A movement has been going on in Ladakh to protect its fragile ecosystem and its cultural identity by raising a demand for inclusion of Ladakh in the VI Schedule of the Indian Constitution for the last two years. The Bhartiya Janata Party had in its election manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha elections included this as the third item for Ladakh region.
The BJP also made the same promise in Autonomous Hill Development Council elections in 2020. But now it has gone back on the promise. Sonam Wangchuk, the face of this movement now, sat on a fast for the first time in 2023 and now he is on his fifth fast. Every time he increases a week in the duration of fast. The ongoing fast has been announced for 35 days and it began on 10 September, 2025.
The movement is being coordinated by Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). Leh and Kargil are two districts of Ladakh, the former being Buddhist dominated and the latter Muslim dominated. So far the two organizations have demonstrated excellent unity for their common purpose. The People’s Movement for VI Schedule for Ladakh collasced into Leh Apex Body, formed in 2020, which is a body with representation from all social, religious and political organizations, except the ruling BJP.
The Chairperson of LAB is Thupstan Chhewang, a former M.P. and Jigmat Paljor is its coordinator. The movement in Kargil is being coordinated by Kargil Democratic Alliance which was formed in 2021. There is a monthly meeting between the two orgnaisations to work out the strategy for the movement. Sajjad Kargili, a core committee member of KDA, is its most visible face.
It is noteworthy that in 2022, the Shia Muslims ended a 42-year old dispute in Kargil by giving a land for construction of Buddhist monastery. Hence every attempt is being made to preserve Buddhist-Muslim unity.
Sonam Wangchuk has been joined in the fast by Tsering Angchuk, Tsering Tanba, Chhring Mutup, Tsering Namgal, Ama Chocho, Stanzin Chospel, Tashi Dolma, Tsering Lanzes and Shazia Parveen. Martyr’s Park, which is formally known as Memorial Park, in Leh is the venue of the fast.
The movement demands (1) to include Ladakh in the VI Schedule of the Constitution of India, (2) full statehood for Ladakh, (3) its own Public Service Commission and (4) two Lok Sabha seats – one for Kargil and another for Leh. Since the dilution of Article 370 and revocation of 35A in 2019 now the natural resources of the region are open to exploitation by outside commercial interests and cultural identity of Ladakh, which itself is very diverse given the nature of geography of the region, is under threat.
Ladakh being part of fragile trans-Himalayan ecosystems all facing the brunt of climate crisis, the need for VI Schedule protection becomes even more urgent. Worst is that decisions about allocation of these resources will be taken by authorities sitting outside Ladakh.
There are two Autonomous Hill Development Councils – one each for Leh and Kargil – but they are hardly autonomous. They are often overruled by appointees of the Union government, the Lieutenant Governor and senior bureaucrats. Out of the Rs. 6,000 crores budget for Ladakh, the LAHDCs get to spend only Rs. 600 crores. The rest is spent by the LG and officials. Hence full statehood is required for Ladakh so that it can have its Assembly but this Assembly should not remain subservient to the LG like we’re witnessing in J&K.
An empowered Assembly is required in Ladakh as well as J&K and that can happen only if full statehood is granted to the two Union Territories. There have been no new appointments at Gazetted posts for the past 6 years in Ladakh. Bureaucrats from outside are running the Union Territory. Hence, there is an urgent need for a Public Service Commission for Ladakh. Ladakh is such a big geographical area that one MP cannot possibly look after the entire area, hence two seats are proposed.
The 40,000 acre solar park at Skyangchuthang, also known as Pang, that the government is planning to build in pasture land. If this plant is indeed constructed it’ll bring people from outside in large numbers are workers. This will, in addition to being a burden on the fragile ecosystem of Ladakh, change the demographic profile of the region, becoming a threat to Ladakhi identity.
The co-chair of Leh Apex Body, former MLC and minister in the J&K government, Chhering Dorjey, talks about the importance of people in border village in nation’s defence. He said people living in Delhi and Mumbai watch the war on TV but for people living in border areas there is no choice but to get involved.
They have to carry luggage for soldiers, bring food for them if they are running out of supplies and sometimes also sit all night on vigil with them merely to give them company. If the government will make people living in border areas unhappy how does it expect to receive the support which people so naturally provide today?
The highhanded manner in which Union Government is treating the movement of Ladakh is condemnable. Not implementing what is agreed in formal meetings, for example, the reservation system in recruitment for government jobs, adopting delaying tactics, trying to divide the movement based on religious or ethnic grounds and taking vindictive actions against activist Sonam Wangchuk only speaks of the mean ways of the government.
Recently the government has cancelled the lease of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh, the alternative university set up by Sonam Wangchuk and has sent ED and CBI to carry out investigations of his institution. A FIR on the charge of sedition has also been registered against Sonam Wangchuk. The government is treating Sonam Wangchuk like an opposition party leader.
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