Leeway To Ladakh

Kashmir sees political message as Leh gets more autonomy.

- Naseer Ganai in Srinagar

FOR all the upheavals in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh by and large manages to stay away from the limelight and the headlines. The no-news-is-good-news adage fits well with the region, tucked away in the farthest north of the country, amid Himalayan mountain ranges where even the summers are mildly cold and the snow lies deep through the brutal winters. So, it was no surprise that the rest of the state—and the country—hardly batted an eye when governor Satya Pal Malik last week approved a bill that gave more powers to the two autonomous councils of Ladakh and Kargil.

For most people in the Valley, the empowerment of the councils is but an extension of their own aspirations for greater autonomy, which lies at the heart of the Kashmir issue. While a section of the right-wing sees the special status to the state as the flashpoint of militancy, a majority of Kashmiris—including regional political parties—insist that the state’s relation with India rests on its autonomy. The National Conference has even warned that if Article 370 goes, all other presidential orders passed since 1950s will also become redundant and reopen the debate around the issue of Kashmir’s accession to India.