Government to form committee to protect culture, land and language of Ladakh

The Central government has decided to form a committee for the protection of the language, land, and culture of the Ladakh region and for ensuring the participation of the citizens in the Union Territory’s development.

The committee by the government will be headed by G Kishan Reddy, the Minister of State for Home, and will also include elected representatives from the Central government, Ladakh, Ladakh administration, and Ladakh autonomous hill development.

The decision of forming the committee has been taken by the government in light of the need for the protection of Ladakh’s unique cultural identity.

A 10-member delegation from Ladakh meets Home Minister:

The decision of forming the committee came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah met a 10-member delegation from Ladakh. During the meeting, the delegation expressed their views about the need for protecting the unique cultural identity of the Ladakh region.

The delegation from Ladakh also talked about the strategic significance and geographic location of Ladakh and mentioned its demographic changes as well as the need to generate more employment opportunities for the people in the region.

Government committed to the development of Ladakh:

The Home Minister, Amit Shah assured the delegation that the government under PM Modi is entirely committed to the development of the Ladakh region and for protecting its fascinating culture and land.

He further added that the central government has shown its commitment by fulfilling the long pending demand of Ladakh’s citizens for granting it the status of the Union territory.

Ladakh declared as Union Territory:

In August 2019, the Indian parliament passed a reorganization act which contained the provisions of reconstituting Ladakh as a Union Territory. This step separated the region from Jammu and Kashmir on August 31, 2019.

Under the terms, the UT is administered by the Lieutenant Governor who acts on behalf of the Indian government. It does not have an elected Chief Minister or legislative assembly.

The demand to make Ladakh a separate UT was first raised in 1955. Within the first year of Ladakh being declared as a separate UT, there has been a 4 times increase in its annual budget allocation.