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| In Ladakh, Cong talks of full merger with India, in Jammu, it doesn't | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Feb 27: Your paper, Early Times, was the only paper that broke the great news yesterday. It was great news for the whole of the country in the sense that the Congress-dominated Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council in the cold-desert Ladakh said goodbye to the last symbol of the Jammu and Kashmir Government and adopted a new logo to identify the region and the people it houses with the national mainstream. The Council adopted a new logo on February 21st and the initiative was taken by one of the local Congress leaders. The logo is based on the national emblem of India.
The new logo is like this: Leaves, along with rising sun and mountains, in the background and Lion capital of Ashoka from Sarnath (National Emblem) in the middle. "National Emblem of our country is now our logo. Council has already adopted it and we are now giving it final touches to ensure that it represents Ladakh's administrative set-up in toto," the jubilant Congress leader has said. Great development indeed!
What the Congress in Ladakh did on that eventful day should not surprise anyone. The people of Ladakh have been struggling since November 1, 1947 to link their fate with India. They have been consistently demanding Union Territory status for the region. In November 1947, Head Lama of Kushak Bakula had made it loud and clear that the people of Ladakh would look towards Tibet (Tibet was independent then) in the event of New Delhi throwing in their lot with the Kashmiri leadership. His argument was that the people of Ladakh were vehemently opposed to idea of the state getting autonomy. The same year, the Ladakhi leadership had asked New Delhi to de-link Ladakh from the state and make it part of Himachal/Punjab, saying they had nothing to do with Kashmir and divisive autonomy demand and that they wanted to shape their socio-culture and politico-economic future within India and under the India Constitution.
In 1996, Rani Parvati, Queen of Ladakh and mother-in-law of the former MP and BJP leader Thupstan Shewwang had threatened that Ladakh would look towards China in the event of New Delhi not conceding their demand for Union Territory status. In between, the Ladakhis under the banner of Ladakhi Buddhist Association had launched struggle after struggle to force New Delhi to concede the UT demand. In October 1989, the Ladakhis took to the streets and brought everything in the region to a standstill to achieve the same objective. The region witnessed violence on an unprecedented scale, with the determined Ladakhis taking the law into their hands, attacking symbols of the state government and boldly and resolutely confronting the police. In the process, at least two Ladakhis laid down their life for the national cause and several suffered fatal injuries.
Hence, what the Ladakhis did on the epoch-making day (February 21) was consistent with what the Ladakhis had been doing since 1947. Compare their attitude with the attitude of the Jammu-based Congress Ministers and legislators and you would find the difference. You would find that while the Ladakhi leaders and people can go to any extent to ensure their identification with the nation, the Jammu-based Congress ministers and legislators can go to any extent to appease the Kashmiri separatists. A reference here to just one instance would be enough to put things in perspective. In 2007, Harshdev Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) moved a private member's bill in the assembly to the effect that there should be only one flag in the state and not two. He urged the assembly to delete from the state constitution that portion that dealt with the state flag so that the national tri-colour could attain the status it enjoyed across the country. At that time, it was the Congress that was leading the state government, with Ghulam Nabi Azad as the Chief Minister.
What did the Congress ministers and legislators do? They joined hands with the NC, the PDP, the People's Democratic Front and the CPI-M and defeated the private member's bill in no time. They shocked the whole of the nation by making common cause with the votaries of special status, based on religion.
It's time for the Jammu-based Congress ministers, legislators and leaders to imitate the Ladakhi Congress, which has shown them the way. It's a must considering the manner in which the Congress-led UPA Government is slowly but steadily retreating from Jammu and Kashmir in order to satisfy Pakistan and separatists and communalists in Kashmir. |
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