Ladakh gets new L-G amid stir over statehood

Amid strong resentment against the BJP for ignoring their demands of statehood and special status under the sixth schedule of the Constitution, the Centre on Sunday appointed a new Lieutenant Governor (L-G) for the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.

The President of India appointed Brig. (Dr) B.D. Mishra as L-G of Ladakh after accepting the resignation of his predecessor Radha Krishna Mathur, a 1977-batch retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who was appointed as the UT’s first L-G in October 2019.

Also Read: Cry for Sixth Schedule echoes in Ladakh

The President's Secretariat, in an official communication, announced the appointment of Mishra as the new L-G of Ladakh and accepted the resignation of Mathur, who was appointed as the first L-G in October 2019.

A day before the official communication, Mathur quietly left his office in Leh after saying goodbye to his staff on Saturday. “Mathur packed his bags and informed the staff that he was leaving, without citing any reason for the sudden decision,” sources said.

The move comes amid agitation by civil society groups in Ladakh- the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) that have been demanding several constitutional safeguards for the newly created UT. The two powerful bodies have announced a protest in Delhi on February 15.

Mishra, who was the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, is a retired Brigadier of the Indian army and the appointment of a non-political Governor is seen as a significant move to engage Ladakh leadership in a dialogue with the Center.

Also Read: Will not allow non-locals to settle in J&K: Altaf Bukhari

Mishra served in the Sino-Indian war, 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan besides playing a role in tackling the Naga insurgency movement in 1963-1964. The Retired Brigadier also fought against the LTTE as the Leading Brigade Commander of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Trincomalee in Sri Lanka during the period of 1987-1988.

On August 5, 2019 when the Center revoked special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two union territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh – for many in Leh district the decades-old demand for a UT had finally become a reality. Ladakh - the largest division in the erstwhile state - was made a UT without a legislature.

But jubilation on the creation of the UT faded soon with the locals claiming that the BJP government did little to fulfil its promise of awarding the special status to the strategically significant Himalayan territory, sharing borders with China.