Ladakh groups submit draft proposal to MHA seeking statehood, release of Wangchuk

Leh, Nov 18 (PTI) Ahead of their next round of talks with the High Powered Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ladakh representatives have submitted a draft proposal to the ministry seeking statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the Union Territory.

The 29-page document, submitted to the home ministry on Monday, has also demanded general amnesty for climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and others who were taken into custody following September 24 violence in Leh town.

The document has been jointly prepared by the leaders of Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).

On October 17, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had announced a judicial inquiry commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge into the violent clashes that left four persons dead and scores of others injured, thus accepting a major demand of the two agitating groups who also responded by resuming stalled talks.

Putting forward a case for full statehood with 30-member Assembly and constitutional safeguards under Article 371 and extension of the Sixth Schedule of Constitution, the draft noted that talks between the groups from Ladakh and the home ministry have been ongoing for four years and the ministry has been “largely accommodating and sensitive to the aspirations and concerns of the people of Ladakh”.

It demanded an unconditional withdrawal of all the cases against Wangchuk, who was leading a sit-in hunger strike in Leh over the demands, and was arrested under stringent NSA following violent clashes. The draft called for his immediate release for the talks to go further in a smooth manner.

“The extension of such a general amnesty would serve as a huge confidence-building measure that would reinforce the spirit of dialogue and mutual trust between the people of Ladakh and the government of India,” the draft proposal said.

It said such a gesture would also be in keeping with India’s long democratic tradition of reconciliation and goodwill.

“The government of India has, in the past, adopted similar approaches in the Northeast as well as in Jammu and Kashmir, where the withdrawal of cases and release of detainees played a pivotal role in restoring normalcy and strengthening public confidence in the Union’s intentions.

"Such a healing hand approach in the case of Ladakh shall ensure that Ladakh always remains the peaceful place it has been known for in the country as well as in the subcontinent,” it said.

The proposal includes two draft legislations - The State of Ladakh Act, 2025 for providing statehood, which proposes a state assembly with 30 seats, 28 of which would be reserved for members of the Scheduled Tribes of Ladakh, and The Constitution 129th Amendment Act, 2025 for protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

Making a case for protection under the Sixth Schedule, the draft said despite there being two hill councils with 60 local representatives, most of the power still lies with the UT administration, headed by the lieutenant governor. As a result, there is a huge void in the legislative autonomy, participatory governance, financial autonomy, and the powers to make legislation on customary and traditional laws, it said.

It stressed that there is a need to replace these Councils with Autonomous Development Councils on the lines of those under the Sixth Schedule.

The draft also noted that the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes made a formal recommendation to the government in 2019 for the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule owing to Ladakh’s predominant tribal population.

The draft Constitution Amendment Bill says the provisions of Schedule VI shall apply to the administration of the “State of Ladakh”.

It calls for the constitution of Ladakh Autonomous District Councils, with one autonomous district council for each district of Ladakh. It also presents a case for inclusion of Ladakh in Article 371 of the Constitution, and proposes its inclusion as 371K of special provision with respect to Ladakh.

The last meeting between the representatives of Ladakh and the Home Ministry sub-committee was held on October 22, which came after a near breakdown following the September 24 violence and subsequent arrest of Wangchuk. PTI AO TAS SKL KVK KVK