Merger wish deepens Leh-Kargil divide as Ladakh’s Buddhist-Muslim unity comes under fresh strain

 Sonam Wangchuk said he was disturbed by Kargili’s statement and asked Kargil-based leadership to condemn or distance themselves from remarks

Muzaffar Raina, TT, Srinagar, 12.05.24 : Ladakh’s Buddhist-Muslim unity has come under fresh strain after Kargil leader Sajjad Kargili favoured re-merger of the region with Jammu and Kashmir if separate statehood for the cold desert was not possible.

Kargili wrote on X on Friday that they have been fighting for a four-point agenda, including statehood and Sixth Schedule status, for the last three years but regretted that the Congress has not clarified its position on the statehood for Ladakh in its manifesto but supports the Sixth Schedule status demand.

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“It’s necessary for the government to decide: grant us statehood or contemplate merging #Ladakh with J&K again when reinstating statehood to #JammuAndKashmir. With this UT setup, people across Ladakh are not happy,” he said on X.

The region’s top Buddhist leader, Sonam Wangchuk, who recently led a weeks-long fast for statehood and the Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh, on Saturday said he was disturbed by Kargili’s statement and asked the Kargil-based leadership to condemn or distance themselves from the remarks.

Speaking to a local social media channel, Wangchuk said Kargili should have spoken to the residents of Kargil before making such a contentious demand.

“Since he is a leader of KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance), I think he should have first asked the people of Kargil whether it was their demand or his personal views. I think he is doing it at somebody’s behest. It is a loaded statement, which would create gaps between Leh and Kargil. I want to send a message to Kargil to avoid such things which will deepen the divide between Leh and Kargil,” Wangchuk said.

He added that other leaders of Kargil should also condemn the remarks or distance themselves from it. “If they don’t condemn it and if it is indeed people’s desire, we respect it with heart,” he said, adding it will not be a good thing for Ladakh though.

He said Kargil and Leh were his two eyes with one language, culture and identity.

“But if you still want to go with Jammu and Kashmir, Leh will be a UT and Kargil will become part of Jammu and Kashmir. If it is really so, we shall raise such a demand but I hope there is no such demand. That is why Kargil residents and leaders should clarify whether it is Sajjad sahab’s or Kargil’s desire or somebody is tutoring him so that there are divisions between Leh and Kargil,” he said.

Kargili shot back saying he was not expressing his opinion but as a representative of the Jamiat ul Ulama Isna Asharia, a major religious group in Ladakh.