Tasaduq Hussain
Ladakh, Sep 01: A day after the fresh Chinese bid to change status quo in Pangong Lake was thwarted by Army, the religious as well as the political leaders in the Ladakh Union Territory Tuesday claimed that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) will have an impact on the entire country.
The political as well as the religious leaders from the Union Territory while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) stated that staying alert and vigilant could have prevented the prevalent situation in eastern Ladakh.
The political leaders said that the people here aren’t bothered in any manner nor affected due to the stand-off in the eastern Ladakh but there will be impact across the nation if a war like situation arises.
Former minister of Ladakh Affairs, Chering Dorje said that the approaching winters amid the India-China standoff in the eastern Ladakh isn’t the cause of worry for the locals because they always remain ready to face any challenge as they remain cut-off with the rest of the country.
“The people living in the areas close to the LAC aren’t scared of anything. Such a situation has emerged for the first time after 1962 war and now India is well prepared to deal with the situation,” he said.
Ladakh’s top Buddhist leader, Rigzin Spalbar told KNO that the serious situation at present and in the year 1962 has huge differences as this time India is well equipped to protect the sovereignty of the country.
He, however, said that the war like situation would impact the entire nation and not only the people in Ladakh. “The vital installations across India would come under the attack of China. It will not be the people of Ladakh only who will suffer due to the situation and even China will suffer huge loss due to the Indian retaliation,” Rigzin said.
The top Buddhist leader said that nobody is in favour of war as it would lead to the destruction and cause deaths from both sides. “We should be ready to face any challenge even amid the diplomatic as well as political process to resolve the issues,” he said, adding that “we should not take things for-granted at a time when there is no trust as China has deceived us time and again so far.”
He said that the local population has always supported the nation and there is no denial that people have always stood by the nation. “India needs to take a strong stand against China’s aggression and in case India fails to do so, such attempts will happen again and again in the future,” he said.
However, senior political leader and Congress president of Leh unit, Tsering Namgyal spoke contrary, saying in case of any untoward incident, people living close to the LAC must be evacuated to safer places.
“In case of war in the region, Ladakh will suffer immense loss in every manner and it’s the matter of serious concern that after 1962 war, such a serious issue has taken place and people are concerned,” he said—(KNO)
