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| Ladakhis demonstrated remarkable unity demanded UT status to end Kashmiri domination | | Congress-BJP and Jammu | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Nov 10: The "secular" Congress, the "rightwing" BJP, the religio-political Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), the All Ladakh Gompa Association (ALGA) and members of the Leh Autonomous Hill Council Development (LAHDC) are one as far as their attitude to the Kashmiri leadership is concerned. All of them want freedom from Kashmiri leadership and all of them also want the Union Government to confer the status of Union Territory on their region so that the people of Ladakh could shape and mould their socio-economic and political life under the Indian Constitution and lead a life of dignity as proud Indian nationals. In fact, the Congress, the BJP, the LBA, the LGA and the LAHDC are on the same page as far as the Ladakhi cause is concerned.
That all these political, semi-political and religious organizations are one as far as the Ladakhi cause is concerned became very evident yesterday when leaders belonging to these formations and members of the LAHDC met interlocutors on J&K Radha Kumar and MM Ansari at Leh and vociferously demanded Union Territory status for Ladakh.
What did the various leaders tell the interlocutors while demanding Union Territory status? Congress leader and chairman-cum-chief executive councilor (Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council) Rigzin Spalbar, among other things, said: "Right since the country's independence, and even before J&K finally acceded to the Indian Union, the people of Ladakh have been seeking separation of their region from J&K and urging the Government of India to administer Ladakh directly from Centre on the pattern of the North Eastern Frontier Area (NEFA) administration or make it a part of erstwhile Punjab…Over the years, the successive Governments in the State have adopted a policy of discrimination towards the region with the sole objective of oppressing its people and marginalizing its historical, ethnic and cultural identity…In the last 60 years of independence, the people of Ladakh have not only suffered from the Kashmiri political domination but have also suffered hugely due to the separatist movement in Kashmir…Ladakh has nothing in common with other parts of the state linguistically, culturally, historically and geographically…It would be absolutely erroneous to equate Kashmir valley with rest of the State, particularly Ladakh. The leaders of Kashmir valley can never be leaders of our people and our assimilation with the people of Valley is next to impossible…Any move on the part of the authorities to conclude a truce over Kashmir over the heads of the people of Ladakh or to ignore the aspirations of the people of Ladakh would not only be shortsighted but also counterproductive."
As for other senior Congress leaders, including former Union Minister P Namgyal, MLC Narboo Gyalson, working president of District Congress Committee Advocate Mohammad Shafi, general secretary Tesring Nurboo and president of women wing Rinchen Dolkar, who also met the interlocutors, took the same stand and demanded Union Territory status invested with power to legislate. More significantly, they, like the chief executive councilor, told the interlocutors that "there is nothing common between Ladakh and other parts of the state" and that "Ladakh has suffered hugely in all spheres."
The upshot of the views expressed by P Namgyal and other Congress leaders, including the chief executive councilor, was that there is but one way in which the discrimination against their region could end and the Ladakhis' aspirations fulfilled and that is by separating Ladakh from Kashmir. Yet another refrain of theirs' was that they would have no objection if the Union Government resolves the Kashmir issue subject to the condition that the same is within the framework of Indian Constitution. In other words, they candidly told the interlocutors three things - end discrimination with Ladakh, grant Union Territory status to Ladakh, as it has nothing in common with Kashmir and we will accept only that solution to the "Kashmir problem" that is within the Indian Constitution.
The tone and tenor of the ALGA leadership during their interaction with the interlocutors was the same. They, too, advocated the need of granting Union Territory status to Ladakh asserting "Ladakh's everything is different from rest of the State." In fact, they went a step further and told the interlocutors that their socio-cultural regeneration is just not possible within the state. To be more precise, they said, "Separation of Ladakh from Kashmir is the only panacea available to promote and preserve their culture and language." More importantly, they adopted a holistic approach towards the issues facing different people inhabiting different regions and Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. "Find a solution to the Kashmir problem, but also resolve the problem of Jammu and Ladakh once for all," they, in fact, told the interlocutors. (To be concluded) |
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