Let us make Ladakh the laboratory of national integration: L-G Gupta

Flagging off the 'Run for Unity' in Leh after administering the unity pledge on the 150th anniversary of Sardar Patel, he urged people to make Ladkah "the laboratory of national integration".

He said, "Unity is not just a slogan but the oxygen of our nation. In Ladakh, we breathe his vision every single day. The unity of faiths here – Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian – stands as a living model of national integration, a model that Sardar Patel himself would have been proud of." Today, when the Tricolour flies proudly over the snowy peaks of the Siachen Glacier and Pangong Lake and all the faiths live here like one family, it sends a strong message to the entire nation, Gupta said.

The lieutenant governor described Ladakh as the "crown of India" and said that every soldier guarding the Line of Control (LoC) in the high-altitude region is a "modern-day Sardar Patel" safeguarding this crown.

"On Sardar Patel's 150th birth anniversary, I appeal to our youth to take a pledge – let us make Ladakh the laboratory of national integration (of this nation)," he said.

He said the region reflects the melodies of harmony and unity, where mosques in Kargil and monasteries in Leh together represent the spirit of India's composite culture.

Quoting Sardar Patel, The lieutenant governor said, "Every Indian must forget that he is a Rajput, a Sikh, or a Hindu. He must only remember that he is an Indian." Gupta said that as the region celebrates National Unity Day, "we stand on the sacred soil of Ladakh – where the mighty Himalayas stand guard and the Sindhu River flows, whispering eternal tales of unity".

Since 2014, Sardar Patel's birth anniversary on October 31 has been celebrated as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' or National Unity Day, he added.

He said people from all communities have gathered here to celebrate this day of national integration. "On this occasion, we remember that great son of India – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is rightly known as the architect of modern India and pay our heartfelt tribute to him," Gupta added.

It was here that one of the most challenging wartime supply operations in history took place, ensuring the defence and integration of this vital frontier, he said. "Our soldiers and citizens have since played a vital role in keeping this Himalayan land an inseparable part of India's geography," the lieutenant governor said. PTI