Gist of Rajya Sabha TV : Gilgit-Baltistan, An Integral Part of India

• • Pakistan is comprised of:
    • four provinces:

1. the provinces of Balochistan
2. Punjab
3. Sindh
4. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 

• • one federal territory

1. the federally-administered Islamabad Capital Territory.

Quick history of the region

• Before its independence, present-day GB was part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, one of the largest princely states of India.
• This state was created in 1846 after the signing of a treaty between the British and Gulab Singh of the Dogra dynasty.
• During the first Anglo-Sikh war (1845-1846), Gulab Singh, who was serving as the ruler of Jammu in the Sikh empire, chose to side with the British East India Company by remaining neutral.
• Acknowledging Singh’s loyalty during the war, in 1846, the East India Company sold Kashmir to him for 7.5 million rupees of that time.
• With this accord, Gulab Singh eventually became the first Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir had four units:
  • the province of Jammu
  • the province of Kashmir
  • the district of Gilgit
  • the district of Ladakh
• Present-day Baltistan was subjugated and annexed by Gulab Singh’s Dogra army earlier, in 1840, before the Treaty of Amritsar.
• In the new administrative set-up, Baltistan was made part of district Ladakh as Skardu tehsil.
• In 1935, the British took over the administration of Gilgit Agency from the Dogra ruler under a 60-year lease.
  • However, the Baltistan region remained under the direct rule of the Dogras.
• Two weeks before the independence of India and Pakistan, the British abruptly cancelled the lease.
• On July 30, 1947, the British offered the State of Jammu and Kashmir to take over Gilgit, as per the lease deed.
• On August 1, Brig Ghansara Singh took charge of the Gilgit Agency and the region fell under the control of the Maharaja.
• The Pakistani forces occupied Gilgit-Baltistan on November 4. Since then, Gilgit-Baltistan has been under Pakistan's administrative control.

Notable features of the region

• Gilgit-Baltistan is one of the most mountainous regions in the world that is rich with mines of gold, emerald and strategically important minerals.
• It is known for its extraordinary scenic beauty, diversity and ancient communities and languages.
• Gilgit is the only place in the world that is connected to 5 countries. Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India and Tibet – China.
  • When India was called Golden Bird, 85% of our trade was  through Gilgit. The land routes were connected to Central Asia, Eurasia, Europe, Africa, everywhere through Gilgit-Baltistan.
• Himalaya has 10 big peaks and 8 of these 10 are in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is home to K-2, the second tallest mountain in the world.
• The region is known for high altitude dams because of both local and Islamabad-driven initiatives. Mountain streams and rivers are often harvested for local community needs.
• The tradition of building dams and bunds dates back to the reign of Balti King Ali Sher Khan Anchan of 1580-1624, who built the famous bund at Satpara Lake, which helps in watering Skardu.
• The water-rich region’s biggest hydroelectricity project is the Diamer-Bhasha dam, which was launched in July 2020.

Strategic importance of the region

The region is an extremely fragile and significant one with three of world’s powerful ornery and daedalian powers along with a conflict-ridden nation encircling it.

• Strategic points: But apart from its mountains, glaciers and green plains, the region has something else of superfluous significance and prudence: its strategic points. GB is home to some of the world’s most important and contentious strategic points capable of creating unremitting embroilments and fracases.
• Volatility: The region holds extreme volatility and if gets subjected to desuetude can cause a ruckus in the entire regions of South Asia, Central Asia and China, ultimately affecting the entire world.
• Leading the war: Gilgit Baltistan’s geo-strategic importance is multi-folded, in case of a two-front war against India, to become the most critical point of the war, capable of drastically affecting and determining the outcome.
• Advance air force base to devastate enemy: An advanced Air Force base in GB can devastate the enemy’s confidence and steer the movement of conflict to India’s side.
• Warfare: High altitude points are still tremendously important aspects of warfare which can prove to be, if accessed properly, the big game changers.
• Countering China: The region is the key to the destruction of Chinese influence in South Asia; the string of China-Pakistan’s pearl necklace and also the Brahmastra for India against China. India controlling GB can turn out to be the worst nightmare for China and eventually for Pakistan too.
• Economic significance: The economic significance of Gilgit Baltistan is also embedded in its vast hydroelectric potential. Home to Indus and its 6 tributaries, hundreds of glaciers and lakes, including world’s second and third longest glaciers outside of polar regions, the rich water resource region has the potential of generating 40,000 MW of hydroelectricity. 
• Economic epicentre of trade: Gateway to Afghanistan, Tajikistan and rest of the Central and West Asia, the region of Gilgit Baltistan is a potential economic epicentre of trade.