land, misappropriation of funds received from foreign contributors, destabilizing the harmony of the place, causing threat to human lives, having anti-national connections with China, etc. (see Exhibit 7, Allegations and Notices). Looking through the solar glassed windows, he observed the snow clad Trans-Himalayan ranges and the withered trees outside the campus in Phey, Ladakh. The ambience was not very encouraging. He walked across the room to the other window and stopped to watch a set of chirpy students playing ice hockey. They were wearing heavy winter attire, but the enthusiasm beneath the mufflers could be heard. A minus 40 degree Celsius could not deter their spirits. He wondered if he should let these accusations deter his spirits or if he should keep fighting toward his vision of changing the educational system in Ladakh. 8

Exhibit 1 Ladakh Political Boundary 9

Exhibit 2a Ladakh Educational Performance Exhibit 2b Ladakh Educational Performance 10

Exhibit 3 A System Failure Exhibit 4 ONH VEC Training 11

Exhibit 5 Change in Educational Material Exhibit 6 Melong Publication 12

Exhibit 7 Allegations and Notices 13

14 IIMB-WP N0. 558