Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Local sentiments: On the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil election

Local sentiments: On the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil election

The Centre must heed the political message of voters in Kargil

The National Conference (NC)-Congress alliance has pulled off a thumping (ज़बरदस्त) victory in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil (LAHDC-K) election, blunting (कुंद) the efforts put in by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over four years to expand its base in Kargil since it came under the direct rule of the Centre in 2019. This was the first statement made by the Kargil electorate after 2019. Ladakh, comprising Muslim-majority Kargil and Buddhist-majority Leh districts, was granted Union Territory (UT) status, as the Centre decided to end the special constitutional position of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and split it into two UTs on August 5, 2019. The BJP had won the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Leh elections, in 2020. Parties in J&K have called for early elections in the UT too. In Kargil, the NC won 12 seats and the Congress 10, in the 26-member council while the BJP had to be content with two. The election saw a 77.61% turnout, with a significant section of the migrant (प्रवासी) local population who worked and studied in parts of the country returning to cast their ballot. It is a reflection of how seriously these polls were viewed by the local electorate. Kargil has a total of 74,026 registered voters, spread sparsely (कम फैला हुआ) in the mountains.

In the last four years, Buddhists and Shia Muslims have jointly protested for special status for Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to protect land, culture, jobs, languages, and environment. Demands for reunification (पुनर्मिलन) with J&K or full statehood for Ladakh persist. The BJP had hoped to widen (बढ़ाना, फैलाना) its base in Kargil on the basis of its development initiatives, especially the expansion of road works, new educational institutes and reserving lower-rung jobs only for locals. The NC saw these elections as a referendum on the 2019 reorganisation (पुनर्गठन) of J&K. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who toured Ladakh on a bike for over a week in August this year, became the first senior leader from the party to throw his weight behind the demands of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), an amalgam (मिश्रण) of various socio-political-religious groups, for special constitutional guarantees on land and jobs and a separate Lok Sabha seat for Kargil district. At present, Leh and Kargil together form one Lok Sabha seat. The larger message sent by the voters in Kargil to the BJP is that the final status of Ladakh remains an emotive (भावनात्मक) issue. Also, the development push without special protections and constitutional recognition and an elected Assembly may not assuage the sentiments of locals in the region.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Sentiment (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - भाव, विचार
English Meaning - A view or attitude toward a situation or event; an emotion or feeling in response to something.

2.Thumping (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - ज़बरदस्त
English Meaning - Making a dull, heavy sound, typically one that is loud and rhythmic; extremely large or great in size, extent, or degree.

3.Blunt (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कुंद
English Meaning - Having a dull edge or point; straightforward and honest in speech or manner, often to the point of rudeness; not sharp or acute.

4.Migrant (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रवासी
English Meaning - A person who moves from one place to another, often to find work or better living conditions; a bird or animal that migrates seasonally.

5.Sparse (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कम फैला हुआ
English Meaning - Thinly dispersed or scattered; not dense or crowded; having few elements or items within a space.

6.Reunification (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - पुनर्मिलन
English Meaning - The act of reuniting or bringing together once again, often referring to the reunification of divided territories or people.

7.Widen (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - बढ़ाना, फैलाना
English Meaning - To make or become broader or more extensive in size or scope; to increase the width of something.

8.Reorganisation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - पुनर्गठन
English Meaning - The act of organizing something again or differently, often to improve its efficiency or structure.

9.Amalgam (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - मिश्रण
English Meaning - A mixture or blend of different elements, often resulting in a harmonious combination; a combination of metals, typically in an alloy.

10.Emotive (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - भावनात्मक
English Meaning - Arousing or relating to emotion; something that evokes strong feelings or emotional responses.

11.Assauge (Verb)

English Meaning - To make an unpleasant feeling less intense; to satisfy or relieve a need or desire.