From Ladakh to Uttarakhand: Why the Himalayas Need Protection

— Vidya Bhushan Rawat —

The demand for special protection of the Himalayan state is a long one locally everywhere right from Ladakh to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and seven sisters in the North Eastern part of India. Everywhere the native people face threat from outsiders, buy their land and control the resources. The government created Schedule VI for the purpose of protection of these states by forming hill council but these were meant only for the North Eastern States of India. The most vicious exploitation happened in the northern parts of India. All the three states like Ladakh, Himachal and Uttarakhand were part of the ‘bigger’ state. Ladakh got mixed with the larger issue of Jammu Kashmir and people outside rarely knew that this Himalayan state have a different perspective and life style than the main land. Himachal, though, carved out of Punjab yet still dominated economically by the Chandigarh elite for all practical purposes. The economic exploitation in the name of development is now showing sign of frustration with nature rejecting all these developmental models.

Uttarakhand was exploited under Uttar Pradesh for long though the state had Chief ministers Govind Ballabh Pant, H.N.Bahuguna and Narain Dutt Tiwari, all brahmins, led Congress government in Uttar Pradesh. They were least bothered about providing special status to the region. Uttar Pradesh that time had tribe regions apart from Uttarakhand, Bundelkhand and Sonbhadra regions but the Schedule Tribe population in Uttar Pradesh was deliberately never done properly. A State like Madhya Pradesh had Scheduled Areas under the Vth Schedule but Uttar Pradesh never had that. Why ?

The areas never got developed. Nobody thought of opening of schools and hospitals in the remote areas but after the 1990s as India became more ‘powerful’ ‘economically’ the same ‘backward’ looking regions became the most sought after regions. The powerful corporate lobby started eyeing those areas. Initially, the governments had a bit of shame and public pressure but today that is not the case.

With lala media in your pocket, you can make any one as anti national. Only those getting fat money from Ambani-Adani are the nationalists. All others who raise voice for their rights including petty jobs in the government or protecting their sacred zones become anti national. With this corrupt media and then paid social media warriors with active support of the government machinery who are more eager to bring ‘foreign connection’ on everything.

Sonam Wangchuk story is the same. One may or may not agree with him but it is also a fact that his work has influenced Ladakh. He is a respected person of the region who is speaking of protecting the Himalayas. What is wrong with that ? If we want to speak about whether the demand Sonam is raising is right or wrong, it should be the people in Ladakh and not among those who are eagerly waiting to exploit them. The so called national media which I now call lala media with their paid experts will only speak to protect the interest of those who are their paymasters. Let the media speak to only local people, local experts and then you will realise. What the Dalal media does to speak about Ladakh, will speak to few uncles and aunties in Connaught Place or Greater class and make such a statement as if those speaking for their rights are violating the law. They create such fake narratives. Rather then speaking those who are affected and in their own spaces, the Delhi’s Manustream media only paddle fake narrative and shamelessly spread it across. It want us to digest those fake narratives but thankfully, people are now realising that the biggest threat to the rights of the people and democracy in India is these dalal media.

Sonam Wangchuk may be running an organisation or getting the funds for which he is accountable to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Income Tax Authorities and every one but he is also a citizen of the country. We all are the citizen of India first and any other thing later. If anything happen to our language, our state, our country, our identity, our ecology, environment, our mountains, our rivers, we need to speak up irrespective of what we do whether salaried or non salaried. How can any person speaking for protecting environment, ecology of the state could be termed as anti national And how quick the official went on to bring the Pakistan connection. Interestingly, at Ladakh, it is not Pakistan but China which is the biggest threat. Even for creating a fiction, the authorities need to learn how to do it.

It is time, the government must think over seriously. Ladakh or Himachal or Uttarakhand are India’s border states with China and they need fullest protection. We have protected our borders. These are the only regions where the Indian army have the fullest support in terms of even participation in the armed forces. Will the government allow to do it. Sonam Wangchuk or not, the issue is protect the ecology of these region and protect the rights of the native communities. Yes, you cant enter and enslave the people in the name of your vicious developmental agenda and then handing over our land to the cronies. People will speak up to protect their native land. Government of India must not drag on. Stop mindless excavation of the mountains, engage with local native communities and protect these special regions in the greater security interest of India.