Leh/Jammu: Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta on Friday described Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s unity movement as the “oxygen of the nation,” saying the Union Territory exemplifies Patel’s vision of national integration every single day.
Flagging off the ‘Run for Unity’ in Leh after administering the unity pledge on Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, Gupta urged people to make Ladakh “the laboratory of national integration.”
“Unity is not just a slogan but the oxygen of our nation. In Ladakh, we live Patel’s vision daily. The unity of faiths here — Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian — is a living model of national integration that Sardar Patel would have been proud of,” he said.
Gupta noted that when the tricolour flies proudly over the snowy peaks of Siachen Glacier and Pangong Lake, and people of all faiths live together as one family, it sends a strong message of harmony to the entire nation.
Calling Ladakh the “crown of India,” he hailed the soldiers guarding the Line of Control as “modern-day Sardar Patels” who protect this crown with courage and devotion.
“On Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, I urge our youth to take a pledge — let us make Ladakh the laboratory of national integration,” he said.
Highlighting the region’s harmony, Gupta said the mosques of Kargil and monasteries of Leh together represent India’s composite cultural spirit. Quoting Patel, he added, “Every Indian must forget that he is a Rajput, a Sikh, or a Hindu. He must remember only that he is an Indian.”
“As we celebrate National Unity Day on this sacred soil of Ladakh — where the Himalayas stand guard and the Sindhu River flows — we honour the great son of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the architect of modern India,” he said.
Gupta also recalled Ladakh’s historical role in one of the most challenging wartime supply operations, which ensured the defence and integration of the frontier region. “Our soldiers and citizens have since played a crucial role in keeping this Himalayan land an inseparable part of India’s geography,” he added.
