An Open Letter To The Citizens Of Ut Ladakh

Dear friends, I understand and appreciate your sense of elation on the prospect of becoming part of a Union Territory shortly and at the opportunity of transforming Ladakh into an all-encompassing region of your dreams. But in this moment charged with stupendous excitement, it is but human to make hasty choices which may well trivialise Ladakh’s ancient civilisation, irretrievably. I am least qualified to suggest how you may shape your future, but I do have a copy of a letter provoked under similar circumstances from the history of the US, which is perhaps a very pragmatic guide for Ladakhis in all walks of life, both at this juncture and for the future.

Back in the 19th century, 1854 to be precise, US President Franklin Pierce had made an offer to one of the leaders of a Native American tribe, Chief Seattle, that if he were to make over a large area of native land to the US Government, they will transform it into a modern ‘reservation’ for the ‘Indian people’, much like the promise of ‘development’ presently held out for UT Ladakh by the J&K State Reorganisation Bill. So, when business conglomerates move in to look for land for myriad development infrastructures, the wisdom eradiating from Chief Seattle’s response to ‘The Great White Chief’ in Washington deserves your total attention: