Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Srinagar: Cabinet Minister and National Conference senior member Javid Rana on Tuesday asserted that Ladakh will once again become part of Jammu and Kashmir, stating that the reunification of the region is inevitable despite recent political changes.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Rana said the Government of India will eventually be compelled to restore a united Jammu and Kashmir, as history, geography and popular sentiment cannot be altered permanently.
He dismissed remarks by a BJP MLA suggesting that Jammu could be carved out as a separate state, calling such claims misleading and detached from ground realities.
The minister said there has been no demand for a separate Jammu state from the Pir Panjal or Chenab regions. He emphasized that people from these areas continue to identify themselves with a united Jammu and Kashmir and have consistently rejected the idea of bifurcation.
Referring to history, Rana said Jammu and Kashmir existed as a full fledged princely state before 1947. Following Partition, large portions of the state came under Pakistani control, while parts of Ladakh were later occupied by China after the 1962 conflict. He noted that despite these setbacks, Jammu and Kashmir continued as a single state within the Indian Union for decades.
Rana recalled that Ladakh was separated from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated and the state was bifurcated into two Union Territories Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. He described the move as a political decision taken without public consent and said its long term consequences are becoming increasingly evident.
Expressing confidence in future political developments, Rana said the current arrangement is temporary and will not withstand democratic pressure. He maintained that the collective aspiration of the people across regions remains unity, and asserted that Ladakh will eventually return to its historical and political association with Jammu and Kashmir.
He concluded by saying that attempts to redraw identities through administrative orders cannot erase shared history, cultural links and regional interdependence.
