Thousands of people holding rallies in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region on Saturday, February 3, 2024, in protest against the constitutional changes brought about by the reading down of Article 370. Photo/Sajjad Kargili posted on social media.
Thousands of people holding rallies in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region on Saturday, February 3, 2024, in protest against the constitutional changes brought about by the reading down of Article 370. Photo/Sajjad Kargili posted on social media.
NEW DELHI: People in thousands held rallies in the headquarters of Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region on Saturday (February 3, 2024) in response to a call for complete shutdown against the constitutional changes brought about by the reading down of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
The call for complete shutdown in the region was called by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), two influential groups, which are spearheading an agitation to demand special rights for the people of Ladakh after the region was bifurcated and made a Union Territory from Jammu and Kashmir state in 2019.
The two groups, which are also a part of the High Powered Committee (HPC) constituted under the Ministry of Home Affairs with one Minister of State as its chairman, have been demanding the restoration of statehood for Ladakh, which was downgraded into a Union Territory without a Legislative Assembly in 2019. Additionally, they are seeking tribal status for Ladakh, with its inclusion in the constitution’s Sixth Schedule, job reservation for locals and a parliamentary seat each for the Leh and Kargil districts.
According to reports and developments posted on the social media platforms, a complete shutdown was observed in both the districts, with businesses suspending their routine activities, even in the remote towns of Zanskar and Nubra, while public transport remained largely off-roads.
In Leh, people gathered at Polo Ground on Saturday morning in response to ‘Leh Chalo’ call of LAB and KDA despite intense cold to participate in the rally and express their solidarity. Some demonstrators in the crowd waved the Indian flags, while others waived placards spelling out their demands, in what appeared to be the biggest public congregation in the region since 2019.
The organisers, members of the two bodies, claimed that the ground reverberated with intense sloganeering as the leaders of the two groups joined the demonstrations. A stage was set up from where some prominent Ladakhi leaders and activists made their speeches, urging the Union government to concede to their demands.
“Bahaal karo, bahaal karo (restore, restore),” a speaker screamed into the microphone to which the demonstrators responded in unison with: “democracy bahaal karo” (restore democracy). Besides, the placards “Ladakh demands 6th Schedule” were also prominent in the crowd.
Magsaysay Award winner Sonam Wangchuk, who was among the speakers, said that the Union ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government had promised to include Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule, after the reading down of Article 370. But, he said, they were dragging their feet from the promises made to Ladakhis.
He also referred to the BJP’s election manifestos for the 2019 parliamentary elections and 2020 Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) election, which reportedly advocated constitutional safeguards for Ladakh and its inclusion in Sixth Schedule.
“After these announcements, there is a complete silence (from the Centre). Those who speak of Sixth Schedule are being subjected to harassment. Now there are lobbies in the mining industry who want to destroy Ladakh. We are only demanding our constitutional rights and we will not rest until it happens,” Wangchuk said.
The education reformer and climate change activist, Sonam Wangchuk, was placed under house arrest last year, following a five-day fast in support of protection of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule. The Ladakh police had, however, denied the charge.
Later, the protesters took out a march from Sengge Namgyal square in the heart of Leh to the Deputy Commissioner’s office, covering a distance of about two kilometres. Throughout the march, they continued to chant slogans while displaying placards advocating statehood, inclusion in the Sixth Schedule, and restoration of democracy.
In Kargil, a simultaneous demonstration was held in Ladakh’s Kargil district with thousands of people participating in it. The demonstrators chanted slogans in favour of the Sixth Schedule and reservation in jobs for the people of Ladakh among other demands.
Slogans such as ‘Nahin chalegi, nahin chalegi, nainsaafi nahin chalegi (Injustice won’t work)’ and ‘Ladakh key tribal status ko, nafiz karo nafiz karo (pronounce tribal status for Ladakh)’ echoed during the demonstration in Kargil district. Some demonstrators were carrying placards which read: “We demand statehood.”
Chering Dorjay, one of the members of LBA and a former J&K minister, said that the outpouring of support for the shutdown call is a “clear message” to the Union government that it should concede the demands of the people of Ladakh.
“We are not demanding anything extra-constitutional. Tribal status is the right of the people of Ladakh. The Centre should respect our sentiments,” Dorjay, who resigned as the chief of Ladakh BJP in 2020, said.
On December 4, a committee formed by the Union home ministry had held the first round of talks with the leaders of LAB and KDA, without any significant breakthrough. While the committee had discussed “constitutional safeguards” for Ladakh during the meeting, the LAB and KDA have stuck to their four demands.
The second round of talks between the two sides is scheduled to be held on February 19 in New Delhi, according to an official announcement made by the central government while the rallies were being held in Ladakh region on Saturday.
The announcement said that the MHA has called a meeting of the HPC on Ladakh, chaired by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, in New Delhi on February 19.
This meeting is expected to discuss the issues jointly submitted by Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) to the MHA on January 16. Calls for complete shutdown in Ladakh by LAB and KDA led to the announcement for the meeting.
The HPC, initially constituted on January 2, 2023, underwent reconstitution on November 30, 2023, due to objections raised regarding its composition and agenda. The first meeting of the HPC took place on December 4, 2023. Subsequently, the MHA requested LAB and KDA to submit their agenda in writing, excluding certain points in the Sixth Schedule not relevant to Ladakh. Both bodies complied, submitting their agenda to the MHA on January 16, 2024.
However, no meeting was convened until social reformer Sonam Wangchuk and LAB called for ‘Leh Chalo’ on February 3, 2024.
The demands listed by LAB and KDA are expected to be discussed in the meeting, along with other issues raised by committee members. Headed by Union MoS Home Nityanand Rai, the HPC comprises LG Ladakh Brig (Retd) B D Mishra; Lok Sabha member from UT Jamyang Tsering Namgyal; Chairpersons-cum-CECs Leh and Kargil Hill Councils; Joint Secretary MHA Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh; Director/Deputy Secretary Ladakh MHA (Member Secretary) and seven representatives each from LAB and KDA.
The LAB representatives include Thupstan Chhewang, Chairman LAB, Chhering Dorjey Lakrook, Nawang Rigzin Jora, President Congress Ashraf Ali Barcha, Dr Abdul Qayum, Tsering Wangdus, and Padma Stanzin. The KDA leaders in the HPC are Asgar Ali Karbalai, Working President of Congress, Qamar Ali Akhoon, General Secretary NC, Sajjad Hussain Kargili, Sheikh Bashir Shakir, Skarma Dadul, Mubarak Shah Naqvi, and Syed Ahmed Rizvi.
A response addressing some of the Ladakh issues is expected from the MHA this month, well before the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct for Lok Sabha elections in the first week of March. The MHA might make announcements, including safeguards for land, culture, and identity.
It is worth noting that the BJP is not part of LAB and KDA, even though its Lok Sabha member from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, is a member of the HPC. CEC-cum-Chairperson Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council Tashi Gyalson, also a BJP leader, is part of the HPC.
Ladakh was separated from J&K and downgraded into a Union Territory without a legislature in 2019, when the Narendra Modi government read down Article 370, sparking concerns of political and economic disempowerment in the arid desert region bordering China and Pakistan.
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