NEW DELHI: The deadlock between the Central Government and leaders of Ladakh appears to have been resolved as the first round of talks was held on Monday in Delhi between the leaders of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) and representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The HPC key representatives from the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) have been demanding separate statehood for Ladakh region, constitutional safeguards on the lines of the Sixth Schedule (Which grants autonomy to Tribal communities), formation of a separate Public Service Commission, reservation of jobs for the Ladakhis and creation of two separate parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil.
The MHA representatives have asked the delegates not to hold protests back home in Ladakh and assured them solution in a time-bound manner.
The meeting that lasted about two hours was chaired by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
These two organisations have been organizing public awareness campaigns at the block and village levels in Leh and Kargil to make people aware of how changes would affect them in future.
“We were mobilising people but now we have been asked to withhold protests and talks have started and the Centre has assured time-bound results,” Padma Stanzin, Student leader was quoted by the NDTV as saying.
“We stated our four-point agenda in front of the ministry. The minister heard us patiently and has asked us to submit our demands in writing before the next meeting,” former Lok Sabha MP Thupstan Chhewang stated, adding the next meeting is scheduled to take place after the winter session of Parliament gets over.
“We would be submitting our written representations. We hope that the government would positively respond to the concerns of the people of Ladakh,” political activist and representative of Islamia School, Sajjad Kargili said.
Concerns over recently announced industrial policy were also shared with representatives of the Centre. “We want to be a part of discussions and development which is taking place in our region. This policy was brought without consulting us and is also not good for ecology of the region,” stated Chhewang.
ABL and KDA – two groups were formed by the people of Ladakh in the two districts of Leh and Kargil after the Himalayan region was carved from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory in August 2019. This happened after the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to J&K, more than four years back.
ABL and KDA welcomed the decision of MHA for modifying the Terms of References and also inclusion of new members. The ABL and KDA members submitted a list of their demands seeking to protect rights of Ladakh Residents, Fast Track Recruitment processes, strengthening of LAHDCs, Greater participation in the decision making among other demands.
Many in Leh, after initial jubilation over the abrogation of Article 370, were angry over the decision and subsequently launched a mass movement seeking constitutional safeguards for Ladakhis.
Both KDA and LAB are conglomerates of various social, religious and political bodies that are at the forefront of the people’s movement seeking guarantees for protection of their rights from the central government for the region.
In the absence of the rights guaranteed under Article 370 and 35 A, concerns amongst the locals grew over the status of land and jobs and also over the fragile ecological balance of the mountain region that the locals believe faces exploitation in the absence of such rights.
The LAB and KDA had since planned a year-long protest to press for their demands.
MHA Official statement
An official statement issued through the Press Information Bureau said: “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs is committed to fast-track the development of Ladakh.
A meeting of High-Powered Committee (HPC) for Ladakh, under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai held in New Delhi today. Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) also participated in the meeting.
Nityanand Rai emphasized that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, the Ministry of Home Affairs is committed to fast-track the development of Ladakh and to meet the aspirations of the people of Ladakh. He added that “significant progress has been achieved after the formation of the Union territory in 2019.”
“Due to this historic step of the formation of the Union territory, governance and thereby developments have been brought closer to the people of Ladakh. He said that a number of initiatives like increasing the budgetary allocation for the UT, increasing funds provided to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils, ensuring all-round connectivity, developing infrastructures like mobile networks, roads, construction of new helipads, etc. have been undertaken at a much faster pace.”
Rai said that “the Government would continue to engage with the ABL and KDA and people of Ladakh for holistic and sustainable development of the UT of Ladakh on regular basis.”
“ABL and KDA welcomed the decision of MHA for modifying the Terms of References and also inclusion of new members. The ABL and KDA members submitted various issues pertaining to protection of rights of Ladakh Residents, Fast Track Recruitment processes, strengthening of LAHDCs, Greater participation in the decision making etc.”
Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted High Powered Committee (HPC) for Ladakh under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai, with a mandate to discuss-
Meeting open for discussion on all issue
Earlier, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had fixed December 4, 2023, for meeting with Ladakh leaders in New Delhi for further discussions on their demands and all other outstanding issues.
The MHA invitation came after Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) sent names of seven representatives each, who will be attending the meeting which will be chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai who heads the High-Powered Committee (HPC) on Ladakh.
“The meeting is scheduled to be held at Noon on December 4,” the officials said, adding the meeting will be open for discussion on any subject.
Seven members from LAB who were invited to attend the meeting included Thupstan Chhewang, ex MP and president Ladakh Buddhist Association, Chhering Dorjey Lakrook, former Cabinet Minister in erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Government, Nawang Rigzin Jora, Congress president for Ladakh and ex-Cabinet Minister J&K, Tsering Wangdus, president, Ladakh Gonpa Association, Ashraf Ali Barcha, president, Anjuman Imamia Leh, Abdul Qayoom, president, Anjuman Moin-ul-Islam-Leh and Padma Stanzin, president Student Union-LEAF.
Prominent among those from KDA include Qamar Ali Akhoon, Asgar Ali Karbalaie and Sajjad Kargili.
Four-point agenda of the LAB and KDA included grant of Sixth Schedule status and Statehood for Ladakh, two Lok Sabha seats-one each for Leh and Kargil- and job opportunities for the locals.
They have also demanded constitution of the Public Service Commission (PSC) for Ladakh but said if it can’t be constituted, Ladakh should be included in the PSC of Jammu and Kashmir on the pattern of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
According to one member of the KDA, they have stressed on the need that Ladakh Resident Certificate (LRC) should be made mandatory for all kind of recruitments.
Last meeting of the High-Powered Committee was held in New Delhi on June 19 this year after which the LAB and KDA had decided that they will attend next meeting only if their agenda is included in the talks.
Though the Central Government had earlier ruled out Statehood for Ladakh but now the MHA has briefed LAB that all issues can be discussed in the meeting, the official sources said, adding this has prompted LAB and KDA to accept the invite for talks.
After June 19 talks, another meeting of the HPC was delayed due to visit of Tibetan Spiritual Leader The Dalai Lama to Ladakh for nearly one and a half months followed by elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil.
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