Although people of Ladakh are generally happy with it’s Union Territory status, a long-pending demand, there is a feeling that they have been made a pledge in a larger political game.
Ladakh, surrounded by magnificent mountain ranges and nurtured by the mighty Indus river, has less in common with New Delhi, it’s new master, than it did with Kashmir, it’s once co-administered region. The high plateau, away from the disturbance of mainstream Indian politics for centuries, was pushed into the spotlight when in a historic decision New Delhi unilaterally decided it’s fate.
Of the many reasons for this uneasiness, the primary one was the complete absence of any consultation with the Ladakhis before the declaration by the centre. The second reason was that the UT status would be without a legislature. This meant that there would not be any Legislative Assembly or any MLA’s from Ladakh hereafter. Many saw this as a reduction in Ladakh’s negotiating power vis-a-vis the centre when compared with state’s of the Union.