Jamyang Tsering Namgyal

Even as the debate on the constitutional changes in Jammu and Kashmir proceeded in Parliament this August, one voice emerged and took the House, and all those watching the debate on national television, by storm. The voice represented a region relatively neglected so far, and by combining passion and facts, it brought forth a point of view that had often got obscured in the debates on J&K.

That voice belonged to Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the 34-year old member of Parliament from Ladakh. A former student leader, he first became a member of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in 2015, and then became the chief executive officer of the Council in 2018. The BJP gave him a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections this summer, which he contested successfully.

Namgyal’s speech, which focused on Ladakh’s underdevelopment, the discrimination faced by the region, and its happiness at being awarded the Union territory status, drew praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and applause from those on the treasury benches. As Ladakh emerged as a distinct administrative unit, with both political and security salience, Namgyal is expected to play a key role in the region’s evolution.