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Tourism
& Its Impact In Ladakh
They were impressed
by the way the Ladakhis, with scarce resources, supported their
life and their rich culture without damaging the environment. The
direct interaction with the people from developed and industrialised
world, who had seen the darker side of modernisation and were impressed
by the sustainable lifestyle in Ladakh, acted as a most potent educational
tool to revive the Ladakhis' self-confidence and cultural pride.
Earlier, they were being pushed towards Westernisation and modernisation
by the second-hand, glamorised version from the Hindi movies and
through the attitudes of Government, Army officials and school teachers
who were themselves seduced by such images. Through tourism, the
Ladakhis met the original role models of these ideals and learnt
about environmental, social and emotional problems inherent in the
Western consumerist lifestyle. The early tourists had immense respect
for the Ladakhi people's simple, nature-friendly lifestyle, quality
of their social and emotional health, and the firm and deep roots
of their culture and tradition.. As a result of this interaction,
Ladakhi culture is safer today than it was before Ladakh was opened
to tourism. Today, the Ladakhi people's pride and self-confidence
in their roots is much stronger than before despite the changes
that are apparent in Ladakh.
Fortunately, Ladakh is one of the few
places in the world where an indigenous culture still thrives, a
civilisation that is not yet washed away by the blind rush for 'modernisation'.
So far, tourism has strengthened this culture. But, with Government's
dollar-hungry, come-one-come-all, 14-flights-a-week tourism strategy
encouraging people to come and make Ladakh a pleasure playground,
there is genuine apprehension that this age old culture and wisdom
will also be overwhelmed and go the way of Leh's polluted streets
and streams. That kind of pollution is really frightening. The physical
pollution of our environment can be salvaged. But once the minds
and the culture of a people are polluted, it destabilises the social,
emotional and environmental equilibrium.
Many may not be aware of the latest
trend in Ladakh's tourism. Manali was long a major stop on the "hash
trail" of drug-using back-packers in Asia. Its success ruined
it. The back-packers find it too crowded, too polluted and full
of hassles. So, they looked for an unspoiled and pleasant place
where they can indulge their habit in peace. Leh and Dharamshala,
where mainly Buddhist or seriously interested visitors used to congregate,
are now the newest stops on this trail. These back-packers do not
come to India to learn about its culture or for the adventure of
rugged mountain trekking or white-water rafting. They are averse
to work and find it cheaper to live here than in their own competitive
countries. Even more attractive is the freedom to do all those things
that would never be allowed at home. The "rave parties"
of Manali and Goa have already started in Leh. When the moon is
bright, groups of hippie tourists cart their powerful sound systems
and power generators to Changspa and beyond, take hallucinogenic
drugs and party all night. Do we want Ladakh to be permeated by
a behaviour pattern that no civilised society willingly permits?
How long will it take the Ladakhi youth to resist the temptation
and not get swept away by it?
Another sinister aspect of tourism is
prostitution. Sex tourism involving women and children with its
concomitant explosion of diseases like HIV and AIDS is already an
intractable problem in many Asian locations like Thailand, Sri Lanka,
Philippines, etc. There are rumours of outsiders providing such
services to tourists here. Such activities should be curbed now
before Ladakh joins the list of tourism-induced disasters like Kathmandu,
Goa, Manali etc.
Ladakh, its people and culture are attractive
enough to lure visitors. It should not be promoted as a pleasure
ground for drugs, sex or even adventure sports. Let us promote Ladakh
not as a tourism destination but as a pilgrimage to a land that
has an inspirational message for the world in its simple, sustainable
and austere but happy lifestyle. Let us all work together to make
Ladakh a centrepiece of sustainable lifestyle and eco-friendly tourism
where people come with a sense of respect and a desire to share
and care, and go back with inter-cultural understanding and harmony.
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SONAM WANGCHUK
Director
Students Educational
and Cultural Movement of Ladakh
Leh
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