Meet Miss Ladoll, The Ladakhi Rapper Who Is Using Music For Ladakh's Social Causes

Ladakh ki man ki baat sun lo desh vasio
Hai kaisa raaj jis mai bolne ka bhi haq na ho
Yunhi na bolte hum ki khatre mai hamaara ghar
Na dekha ho toh ja ke dekhlo YouTube par
Hai video Mr Sonam Wangchuk ka pahaad par
Baithe woh -20*C khel ke apni jaan par
Mangi hai humne ek cheez hai suraksha woh
Aisi ek nagri jise manaa desh ka taj ho
Chalo batayu kya hai 6th schedule do line mai
Isse surakhsha milti bharatya janjati ko

(Listen to Ladakh’s man ki baat, my compatriots
How’s this rule where one cannot even speak
We aren’t just blabbering about the risk our home is in
If you haven’t seen, go and check on YouTube
There are videos of Mr Sonam Wangchuk on the mountains
Protesting in -20*C risking his life
We are asking for one thing that is protection
Of our place which is considered the crown of the country
Now let me tell you what is 6th schedule in brief
It provides safety to the tribals of India.)

This song by Ladakhi rapper Miss Ladoll has become part of Ladakh’s agitation for inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India that grants certain special protection to tribal regions. Ladoll, 25, wrote the song as a tribute for the agitation.

The rap song titled 6th Schedule for Ladakh for Ladakhi innovator Sonam Wangchuk’s movement has caught the imagination of people of the Ladakh region. It took only 24 hours for Ladoll, an agriculture graduate, to pen the song and make a video of it.

Ladoll tells Outlook, “My motivation to write the song was to support Sonam Wangchuk for the Sixth Schedule. When I saw him going for fast in cold Ladakh, I realised it’s -20*C outside. He was also making videos why it’s important to have such a fast. He also made videos explaining the Sixth Schedule. It pushed me involuntarily to contribute my little bit in his struggle. I have skill in music and I thought it would be better to use it for Ladakh’s struggle.”

On January 27, Ladoll sat to write the rap and she completed writing it the next day. On January 29, she did videography in Leh and she posted the video on YouTube on the same day. It instantly began attracting the attention of people.

Ladoll did her schooling at Ladakh Public School. She completed her XII from Scholars Home in Dehradun and later she completed her graduation in agricultural science from Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute (PG) College, Dehradun. Now she is working with the ICCI Foundation.

Ladoll has been writing rap songs since 2020. However, in February 2021, she came up with her first rap video about climate change and other grievances. 

She tells Outlook, “My first rap video was about students who had completed degrees in an institute in Ladakh but they were not getting their degrees. I juxtaposed their agony with the climate change crisis and composed my first rap song. It was sort of a protest song.”.

On February 1, Ladoll was among a large number of people who had gathered at the Polo Ground in Ladakh to thank Wangchuk on the completion of his five-day climate fast for the demand to include Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Wangchuk had started his five-day fast on January 26.

Ladoll tells Outlook, “I know we have freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution of India and we have every right to speak up. And I thought it would be my contribution to our struggle for the Sixth Schedule demand.”
Ladoll says her views are in sync with what Wangchuk is saying. 

“Our environment is so fragile and our population is very small in number and both need protection. I really don’t think urbanisation and development are worth losing our identity,” says Ladoll. 

Ladakh’s estimated population in 2023 is 3.01 Lakhs.

Ladoll says, “I am not talking about my generation. We will live. But I am talking coming generations. How will they see us?”

Ladoll says Wangchuk in his fast appealed to all Ladakhis and others to contribute to his struggle.

“I recorded the video and later went to Sonam Wangchuk and then posted the video on YouTube,” says Ladoll.