JK News Today
Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Brig.( Retd) B D Mishra , a veteran who fight on several fronts during his active military career , has been appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh , one of the most sensitive and strategically crucial regions in the country , as an indication of the Centre’s fresh moves to bridge gaps between the people of the region and Delhi . the differences had erupted because of the UT administration led by the LG Radha Krishna Mathur , had ignored the local people’s concerns. Mathur was recalled on Saturday and President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday morning issued orders appointing Bog. Mishra as new LG of the region.
R K Mathur , who was the first LG of the region when it became Union territory in October 2019, as a sequel of the abrogation of the Article 370 and split of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August that year.
The change indicates the sensitiveness of Delhi toward Ladakh region and the people . It has come at a time when the united leadership of lah and Kargil districts had mounted pressure on the Centre to empower it by sixth schedule of the Constitution , and also increase its political space . A five-day fast by leading social reformist Sonam Wangchuk proved trigger for intensification of agitation . the Ladakh groups had given a call for Delhi Chalo and they were planning to press the Centre to concede their demands . They were set to stage a sit-in- at Jantar Mantr in Delhi on February 15.
This change has also come at a time when the region is faced with external threat due to the Chinese troops staring down the eastern Ladakh for the past nearly three years , and internally it is witnessing volatility owing to the anger od people against what they call anti-people policies . They are agitated because of the suppression of their calls for grant of their rights to enable them to protect their identity with exclusive rights over their land, jobs, resources and the local protective mechanism to save and preserve their culture and traditions .
Brig. Mishra has had first- hand experience of dealing with the situation on borders, as he had fought during the 1962 Indo-China war in 1962, and Indo- Pakistan war of 1965 and even Bangladesh war of 1971 . He is 84, and will be celebrating his 84th birthday in July this year.
Ladakh is a changed place , and it puts extraordinary responsibilities on new LG , as a lot of unfinished work has been left for him by his predecessor . There are other tasks awaiting the new LG.
The most crucial task is to bridge the gap between Delhi and Ladakh .
It will be seen as to how he manages to repair the rifts between the Centre and Ladakh . As the first task would be to calm the agitated minds of the people, who have become distrustful of the authorities about their land and rights . They believe that the authorities in the UT administration have disregarded their sentiments about the land and resources . They believed that the authorities were deaf to their demands .
Centre has taken first major step by removing R K Mathur , for it was believed that under his administration the local concerns were being sidestepped . This had created a lot of misunderstandings which led to the gaps.
