Why is Ladakh Angry | Ladakh Protest

26th March, 2024 When the temperature was minus 10 degrees Celsius, 350 people slept outside with this man. "You can see the glass here, all frozen." "And together with me, 350 people sleeping hungry outdoors." Sonam Wangchuk "Today, on the 6th of March, I will be sitting on a fast unto death." Sonam Wangchuk said, we are demanding our rights, but the government hasn't said a word. He said, we want politicians of integrity in our country, not characterless politicians. "The 2nd day is over." "Th

e 3rd and 4th day of fasting is about to begin." "It's the 5th day." "The 6th." "The 7th." "The 8th." "The 9th." "The 10th." "The 11th." "The 12th." "The 13th." "The 14th." "The 21st day of climate fast." He carried out a hunger strike for 21 days, which he stopped on the 26th of March. Why 21 days? Because Mahatma Gandhi's longest fast during the independence was 21 days. "This happens to be the longest fast that Mahatma Gandhi kept during the independence movement of India." "And I want to fol

low the same peaceful path that Mahatma Gandhi followed." Sonam Wangchuk said, he will follow Mahatma Gandhi. He wants to put so much pain on himself, so that the government notices that pain. "This is Sonam Wangchuk connecting with you from Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas." He said, their hunger strike was over. But after that, the women of Ladakh, then the youth, then the monks, and then again he will go on strike for 21 days. He said, our demands are not against India. He said, no Ladakhi want

s to be separated from the Indian Union. Ladakhis have always been with India and the Indian Army. But he asked the BJP government, that you made many promises before the 2019 general election, which were in your manifesto. So why aren't you following these promises now? Many Ladakhi leaders met Home Minister Amit Shah, but nothing came out of these meetings. This protest is so historic, not just because thousands of people are participating, but because there is unity in this protest. For the f

irst time in many years, Muslim and Buddhist Ladakhis are protesting together. But what are these demands? Why are Ladakhis protesting so much, and why is the government not listening to them? You will only understand these things, when you understand the history of Ladakh. This is Gyalpo Jigmed Wangchuk Namgyal, whose family was ruling Ladakh 400 years ago. For many years, the Namgyal dynasty ruled Ladakh. But this changed in the 18th century. Aurangzeb died in 1707, and the Mughal Empire began

to collapse. This power vacuum was filled by an independent Sikh kingdom or Khalsa, which was being created in the Punjab region. Under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh forces conquered Jammu from Dogra Rajput in 1808, and Kashmir from the Durrani Empire of the Afghans in 1819. To rule this new region, Maharaja Ranjit Singh made Gulab Singh the king of the region, who was a Dogra. In this period, the Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh was very scared, and they asked the East India Compa

ny for help so that they wouldn't lose their independence. And their fears came true. In 1834, one of the generals of Raja Gulab Singh, Zorawar Singh invaded Ladakh, and six years later, in 1840, Ladakh was under Dogras' full control. The Ladakhis tried many times to protest against the Dogras. They even asked the king of Tibet for help, who sent many troops to defeat the Dogras. But they were unsuccessful. So for the next 100 years, Dogras ruled Ladakh. Now we are in 1947. Maharaja Hari Singh,

who was the king of Kashmir, was going to decide whether Kashmir would become a part of India, Pakistan, or remain independent. The Ladakh Buddhist Association, or LBA, fought for Ladakh's political independence. It was formed in 1933 by Jigmet Dadul Namgyal, a descendant of the Namgyal dynasty. In fact, in 1947, when the King of Kashmir decided whether to join India or not, the Ladakh Buddhist Association gave them three options. The first option was to rule over them without merging them with

Kashmir. If that's not possible, the second option was to rule them, but merge us with Jammu and not the Kashmir Valley. And the third option was to join them with Indian Punjab. But none of these three options worked. The king decided to merge with India, which meant that Ladakh became a part of Jammu and Kashmir. In May 1949, Prime Minister Nehru went to Ladakh for a visit. Before that, the LBA officially demanded the Indian government that they wanted more independence because their culture,

religion, and language were unique. The LBA then told Prime Minister Nehru that joining the Indian Union was not a problem, but don't merge us with the Kashmir Valley because there were cultural and religious differences. We don't have the data from that time, but even today, we can see these religious differences. There are two districts in Ladakh: Leh and Kargil. 77% of the population in Leh are Buddhists, 13% are Muslims, and the rest are Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians. Whereas the situation i

n Kargil is completely different. 77% of the population are Muslims, and 13% are Buddhists. So the LBA told Prime Minister Nehru not to merge them with the Kashmir State. But Prime Minister Nehru did not agree to this. He said that his objective was to create a unified India. If he divided Kashmir into religious lines, then such divisions could also occur in other parts of India. Then Ladakh sent a second delegation. This delegation was led by Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, who was the head of a branch

of Tibetan Buddhism in Ladakh. This delegation demanded that since India is now independent, Ladakh should be treated like a princely state and we should decide whether to join India, remain independent, or join a country like Tibet. Prime Minister Nehru refused to do this. Now, where such negotiations were taking place in Ladakh, a war was about to start on the Indian border. In 1947, when Pakistan invaded Kashmir, Prime Minister Nehru asked the United Nations for intervention. In 1950, the Un

ited Security Council appointed Sir Owen Dixon as the UN representative for India and Pakistan. In September 1950, he came up with a plan called the Dixon Plan. Under this plan, he said that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would go to Pakistan, Ladakh to India, and Kashmir's merger, which includes both Jammu and Kashmir, would be decided through a plebiscite. A plebiscite means an election where they would choose whether to remain independent, go to India, or go to Pakistan. But Ladakh did not get any

of these options. Ladakh had to join the Indian Union. But the Indian government rejected this plan. They said that if they had to do a plebiscite, they should do it in entire Kashmir. Why not do a plebiscite in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir? And if it happens there, the Pakistani army would have to leave control of the POK. They also said that they did not want to divide Ladakh and Kashmir into religious lines. But even after this rejection, many people in Ladakh were demanding that they be kept o

ut of the Kashmir state. For example, in 1952, Rinpoche gave a big speech at the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. He said that the Jammu and Kashmir government discriminates against Ladakh, especially against the Leh district. It would be better if Ladakh was made a Union Territory. Many committees were set up to prove this discrimination. For example, PB Gajendragadkar was leading a committee who showed in his 1968 report that Ladakh was getting a very low budget. He said that between 1951 and 1955,

the total planned expenditure of J&K was Rs.11.5 crore. But out of this Rs.11.5* crore, Ladakh got Rs.0. Yes, 0! Between 1955 and 1960, out of Rs.31 crore of J&K, Ladakh got Rs.85 lakh. Which is about 3%. On one hand, people said that Ladakh is getting nothing in terms of land area. Whereas J&K is getting Rs.14,000 per square mile, while Ladakh is getting Rs.3,000 per square mile. But others said, why are you looking at the area? Look at the population. Ladakh's population is so low. They said

that Ladakh is getting Rs.1,100 per capita, whereas J&K is getting Rs.200 per capita. But there were many people in Ladakh who didn't care about this discrimination. For example, there are many small farmers and herders in Ladakh who don't care about the outside world. They have their own farms and animals and they're happy with that. Many people were getting benefits from the Indian Army. They sold their produce to the Indian Army. Many people worked for the Indian Army so that they could get p

aid. But many educated youngsters in Ladakh felt this discrimination. They said that they didn't have a scheduled status. So they didn't get a seat in the university or a job in the government. The businesses in Ladakh were mostly owned by outsiders. So they said that in their area, they don't have a representation. In the 1960s, young Ladakhis started protesting. They demanded the Scheduled Tribes status. They demanded that Ladakh be made a Union Territory so that we can protect our identity. B

ut neither of these demands were fulfilled. In July 1979, Ladakh was divided into two districts. Buddhist-dominated Leh and Muslim-dominated Kargil. Many people said that the J&K government did this to divide Ladakh's Muslims and Buddhists. Because Kargil had become a new district, Kashmir's politicians could appeal to Kargil's Muslims. This polarized Ladakh's politics. Where LBA wanted to make Ladakh a Union Territory, Kargil's people said that they wouldn't let this happen. They said, Ladakh h

as discrimination against Muslims. If we become a Union Territory, this discrimination will increase. Tensions in Ladakh increased in 1989 when terrorism increased in the Kashmir Valley and many Kashmiri Pandits were killed or evicted. This was seen in LBA's politics when they announced that they weren't like Kashmiris and were boycotting Ladakh's Muslims. Now, no Buddhist will talk to a Muslim in Ladakh. Seeing these tensions, finally, the Indian government took a decision and on October 1989,

the entire population of Ladakh was declared Scheduled Tribes. So, Ladakh got its one demand, Scheduled Tribes status. But what about the other demand? Union Territory. Three weeks later, the Ladakh Buddhist Association, Ladakh Muslim Association, and J&K government went to meet the Indian government. But the Indian government clearly told everyone that Ladakh cannot be given Union Territory status because Kashmir Valley is still under violence. To give Union Territory status, we'll have to brin

g changes in Article 370 which is not possible at such a sensitive time. But we can give one more thing. We can make the districts of Leh and Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council or AHDC. AHDCs are basically local bodies that can collect local taxes like parking fees or land rentals. But they can't make their own laws. So, they have little power, not full independence. But they didn't get this easily. So, they protested. And the LBA, which had boycotted Muslims a while ago, decides to work

with the LMA so that they can get this council. Finally, on 8th May 1995, the Indian Parliament passed the Autonomous Hill Development Council Bill. So, in September 1995, Leh got its own AHDC and in July 2003, Kargil got its own. But for the Leh district, an AHDC was just a temporary solution. They say that their full demand is to make Ladakh a separate Union Territory from Jammu and Kashmir. In 2002, all political parties in Leh get dissolved. And together, they form the Ladakh Union Territor

y Front, LUTF to demand a Union Territory from the central government. But they don't get anything for 17 years. And suddenly, on 5th August 2019, they get a surprise. The special status given to Jammu and Kashmir in Article 370 was revoked. J&K was made a Union Territory. And Ladakh was a separate Union Territory. After Article 370 was revoked, the reactions of the two districts of Ladakh, Leh and Kargil were polar opposites. People in Kargil were protesting and demanding the restoration of Art

icle 370 for two reasons. First, people in Kargil identified more with the Kashmir leaders because they spoke about their rights. Second, people in Kargil were afraid that they would be discriminated against in the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh. While the situation in Leh was different, people were celebrating because their Union Territory demand was finally heard. For them, the decision in 2019 was like a dream. "I want to congratulate the Modi government and the people because our dream came true.

" People in Ladakh believed that after the Union Territory was established, the central government would pay more attention to employment and development. But within a year, the situation in Leh and Kargil changed drastically. The leaders of Kargil said that there was no need to restore Article 370 and that they would cooperate with Leh. While the leaders of Leh said that after Article 370 was revoked, the ground situation didn't change and they didn't gain anything. So why were the people of La

dakh saying this? Before Article 370 was revoked, the people of Ladakh used to get a special status. For example, outsiders couldn't buy their land, other companies couldn't start mining, and they also got a PRC or Permanent Resident Certificate. Because of this PRC, only the residents of J&K could buy the land and apply for government jobs. But after the special powers of Article 370 were revoked, all these privileges were snatched from Ladakh. This created a fear in the people of Ladakh that i

f outsiders come, land mafia will start, companies will start mining, then what will happen to our culture, language, and religion? Then they said, you made Ladakh a Union Territory but you didn't give us a legislature. Delhi and Puducherry are also a Union Territory but there is a legislature. Whether they are in jail or not, watch this video if you want to know. But Ladakh was made a Union Territory without a legislature so the Centre was governing Ladakh. And the people of Ladakh were saying

that they don't have the power to control their own region. Apart from this, we have only one MP in the Lok Sabha. If we talk about the state government, earlier when J&K was in power, 4 MLAs used to go from Ladakh. Now even that representation is gone. And someone is governing us from Delhi. What benefit are we getting from this? Sonam Wangchuk said, LG who rules Ladakh now is an outsider. Only one man is deciding how to allocate 90% of Rs. 6,000 crores. A non-elected person is deciding all thi

s. The districts of Leh and Kargil were Autonomous Hill Development Councils or AHGCs. But these councils didn't have the power to make laws. So they said, after Article 370, all our political power has been snatched. This is why the people of Ladakh came up with a new strategy. The leadership of Leh organised itself in the Leh Apex Body, LAB. And the leadership of Kargil formed the Kargil Democratic Alliance or KDA. KDA demanded that Ladakh should be given a statehood. LAB wanted Ladakh to be i

ncluded in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. What is the Sixth Schedule? The Sixth Schedule basically gives powers that AHGCs don't have. Because of the Sixth Schedule, the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram get autonomy. Because of this Schedule, the tribes of these areas can make their own laws on land, forest, water, agriculture, property, and personal laws like marriage. To understand this, let me give you an example of Meghalaya. In 1997, Khasi Hills Autonom

ous District Council passed a law, Khasi Social Customs of Lineage Act, which formally recognised the matrilineal traditions of the Khasi community. What are matrilineal traditions? These are the traditions of the Khasi community that say that the name of the family, inheritance, or succession rights, are not passed by the father but by the mother. Meaning, the children's full name will be the mother's surname. And the property will not be given to the sons, but to the daughters. The Khasi commu

nity said that their culture and tradition is very unique, and because of the Sixth Schedule, they can make these laws. But this cannot be done in Ladakh. Eventually, the KDA said that they didn't want a separate state for Ladakh. They are supporting the LAB and demanding a Sixth Schedule. Now, I want to tell you that this is very rare in Ladakh's politics. So, the Buddhists of Leh, who weren't talking to Muslims for a while, were now joining hands with the Muslims of Kargil. And the Muslims of

Kargil, who used to only look towards the Kashmir Valley, were now working with the Buddhists of Leh. But what was their actual demand? They had mainly four demands. Their first demand is to bring Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule so that it can rule its own area. Their second demand is to make Ladakh a separate state so that it has its own legislature and ministers, and no one rules it from Delhi. Their third demand is to get a separate Public Service Commission in Ladakh where jobs are reserved

for them. Every state has its own Public Service Commission through which many government officials are selected. UPSC is different. UPSC selects officers who serve the central government or be the DM or SP of the state government. Ladakh's demand was that only Ladakhis will get jobs from this commission. For example, in 2020, 110 doctors from the National Health Mission went to Ladakh from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and UP who were getting Rs. 2.5 lakh per month. Ladakh's l

eaders said that if they get a commission, Ladakhis will get such jobs. Their final demand was to give Ladakh two constituencies for the Lok Sabha. One from Leh and one from Kargil. Because of these demands, people of Ladakh have been protesting for the past two years. In January 2023, this protest took place in minus 20 degrees Celsius at the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Ladakh. In February 2023, it took place at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Sonam Vankyuk's plan was to protest in Khardung La P

ass where temperatures are minus 40 degrees Celsius. But this didn't happen because the central government put Wangchuk under house arrest. Now, it's not like the government is not talking to them. In January 2023, the Home Ministry created a high-powered committee under the leadership of Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai. But both KDA and LAB said that they will not meet this committee because they do not have a 6th schedule or statehood on their agenda. So it was clear that the g

overnment could talk to the people of Ladakh about jobs, but not about the 6th schedule or statehood. Six months later, the government again invited the leaders of Ladakh. This time, both KDA and LAB said that they will meet with an open mind. KDA member Sajjad Kargili said, We know that dialogue is the only way to achieve our goal. We hope that the government will listen to us with an open mind and heart. Then, meetings were held in December 2023, February 2024, and March 2024. The last meeting

was held with Home Minister Amit Shah, but the result was not good. The government said that we can do something about jobs, culture, and land, but not about the 6th schedule. After these talks, the Union Home Ministry released a statement where they said that their high-powered committee definitely wants to take care of the culture, language, and other things of Ladakh. But this statement did not mention two things. Sixth schedule and statehood. Chering Dorje Lakrook, who was a minister in Kas

hmir's former PDP-BJP government, said that he met Amit Shah and he said that he could neither give them statehood nor 6th schedule guarantee. And this is why our talks failed. After which Sonam Wangchuk started his 21-day fast. "Today, on the 6th of March, I will be sitting on fast unto death." Now I will tell you what our government has publicly said and what are the actual reasons, according to experts, why our government is not fulfilling these demands. So publicly, our government says that

you need more development and we are doing the same thing. We have increased the budget of Ladakh, which is why road networks, hydroelectric power plants, and many other things are being built. The Ministry of Home Affairs also said that it is not easy to bring Ladakh under the 6th schedule. Because this schedule was only written for the North Asian states. The 6th schedule only has the names of the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. Now the constitution can be changed and L

adakh can be included in it. But the government says that it is not that easy. To do this, we need a two-thirds majority in the parliament and there are many complications. Now this is what the government has publicly said. But many experts say that the actual reasons are three different reasons. And for this, you have to go back 4 years. On 5th and 6th May, 2022, Indian and Chinese troops started clashing near the Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh. This caused stone pelting. This lake is between the b

orders of India, Tibet, and China. The Line of Actual Control passes near it. The LAC is a 3,500 km border that goes from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. Many Chinese soldiers were trying to enter this border. Against this, India started building military infrastructure in Ladakh. Against this, China set up tents and heavy equipment in the Galwan Valley. This conflict escalated to such an extent that on 14-15 June 2020, there was a hand-to-hand combat between the soldiers in the Galwan Valley of La

dakh. More than 20 Indian soldiers were martyred. This was the first time in 45 years that the LAC had casualties. In February 2021, India and China announced that they were disengaging from the border. But the Indian government lost faith in China's intentions. India decided to increase its military presence on the border. At one point in time, there was only one division of the Indian Army in Ladakh. After this crisis, around 40-50,000 Indian soldiers went to eastern Ladakh. This clash changed

India's military strategy. A study by the Lowy Institute showed that India's military presence in the Indian Ocean was increasing to counter China's naval influence. But after the Galwan conflict, India's priority shifted from the Navy to the Army. This could be a major reason why the central government doesn't want to give Ladakh a six-schedule. Some of you may say that national security is already the responsibility of the central government. So why do we need a six-schedule? You're right. Bu

t the central government fears that Ladakh's six-schedule autonomy could impact its military projects at such a sensitive time. These projects are the road network, tunnel system, airstrips, surveillance posts, and security infrastructure. India's Border Road Organization has built the world's first glaciated road in eastern Ladakh. This road provided an alternative route to India's northernmost military base. The Indian government is also building the Zoji-la Tunnel, India's longest road tunnel

. This tunnel will cost Rs. 4500* crores. This 15-km long tunnel will reduce the travel time from Ladakh's mountain pass from 3 hours to 15 minutes. Harpal Singh, the project head, said that in today's situation, we can't fight China for more than 10 days. And this tunnel can change that. The government fears that such military projects may not be approved due to environmental reasons. The second reason is money. Sonam Wangchuk said, "We feel that you (the government) rescued us from a kidnapper

but then left us to be sold in the market. "Ladakh's vulnerable environment is put on sale in an open market." "Anyone can do anything on this land... ...industrial lobbies, mining lobbies." "Today, Ladakh has been left to be played by anyone." "Ladakh's environment won't be able to handle this." "I wouldn't call it industrial development, but devastation." This is a very serious allegation that I'll explain to you. Before investing in an area, any company thinks about two things. How easily wi

ll I get land? And how easily will I get construction permits? This is one reason why many companies work in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. But not in Bihar and North Eastern states, where it's difficult to get required permits. So many people say that the government believes that if Ladakh is given the sixth schedule, the industry won't come there. But people in Ladakh believe that they know what happened in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. They don't want it to happen in Ladakh. Last y

ear, Himachal Pradesh went through a flash flood. Around 150 people were killed and 10,000 crores were lost. The reason behind the floods was the uncontrolled construction of hydroelectric power projects. In addition, many four-lane road networks were built in Himachal Pradesh, where the protocol was not followed. The four-lane projects in Manali and Shimla caused landslides and rain damage. Due to this, landslides are triggered even with light showers. People in Ladakh say that if we don't get

autonomy, this will happen to Ladakh. More than 10 hydropower plants have been approved in 2020 and 2021. They have also approved a mega-solar project, which will cover more than 20,000 acres in the sensitive Changthang area of Ladakh. Some of these projects have been given to government companies, like the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation. And some projects have been given to private companies, whose news has been very interesting recently. I was talking about the Zoji-la Tunnel. It was

awarded to Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd. It's a Hyderabadi company that has recently given crores of rupees to political parties, including 585 crores to BJP in electoral bonds. People in Ladakh say that the decisions of the central government are increasing their fear. Recently, a Ladakh Industrial Land Allotment Policy has been proposed, which will give the industry approval, mostly from the government and industry members. And locals won't be given much decision-making power. Touri

sm is also a big problem for them. A new airport is being planned in Leh, which can handle 20 lakh tourists. The number of hotels in Leh has almost quadrupled. From 200 to 800. And all these hotels depend on groundwater. The owner of a hotel, Stanzin Yountan, said that there is no groundwater left in the city. There are 20 hotels in a 1-kilometer radius, and everyone has to install a borewell. Ladakh is a desert and it faces water problems, which can only get worse. And people are also afraid of

this type of tourist. The third reason could be that the government is afraid that after giving a schedule, it will become a precedent. Such demands will come from other parts of the country as well. Nepali-speaking Gorkha people from West Bengal, who live in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts have been demanding political autonomy and statehood for a long time. Their demand is more than 100 years old. In 1988, a Darjeeling-Gorkha Hill Council was formed. But like the Ladakh Hill Council, t

his council doesn't have much power. A Gorkha leader, Binay Tamang, said that in the coming months, he will start mass movements to fulfill the demands of the Gorkha land. The central government may be afraid that once the demand for Ladakh is fulfilled, the Gorkha land and other demands will also resurface. So what is the solution? There is a very famous problem in the field of ethics and philosophy, called the trolley problem. Imagine that a trolley is on a track, and a child is sitting on the

track. You can save a child's life by pulling a lever. But that trolley will hit an 80-year-old man and kill him. Will you use that lever to save the child? According to research, many people say yes. But suppose there are two elderly people on the track, not one. Not two, but ten. Will your answer change? There is no correct answer to these questions. These are thought experiments. And these are clearly extreme examples. But we see such examples in politics every day. Because politics is basic

ally an exercise of negotiation between several groups where it is decided who will get how much benefit and who will get how much suffering. If a farmer is burning his crops, his money is being saved but the people who live in cities will suffer due to pollution. If lithium is being mined in a mountain, the tribes there are suffering because their environment is being destroyed. But the people of the cities may get good EV batteries. So this negotiation of benefit and suffering happens in polit

ics every day. And there are several different models to decide this negotiation Let's take the example of two models One in the US and one in China. In the US, a high-speed rail has been built between LA and San Francisco for 25 years But this is not happening because many small cities reject this proposal. Because so much democracy has been given in the US to every city it's difficult to complete this railway project. Whereas the situation in China is very different. Almost all the land in Chi

na is owned by the Communist Party. So they can take away your property and decide what they want to do with it. Whether it is good for the citizens or not. In every country, citizens give power to the government to negotiate on their behalf and decide which group will get what benefit and which group will get what suffering. This is what we want our government to do in Ladakh. So that their religion, culture, language, and environment suffer the least. And they get the benefit of our security a

nd economic opportunities. And the other citizens enjoy this as well. Unfortunately, many people don't trust the government the way they have handled many issues. "I think you've based yourself on huge assumptions" "Are you trying to say that the businesses haven't donated money since independence?" If they try to justify the electoral bond scheme, can citizens trust that the contracts given to companies like Megha Engineering are only for the benefit of the country and not for the benefit of th

e party? When mining contracts are given for Hasdeo Arand Jungle in Chhattisgarh, and many tribal villages are cleared with minimal warning, can those tribals trust you? Many times our government says, look at our culture. We worship trees, animals, and rivers. But those tribals who do this daily we treat them like second-class citizens So the first way to solve the issue of Ladakh is for the government to win their trust. So that they believe that we can make a small sacrifice if we and our cou

ntry benefit from it.