Jammu: President of India Droupadi Murmu Sunday appointed the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Brigadier (Rtd) B D Mishra as the new Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
As per a press communiqué issued by the President’s Secretariat, the appointment has been made after accepting the resignation of the incumbent LG of Ladakh Radha Krishnan Mathur.
Mathur, a former Defence Secretary, was appointed as the LG of Ladakh in August 2019 after it was truncated from Jammu and Kashmir, which was stripped of its statehood and was also made a Union Territory (UT).
Mathur’s resignation came when Ladakh, referred to as the ‘cold desert’, is on the boil in the wake of agitation by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) representing Leh and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) representing Kargil.
They are agitating in support of their four-point agenda comprising demands of statehood for Ladakh and constitutional safeguard for its tribal people under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
As LG’s resignation came three days ahead of the joint call of the LAB and KDA for the march to Delhi on February 15, it (resignation) is being linked to the present turmoil in Ladakh.
‘3-Idiots’-famed noted social activist from Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk, who had earlier observed fast from January 26, demanding sixth-schedule for the cold desert, too has joined hands with the LAB and KDA.
Brig Mishra had taken oath as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh on October 3, 2017.
Born on July 20, 1939, to late Pandit Jagannath Mishra and late Dhirajee Devi in Benares in Uttar Pradesh, Brig Mishra is the former Commander of the Counter Hijack Force of the National Security Guard (NSG), popularly known as the Black Cat Commandos, who led a surgical strike on the Indian Airlines hijacked aircraft and after successfully eliminating the hijacker, rescued 126 passengers, nine infants and six crew members at Raja Sansi Airfield, Amritsar, on April 24, 1993.
He had received Commendation from the Prime Minister of India for this operation.
He holds MA degree from Allahabad University, MSc degree from Madras University, passed Staff College (PSC) with ‘Dagger’ from Defence Services Staff College, LLB degree from Delhi University and PhD degree from Jiwaji University, Gwalior.
He has been a faculty at College of Combat at Mhow and the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington.
After his training at Indian Military Academy, he was commissioned in Infantry, the Madras Regiment, on December 17, 1961.
He retired on July 31, 1995, after an illustrious Army career spreading over 33 years 7 months, with an extended service of two years, granted to him for his meritorious operational service.
He commanded an Infantry Battalion in Poonch Sector, on the Line of Control, from 1979 to 1981.
Brig Mishra commanded an Infantry Brigade as a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1988.
According to the press communiqué of the President’s Secretariat, besides LG Ladakh, the President had also accepted the resignation of Bhagat Singh Koshyari as Governor of Maharashtra.
Besides the appointment of Brigadier Mishra, the President Murmu appointed Lt General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, (Rtd) as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh; Lakshman Prasad Acharya as Governor of Sikkim; C P Radhakrishnan as Governor of Jharkhand; Shiv Pratap Shukla as Governor of Himachal Pradesh; Gulab Chand Kataria as Governor of Assam; Justice (Rtd) S Abdul Nazeer as Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh has been appointed as Governor of Chhattisgarh; Sushri Anusuiya Uikye, Governor of Chhattisgarh appointed as Governor of Manipur; La Ganesan, Governor of Manipur appointed as Governor of Nagaland; Phagu Chauhan, Governor of Bihar appointed as Governor of Meghalaya; Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Himachal Pradesh appointed as Governor of Bihar and Ramesh Bais, Governor of Jharkhand appointed as Governor of Maharashtra.
“These appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices,” the communiqué said.