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MANALI: After Ladakh Buddhist Association Youth Wing (LBAYW) have asked the Centre government to include Lahaul-Spiti district and Pangi region of Chamba in Ladakh, people of Lahaul-Spiti have started to express their resistance to the demand.
This matter has now become a major issue in the district. Even politicians have started to oppose the ‘unconstitutional demand’ of the LBAYW. Residents are going on social media to express their anger. While a large number of Buddhists from Ladakh, including members of the LBAYW, claim that Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi were part of Ladakh and that culture and religion of these areas are similar to those in Ladakh, and these should be merged.
However, the scholars from Lahaul-Spiti say the district was never a part of Ladakh and will always remain an integral part of Himachal Pradesh. After passing a resolution, the LBAYW has written to Union home minister Amit Shah in this regard for official notification of bifurcation of J&K into two UTs on October 31.
Former vice-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes Ravi Thakur said public opinion was necessary before taking any such step and not a single resident of Lahaul-Spiti or Pangi wanted to give this land to Ladakh. “This is not practical. We are already crying for development. The distance between two nearest villages Darcha (Lahaul) and Upshi (Leh) is nearly 250km and rest of the region between these two villages has no civilization. We seek development, not backwardness,” he said.
Thakur added that main demand of people of Lahaul-Spiti is to include district under Schedule six of the Constitution and make it an autonomous hill council. “This is possible because 100% population of our district is tribal. We are under no circumstances ready to leave Himachal and be part of Ladakh. As culture and religion of Zanskar valley of Ladakh is similar to Lahaul-Spiti and people of Zanskar are dependent on Lahaul for shopping, road connectivity and taking their agriculture produce to market, we shall welcome if Zanskar valley is included in Lahaul-Spiti,” Thakur added.
According to IG (retd) Paldan, another resident from Lahaul, the demand of inclusion of Lahaul-Spiti with Ladakh is full of foolishness. “We strongly demand to add our district to sixth Schedule of the Constitution and declare it autonomous hill council. The local issues can be resolved easily this way.”
In social media, residents of Lahaul blamed Ladakh for illegal intrusion into Himachal land at Sarchu and Shinku-la. Some said culture and religion in Lahaul-Spiti had diversity, which is not in Ladakh. Most views were based on the long distance between Lahaul and Leh.
Advocate Virender Thakur, secretary of the NGO Gramin Yuva Sangathan, Lahaul, said the LBAYW claims that Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi were part of Ladakh during Mughal and Dogra emperor era but reality was that major portion of Lahaul was the part of Chamba province. “We reject the proposal. Udaipur town (formerly known as Marul Margul) of Lahaul was named after Raja Uday Singh of Chamba. We are and we shall always remain part of Himachal,” he said.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shimla/residents-resent-ladakh-youth-wing-demand-on-including-lahaul-spiti/articleshow/71366647.cms