The Union Minister has moved a bill in Rajya Sabha to give union territory status to Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir. The government will make Ladakh union territory without legislature like Daman and Diu while Jammu & Kashmir will also become union territory with legislature like NCT of Delhi.
People of Ladakh and Jammu have been very vocal in demanding to trifurcate the state. They claim that they have nothing to do with anti-national movements going on in the valley. They also allege that the focus of the Delhi and J&K government is always on Kashmir. Other areas of the state are a pariah for the establishment of the state as well as of the centre. The demand for separate state has been very high in Ladakh region.
All Religious Joint Action Committee (ARJAC) leaders passed a resolution demanding union territory status for Ladakh. In a memorandum to Prime Minister, ARJAC leaders had said, “Ladakh is fundamentally different from Kashmir in all respects — culturally, ethnically and linguistically. Over the years the successive governments of the state have adopted a policy of discrimination and subversion towards the region with the sole objective of stifling its people and marginalizing its historical, religious and cultural identity.”
The ARJAC leaders further said, “In modern times, when the whole subcontinent has passed through the process of decolonisation to enjoy the fruits of national Independence, we, the people of Ladakh, and our land still continue to suffer under the old concept of colonial administrative structure, which suited the imperial interests and feudal rulers under the name of the pseudo-state of Jammu & Kashmir.”
The ARJAC leaders further added, “Nationalism remained a dominant ideological creed and became a rallying force among the Ladakhis to fight back the Pakistanis and the Chinese who made frequent bids of conquer our land in 1948, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 wars. The jawans of Ladakh Scouts played an exemplary role in decisively foiling the enemy’s misadventures.”
The ARJAC memo further stated, “Our humble submission is that we are neither the problem nor part of any problem involving the state. Rather we are the solution. We firmly believe that all of us live only if India lives. Our commitment to patriotism is firm and unequivocal. Our people and soldiers have never hesitated to make supreme sacrifices in the discharge of their duties towards the country. We shall never fail the nation.”
It would help in providing better administration to neglected regions of Jammu and Ladakh, boost the development of other areas, would give more autonomy to the other regions to run their own affairs, the resources and taxes collected from Jammu will be used for the betterment and development of Jammu, Ladakh being a union territory would get funds directly from the Central government and could spend it in developing tourism in the region in order to generate revenues. And, the most important things, the trifurcation would also help in gaining a strategic advantage against the fight against cross-border terrorism and infiltration.
