The Leh Apex Body (LAB), on Monday, urged the Centre to hold talks on Statehood and the Sixth Schedule urgently, instead of on 16 October, in view of the ongoing hunger strike in Leh led by noted climate activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk.
The delay in inviting Ladakh leaders for talks after the last round on May 27 had created anxiety in the region, leading Wangchuk to announce a 35-day hunger strike. He had observed a similar strike last year, which culminated at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on October 2.
Addressing a press conference, Chering Dorjay, co-chairman of the LAB, comprising religious and political bodies of Leh, welcomed the invitation for talks by the home ministry but stressed that talks should be held this month.
He said earlier the dates for the talks were decided in mutual consultation between them and the ministry's high-powered committee led by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, but this time they were not consulted.
“Talks should be held this month only, instead of 16 October,” he said. “People have come to participate in the hunger strike from as far as the Tibetan border to show solidarity with us.”
The other members of the LAB who spoke were Sonam Wangchuk, Sonam Parvez, and Ashrad Ali Barcha, representing the Christian and Muslim communities of Leh.
Wangchuk said if the home ministry wished, talks could be held in three days. “There was no need to hold talks after 16 days. The delay will cause difficulties,” he said.
He added that their agitation for constitutional safeguards for Ladakh is not new. “A similar situation existed in 2022 when the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LADHC), Leh elections were round the corner,” he said. “When the people of Leh threatened to boycott the polls, a special plane was sent from Delhi to fly the leaders of Ladakh to Delhi and talks were held the next day.” He added that the same could happen now, and talks could be held in three to four days.
“A long wait of 16 days for the talks to take place will be very troubling for the people who have come from the India–Tibet border,” he said.
When asked about the government’s call to suspend the hunger strike for talks to begin, Dorjay said suspending the strike without achieving anything would be very difficult.
“This is why we are pressing for holding talks urgently, because the people are getting impatient,” he said. “Hunger strikes are peaceful, but when people become impatient, they are difficult to control.”
When asked whether they were optimistic that the upcoming talks would resolve all issues or would be like the previous ones where nothing happened, the co-chairman said whenever talks are held, one has to go with a positive attitude. “Otherwise, why hold talks in the first place,” he said. “We are hopeful that the Centre will realise how important it is to resolve this issue and that an acceptable solution will be found.”
Wangchuk warned that if the Centre tried to beat about the bush, it would face a setback in the upcoming LAHDC election in Leh.
He said that it was being said the BJP might postpone the elections or dissolve the LAHDC for fear of losing.
“That would be unfair and foul play,” he said. “A good fighter believes in fair play and I hope such a situation will not arise,” adding, “If the BJP comes good on the promises made to the people in 2020, the whole of Ladakh will make them victorious with a huge mandate. That’s why we are hopeful that this time the talks will be meaningful.”
He said the youth wings were talking about intensifying the agitation in different ways.
He expressed hope that all issues would be resolved peacefully and nothing would happen that could become a reason for embarrassment for India.
“India’s Constitution took only two years to complete, but in the last five years since Ladakh was granted Union territory status, only issues related to jobs have been addressed,” he said.
Dorjay said they understood that talks take time to conclude, but they should continue and not stall.
To a question on whether they had received any assurance on statehood and the Sixth Schedule in the last meeting in May, he said they did not get what they had asked for.
“Whatever was decided in the meeting was with everybody’s consent, except our MP, who gave a note of dissent. Later, he too came on board,” he explained.
He said that now they would only talk about statehood and the Sixth Schedule.
“Other demands, like domicile, have been resolved,” he said.