Khursheed Wani
SRINAGAR: The Opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is contemplating to launch a stir in Buddhist-dominated Leh district to revive the demand for Union Territory (UT) status for the mountainous region in Jammu and Kashmir.
The party leadership is taking a cue from Telangana Statehood and proposed UT status to south Indian city of Hyderabad to mobilize public opinion in Ladakh. The region had witnessed a similar stir in 1989, which took a separatist and anti-Kashmir turn, threw up a new leadership and eventually culminated into formation of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC).
However, 24 years down the line, the UT demand has lost lustre as most of the leaders consider LAHDC as an effective alternative. The demand has remained Leh-specific and failed to evoke response from Muslim-dominated Kargil district, which is almost half of the post-1947 Ladakh, parts of which are occupied by Pakistan and China.
A senior BJP ideologue and former MP Thupstan Chewang has declared that he would launch “hunger strike” in support of UT demand for Ladakh after Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama concludes his meditation in the region. Dalai Lama is meditating in the region for past one month and is scheduled to leave by August 24. Chewang spearheaded the 1989 stir and for many years continued to rule the roost in the region. He became the first Chief Executive Councilor of LAHDC Leh in 1995.
“We will launch massive hunger strike in favour of UT demand after August 24. We will seek cooperation from several political and religious groups”, Chewang declared at a public rally.
Interestingly, Chewang’s sidekicks in 1989 stir, have left him to join Congress that has significantly marginalized his influence. His former confidante Nawang Rigzin Jora is a powerful Minister in Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet and is holding the Cabinet Minister’s rank in continuously for the last three dispensations in Jammu and Kashmir since 2002. Even as the Leh Congress has not officially dropped the UT demand, its leadership is not actively pursuing it.
Sources in the Leh Congress said that the BJP was desperately attempting to raise passions in the region but the party leadership has lost ground to make any impact. “The humiliating defeat of the BJP in the last council elections is a testimony that this party is not acceptable to Ladakhi people”, a senior Congress leader said.
Interestingly, the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF), which ruled the district between 2003 and 2008, was merged into BJP in 2008 but it faced a complete rout in the council elections. Subsequently, Thupstan Chewang himself lost the 2009 parliamentary elections. “We have not given up the UT demand after merging into the BJP. In fact, the BJP’s central and state leadership recognizes and supports UT status for Ladakh. We will continue to strive for the demand”, Chering Dorje, former CEC and senior BJP leader said.
(The author is senior correspondent, Daily Pioneer)
