Civil society groups rally behind Ladakh’s demand for constitutional autonomy

Vikalp Sangam says provisions will allow Ladakhis to protect land, culture, and environment from unsustainable growth.

The statement released by Vikalp Sangam General Assembly and other networks expresses solidarity with Ladakhis’ demands for inclusion under the Sixth Schedule and statehood. | Photo Credit: PTI

Vikalp Sangam, a coalition of civil society groups, activists, researchers, and rights networks across India, has issued a statement expressing solidarity with the ongoing movement in Ladakh demanding constitutional measures to protect the region’s land, culture, environment, and economic interests.

The statement by the Vikalp Sangam General Assembly and other networks supports the key demands raised by Ladakhis—inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and full statehood. These provisions would enable greater autonomy for the people of Ladakh in determining development policies and exercising control over their natural resources, according to the statement.

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution ensures the administration of tribal areas to protect the rights of the tribal population, currently implemented in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. Following the repeal of Article 370 by the Centre in August 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, was passed and this resulted in Ladakh becoming a distinct Union Territory (UT) without a legislature.

The Sixth Schedule would allow the Kargil and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils to regulate land, minerals, tourism, and developmental activities as per local needs. Statehood is seen as critical for political empowerment. Both are considered vital safeguards for Ladakh’s fragile ecology, glaciers, and indigenous way of life in the face of potential unbridled industrial growth and demographic changes.

“We express shock about the way in which these demands… is systematically sidelined, with the central government dragging its feet and then finally rejecting them outright,” said the statement signed by over 85 organisations. “This is despite the party in power having promised 6th Schedule status when Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019.”

Hunger strike in Leh

Prominent activists like Sonam Wangchuk led a 21-day-long mass hunger strike in Leh from March 6 to March 26, battling harsh winter conditions to ramp up pressure on the government. The Vikalp Sangam statement expresses solidarity with those fasting and raises concerns over attempts to suppress peaceful protests through surveillance and intimidation tactics.

Frontline spoke to Ashish Kothari, a member of Vikalp Sangam who was involved in drafting the statement. “We released a statement in 2019 following the Centre’s announcement that Article 370 would be abrogated. So efforts to secure autonomy and statehood for Ladakh commenced then. The struggle is still in the early stages,” he said. Ashish added that this statement was based on two other statements released by Vikalp Sangam in 2019 and 2021.

There is fear among citizens that unregulated growth across sectors could destroy the balance that Ladakhis’ have achieved while pursuing their livelihoods, and exacerbate the glacial loss. This would impact the livelihoods of not just Ladakh’s people but of millions of Indians who depend on its waters.

Tsewang Namgail, a Vikalp Sangam member from Ladakh, told Frontline that since Ladakh was given UT status, the calls for statehood have been consistent. “As over 90 per cent of the population are tribal people, citizens believe that for their rights to be protected, a state legislative assembly is needed,” he said.

The statement argues that without constitutional protections, the decades-old trust of Ladakhis in the Union could be jeopardised, given their contributions to maintaining security in the sensitive border region. The coalition has urged the government to honour the aspirations of Ladakh’s indigenous communities, applying constitutional provisions like the Fifth Schedule as well.

Litmus test

Despite setting up committees to examine the demands, New Delhi has thus far refused to concede the key asks on the Sixth Schedule and statehood. How the central dispensation responds could prove to be a litmus test as protests intensify in the strategic Himalayan region.

According to the statement, the villages of Ladakh should be empowered under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. This would entail the application of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) to empower gram sabhas and not just panchayats. Empowering gram sabhas is considered essential for enabling local self-governance and direct involvement of Ladakhis in determining their present and future. Notably, both the Fifth and Sixth Schedules are stated to be applicable in principle to Ladakh, given that more than 90 per cent of the region’s population belongs to Scheduled Tribes.

Vikalp Sangam also noted that the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, “should be applied with the full empowerment of local communities”. This would enable pastoral and other ecosystem-dependent communities to secure their collective rights over landscapes essential for their livelihoods.

In the absence of constitutional safeguards, the statement noted that the Central government would disrespect the decades-old trust that local people have in the Union of India and disregard their role in maintaining security in our border areas.