Ladakh‘s UT Status Leaves Many Happy, Some Confused

Chewang Dolma, who retired as a matron from a government hospital in Leh, had joined a crowd of jubilant people in the streets of Leh on the day the Centre announced a Union territory status for Ladakh. “People were dancing in the streets, and rejoicing in markets. Ladakhis had been struggling for over 70 years to see this day,” Dolma said. “We were emotionally overwhelmed. I am very happy that now we will finally be a Union Territory.” Dolma, 68, a fourth-generation Ladakhi, earlier worked at the Sonam Nurboo Memorial Hospital and now runs Lyon Hotel at Changspa in downtown Leh, a hub of tourists.
Emotions expressed by people like Dolma is ostensibly a dominant feeling in Leh district of Ladakh, evidenced in streets and market places. In Leh‘s main market, a beautiful pedestrianized space, huge cloth banners have been displayed, bearing messages like: “Thank you, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for making Ladakh a UT” and “Ladakh celebrates its 1st Independence Day”.A prominent roundabout in streets carries a banner put up by activists that reads: “Ladakh freed from Kashmir”.A separate Union Territory has been a long-standing demand of locals, many of who have alleged that the Ladakh region had been neglected by leaders of Jammu and Kashmir.