Meeting with Centre hanging fire, key Ladakh outfits ready plan for Delhi stir
Apex Body, Leh and Kargil Democratic Association accuse MHA of “apathy” and sitting over their proposals for statehood and Sixth Schedule, which they say are “deepening trust deficit” in Ladakh
The proposed protest of the key representative bodies of Ladakh is learnt to be driven by their perception that the Centre has been “apathetic” in taking forward the dialogue process with them. (ANI Video Grab) More than three months after a Leh protest demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh turned violent, leading to the deaths of four people in police firing, the two leading civil society bodies from the region are preparing to launch another agitation – this time possibly in Delhi.
The proposed protest of the key representative bodies of Ladakh, the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Association (KDA), is learnt to be driven by their perception that the Centre has been “apathetic” in taking forward the dialogue process with them.
Both the ABL and the KDA maintain that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not scheduled any meetings with them to discuss issues affecting the people of Ladakh since their last meeting in October last year.
On November 14, the representatives from the two bodies handed over a proposal for statehood and Sixth Schedule for Ladakh to the joint secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh division of the MHA.
“We have heard nothing from the Union Home Ministry since. We don’t know if they intend to hold another meeting on our issues. If this continues, we will have no other option but to organise a peaceful protest again. It could be in Ladakh or Delhi,” ABL co-chairman Chhering Dorje Lakruk told The Indian Express.
KDA sources told The Indian Express that the outfit was more in favour of holding their proposed joint agitation in Delhi. “In the aftermath of September violence, we met MHA officials on October 22 following which we handed them our proposal in November. The MHA told us it would get back to us in two-three days after studying the proposal. It is more than one-and-a-half months since then, but we have still not heard from the MHA. No meetings are being scheduled. This is the same attitude that led to the September violence. We have not yet decided a date, but we have no option but to go for another agitation, this time in Delhi,” sources said.
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On Sunday, KDA leader Sajjad Kargili hinted at this in a statement. “One hundred days have passed since the detention of Sonam Wangchuk and other Ladakhi leaders, along with a complete halt in dialogue with Ladakh’s leadership. Such continued disengagement risks compelling people to resume peaceful protests. We urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to immediately resume dialogue and avoid deepening the trust deficit in Ladakh,” he said.
Earlier, in a public gathering, KDA co-chairman Asghar Karbalai said the MHA was sitting over their proposals, which were presented on its demand. “The government is testing Ladakh’s patience. It is using all tactics possible. Do not fall for its tricks. They want to drive a wedge between Leh and Kargil. They want Buddhists and Muslims to fight. They want to weaken ABL and KDA. When we threaten agitation, MHA requests us not to go to the people and says it is ready for talks. But when we give our proposals, they sit on it,” he said.
The outburst of the ABL and the KDA is also being seen as linked to the emergence of a new Buddhist group, Voice of Buddhist Ladakh (VBL), in the region. The VBL, formed on January 1 this year, has staked its claim to representing Ladakh’s Buddhist community in the ongoing Centre-Ladakh talks, accusing bodies like the ABL of not being a representative body in the Buddhist-dominated Leh.
On their part, the ABL and the KDA leaders have alleged that the VBL has been propped up by the Ladakh administration to weaken their agitation.
In a statement, Chhering Dorje Lakruk said, “The administration has given them (VBL) a free hand. They regularly make social media posts with communal overtones. They are trying to create divisions between Buddhists and Muslims. If anyone else was doing this, police would have booked them. This is all being done with a preconceived plan.”
The ABL-KDA leaders submitted a detailed proposal to the MHA on November 14 to seek statehood for Ladakh along with Sixth Schedule protections, arguing that the region has been left “politically disenfranchised” since it was converted into a Union Territory (UT) without a legislature in August 2019, when the Centre scrapped special status for J&K and split the then state into two UTs – J&K and Ladakh.
The document states that their prolonged talks with the Centre have yielded “partial outcomes” – like an agreement on domicile-based employment – but stalled follow-up talks and recent unrest have deepened “public mistrust”. Citing the deaths of four youths and multiple arrests in the wake of protests in September, the groups have sought a general amnesty, including the unconditional release of activist Sonam Wangchuk, as a confidence-building measure to restore dialogue.
Making the case for statehood, their proposal points to Ladakh’s historical representation in the erstwhile J&K legislature, its strategic importance, and the proven functioning of elected hill councils over the past two decades. It argues that statehood would strengthen democratic governance, ensure political representation across newly created districts, and empower locals whose knowledge of the terrain is vital for national security.
The ABL-KDA’s proposal includes a draft Ladakh state legislation, detailing the structure of a 30-member Assembly with extensive Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservation, parliamentary representation, a common High Court with J & K, and clear arrangements for its assets, services, and finances.
The document also presses for the Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh, noting that over 90% of its population comprises the STs. It proposes replacing existing hill councils with Autonomous District Councils for Leh and Kargil, vested with legislative, executive, and financial powers over land, resources, culture, environment, and local development. It cites constitutional provisions and past recommendations of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, arguing that the Sixth Schedule protections are essential to safeguarding Ladakh’s land, demography, and cultural identity in the post-2019 situation.
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