Bharat’s government released the maps of the newly created Union territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh on 2nd November, 2019. Along with the individual maps, a map of Bharat illustrating the two Union territories was also released.
Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs had said that the Union Territory of Ladakh will consist of two districts of Kargil and Leh while the remaining of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir will be included in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Formerly, the State of Jammu and Kashmir formed in the year 1947 comprised of 14 districts which have now been reorganised into 28 districts in 2019.
Leh district of the new Union Territory of Ladakh has been laid down in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2019, to include the areas of the districts of Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhas and Tribal Territory of 1947 together with the remaining areas of Leh and Ladakh districts of 1947, after carving out the Kargil District.
Earlier on Friday, IAS Officers Girish Chandra Murmu and RK Mathur were appointed new Lt Governors of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh respectively.
The two Union Territories came into existence on October 31. Modi government had abrogated provisions of the controversial Article 370 that had granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is part of the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, while Gilgit-Baltistan is in the Union Territory of Ladakh in the fresh maps released by the government.
So far, the initiatives of Modi government 2.0 have been commendable as far as the Kashmir problem is concerned. They have been more or less what was promised to us in the manifesto, but there’s more to be done. The special status that the former state enjoyed must be taken apart brick by brick and it is no easy feat to achieve.
The left establishment has continued to rant on lack of channels of communication in the Union territories, but we must understand that until the transfer of power has been smoothly concluded and the looming threat of terrorist activity has considerably subsided, unbridled communication via internet and other modes is detrimental to the general population of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Union territories.
The fact that Kashmir housed a hostile insurgency where Pakistan-backed Jihadist activity was rampant must not be forgotten. The residents of Kashmir were themselves seen acknowledging this fact and begged the Government of Bharat to restore normalcy in the valley. A handful of them even accepted the fact that they had never known what peace was like.
The separatist leaders who are now fuming about their possible loss of livelihood with funding being stopped from the sponsors of ‘Ummah’, and apparent arrest and trial for waging a war against the state by providing a breeding ground for Jihad in the valley, need to be contained as well.
All of this will take considerable time and giving the Government an acceptable time frame to complete these obligatory tasks in order to neutralise enemies and return normalcy to the region is a must for all responsible citizens of Bharat.
After all, Rome was not built in a day.
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