Govt talks under cloud as Leh body withdraws
The dramatic announcement came on the sixth day of curfew in Leh, where the funerals of two of the four people killed last Wednesday were held and local organisations called for the release of Wangchuk, who was held last week under the NSA
A top body of representatives in Leh on Monday pulled out of scheduled talks with the Union government on October 6 and another in Kargil said it was unlikely to join the negotiations as anger over the deaths of four people during a protest last week in Ladakh and the arrest of activist Sonam Wangchuk threatened to boil over.
The dramatic announcement came on the sixth day of curfew in Leh, where the funerals of two of the four people killed last Wednesday – a Kargil war veteran and a local man – were held and local organisations called for the release of Wangchuk, who was held last week under the National Security Act.
“We have unanimously agreed that the situation that is prevailing in Ladakh, keeping that in view, as long as peace is not restored and a conducive atmosphere is not created, we will not participate in any talks,” said Thupstan Chhewang, the chairman of Leh Apex Body (LAB), one of the two bodies leading the Ladakh protests.
“We will urge the home ministry, UT administration, and the administration to take steps to address the atmosphere of fear, grief and anger that is there,” added the two-time former member of Parliament in a press conference in Leh.
In Delhi, the other body leading the stir – the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) – was unlikely to join the October 6 talks, a KDA official said, and added that the restoration of statehood in Ladakh and the implementation of the Sixth Schedule (which gives a region some level of autonomy) remained “non-negotiable.”
Sajjad Kargili, the chief of the KDA, said the people in Ladakh felt let down by the government’s refusal to accept their demands, and that there was anger over the government’s response to “peaceful protests” which led to the death of four civilians and injuries to 100 others. “The way bullets were fired, and many were injured, there should be some accountability... This is a big example of why we need democracy,” Kargili said.
The Union home ministry said the government was always open for dialogue on “Ladakh matters” with the two bodies at any time and was confident that continuous dialogue would yield the desired results in near future.
“We would continue to welcome the discussion with ABL and KDA through the HPC on Ladakh or any such platform. The dialogue mechanism established with Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) through the High Powered Committee (HPC) on Ladakh has yielded good results till date in the form of increased reservations to the scheduled tribes of Ladakh, providing women reservation in LAHDCs and protection to local languages,” the statement said.
Violence flared up last Wednesday when four people were killed and around 100 injured in Ladakh during sweeping protests demanding full statehood for the Union territory and protections for jobs and land. Eyewitnesses said young protesters in their hundreds pelted stones, vandalised buildings and set the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office and a police vehicle ablaze. Police said it had to resort to lathi charge and tear gas shells to disperse the protesters but activist Wangchuk said police used lethal weapons.
The Union home ministry later said violence broke out at 11.30am on Wednesday and was brought under control by 4pm. “It is clear that the mob was incited by Shri Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements,” it said in a statement released on Wednesday night. On Thursday, the ministry said it cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of an organisation founded by Wangchuk, who won the Magsaysay Award in 2018.
On Friday, the police detained Wangchuk under the draconian NSA and flew him from Leh to Jodhpur. Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, said the government was spreading a false narrative.
The Union Territory of Ladakh was created on August 5, 2019 after the Centre effectively abrogated Article 370, which used to bestow special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and split the erstwhile state into two UTs – J&K with a legislative assembly and Ladakh without one.
Since then, a string of protests have rocked Ladakh and had echoes in Delhi. In February 2024, thousands protested in Delhi, Leh and other parts of Ladakh demanding statehood and safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
In 2023, the Union home ministry formed a high-powered committee under minister of state for home, Nityanand Rai, to discuss ways to protect Ladakh’s unique culture and language, considering its location and strategic importance. The panel, which included the members of the LAB and KDA — a collective of trade unions, tourist bodies, and religious and political groups — deliberated on protections for land and employment, and the empowerment of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil, and other constitutional safeguards.
Chhewang said the LAB had to leave for talks on Monday but chose to opt out of them. “We are sad. Seeing the situation in Ladakh now, we have decided that till the situation improves, peace and a conducive atmosphere is established, we won’t participate in any round of talks,” he said.
Co-chairman Chering Dorjay said that they demanded a judicial inquiry into the violence on September 24.
“The excessive use of force against our youth, opening of indiscriminate firing, there should be a judicial inquiry led by a retired Supreme Court judge into this. This is our and the demand of the whole Ladakh. We have proof that CRPF opened fire without any warning and without the nod of a magistrate,” Dorjay said.
“Many of our youth have been caught on roads, thrashed and slapped with false charges and put in jails. These are students and are no criminals. The workers of LAB and Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) work on a volunteer basis. LBA vice president, our apex youth president, women president, joint secretary have been slapped with false cases. We demand revocation of their cases and their immediate release,” he said.
In Delhi, Kargili said the two bodies gave a four point agenda to the government four years ago. “These include the demand for statehood, because since it has become UT, Ladakh has only the central government appointed bureaucracy and policies are being thrust on us… We want a federal structure similar to the rest of India. Ladakh needs attention as it has hostile neighbours China on one side and Pakistan on the other,” he said. The groups have also demanded two Lok Sabha seats instead of one.
Kargili said the promise of implementing the Sixth Schedule was made by the BJP ahead of the 2019 polls and the 2020 Leh hill council polls in its manifesto.
The Sixth Schedule includes provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and establishes autonomous councils that have legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers to govern these areas.
“More than 90% of the UT’s population is tribal…a former Union tribal minister had also recommended it. The sixth schedule is also important in view of the climate crisis in the Himalayan states, which can impact Ladakh as well. Besides, there is a big problem of employment and in the last six years, not a single gazetted job was provided,” Kargili said.
On the detention of Wangchuk, he said, “Ladakh was out of sight and out of mind, only a section of people knew about the problems, but after his arrest the whole world knows the situation on the ground.”
