‘Jammu Kashmir’, ‘Ladakh’ and the ‘Crane’ Chander P Mahajan While the Government of India repealed the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian constitution, through ‘Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019’; the legacy of ‘black necked crane’, the ‘State Bird’ of Jammu and Kashmir, is hanging fire. Is it likely that the bird jumps its position from being the ‘State Bird’ of Jammu and Kashmir to the ‘UT’s National Bird’ of its native Ladakh? In India, Eastern Ladakh is the only known breeding ground of the ‘black-necked crane’ outside of China. Amongst the tallest of the flying birds, It is the last of the world's cranes to be discovered by the scientific community. WWF-India in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Protection, Government of Jammu and Kashmir has been working actively for conservation of the species at various wetlands in Ladakh. It is revered in Buddhist traditions and culturally protected across much of its range. They return south again in late October and are able to fly over the Himalaya at incredibly high altitudes. Adult ‘black-necked cranes’ typically stand about 1.3 m tall and weigh 5-5.5 kg.
Jammu and Kashmir, consisting of three divisions: the Jammu Division, the Kashmir Division and Ladakh, is a region administered by India as a state since 1954, which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and China since the mid-20th century. After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947–1948, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided between India (who controlled the regions of Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh) and Pakistan (who controlled Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir POK). The Indian-administered territories became the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1954, with the presidential order of 1954. The Aksai Chin region in the east, bordering Tibet, has been under Chinese control since 1962. In October 1947, the then Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, signed an Instrument of Accession that specified three subjects on which Jammu & Kashmir would transfer its power to the government of India:1. Foreign affairs 2. Defence 3. Communications. In March 1948, the Maharaja appointed an interim government in the state, with Sheikh Abdullah as prime minister. In July 1949, Sheikh Abdullah and three other colleagues joined the Indian Constituent Assembly and negotiated the special status of J&K, leading to the adoption of Article 370.
