To break the impasse over the demand for constitutional safeguards for the Union Territory of Ladakh, the Centre has offered protection under Article 371 to the region.
Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), representing political, social, and religious parties of Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh, put forth a four-point agenda for the region, which includes statehood and the Sixth Schedule, reservation in jobs for locals, two parliamentary seats — one each for Leh and Kargil — and a separate Public Service Commission (PSC).
The High Powered Committee (HPC) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which has been holding talks with delegates of LAB and KDA, has addressed most of the demands of Ladakh; however, the issue of statehood and the Sixth Schedule has proved intractable.
On September 24, four people were killed in violent protests in Leh after two people who participated in a hunger strike led by Sonam Wangchuk, noted climate activist and educator of Ladakh, against an inordinate delay in talks on statehood and the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh.
After the killings and violence, Wangchuk was arrested under the National Security Act for inciting youth to resort to violence. Dozens of people were also detained for involvement in the protests. The authorities also suspended the internet and imposed restrictions on all kinds of movement and business in Leh to restore calm.
At the same time, the MHA invited Ladakh leaders to calm down tempers. However, the LAB and KDA conditioned talks on the restoration of normalcy, a judicial probe into the killing of protesters and compensation for their families, and the release of all detainees, including Wangchuk.
Except for Wangchuk’s release, most of the demands were met by the MHA, paving the way for the resumption of talks. On October 22, delegates of LAB and KDA met officials of the MHA to discuss their demands.
Senior KDA member Asgar Karbalai said the MHA had shown a “positive approach”. He said the MHA officials mentioned several options to address concerns regarding constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, including Article 371. “They said they are open to all options and ready to hold discussions and also offered Article 371 for Ladakh,” he said.
Explaining the difference between the Sixth Schedule and Article 371, Karbalai said, “Under the Sixth Schedule, you get limited legislative powers related to finance, judiciary, and executive through an Autonomous District Council. Article 371 doesn’t provide that kind of autonomy. In both cases, an assembly is essential for implementation.”
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He added that Ladakh’s leadership sees statehood and Sixth Schedule protection as inseparable. “In a democratic setup, statehood represents the highest level of self-governance. India is a Union of States, and we want our place within that structure,” he said.
Rejecting any move to only strengthen the existing Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC), Karbalai said such an arrangement would not meet the aspirations of the people. “Offering assembly-like powers to the Hill Council is not acceptable. We are seeking genuine democratic and constitutional safeguards,” he asserted.
Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory in August 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370, which ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status. While the move fulfilled a long-pending demand of many in Leh for separation from J&K, it also stripped the region of its legislative assembly and constitutional safeguards available under the erstwhile state’s framework.
Since then, political, social, and religious groups from both Leh and Kargil have been demanding full-fledged statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides a degree of autonomy to tribal areas in the northeast through elected autonomous councils. The demand stems from concerns over land ownership, job security, cultural identity, and environmental protection in the ecologically fragile region.
