Ladakh contributed 4 seats to the J&K Assembly and one seat to the Lok Sabha. Obviously, no political party would go through the efforts of working to develop the region nor pay attention to peoples’ aspirations.

Below is a picture of the Srinagar-Leh Highway, which is one of the two roads which connects Ladakh with the rest of India.

Becoming a union territory is the greatest thing that has happened to Ladakh, but in order for Ladakh to maintain its culture and identity as well as develop into a vibrant centre of tourism it must ensure the following:

1. Ladakhi/Tibetan be made the official language of the territory replacing Urdu.
2. Improve literacy rate and education of people for development. As Ladakh has just a few hundred thousand people spread over a large area, combating illiteracy will be difficult but should follow a Himachal-like example.
3. Build modes of connectivity to Kashmir and rest of India that are efficient and promote transportation between the two regions.
4. Improve infrastructure within Ladakh that can accommodate tourism and influx of visitors as well as a growing population.
5. Continue strong presence of troops along LoC.

If Ladakh can ensure that these things be improved upon and implemented, it will be a prosperous and welcoming territory.

Jai Hind.