Visuals of thousands gathering in Leh, demanding their right to statehood, and observing a complete shutdown in the union territory of Ladakh have been doing rounds on social media. These videos show people in large amounts coming together and protesting in freezing temperatures to press their four major demands- statehood for Ladakh, inclusion of Ladakh in the sixth schedule of the Constitution giving it a tribal status, job reservation for locals, and a parliamentary seat each for Leh and Kargil.
A video from the protest can be viewed here:
BIG BREAKING
The Biggest protests by the citizens of Leh and Ladakh.
Narendra Modi’s Godi Media won’t even show you a clip of what’s going on in the border states .pic.twitter.com/Lzkq15nYGH
— Ravinder Kapur. (@RavinderKapur2) February 4, 2024
#WATCH | Leh, Ladakh: Thousands brave the freezing cold as they march demanding statehood for Ladakh and protections under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution for the Union Territory. (03.02) pic.twitter.com/gwsiGZBxXc
— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2024
The said protest, named as ‘Leh Chalo’, took place on February 3 on the joint call for shutdown raised by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). These two civil society bodies have been advocating for Ladakh’s statehood and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which makes special provisions for administering tribal areas.
As per a report of the Indian Express, as the citizens were gearing up for observing the shutdown on Saturday, on Friday, the Union had announced a second round of meeting of high-powered committee set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to address the demands of the people of the region since its split from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The said talk has been scheduled for February 19, 2024. The 15-member committee comprises eight members from the government, including Lieutenant Governor Brigadier B D Mishra (Retd), Ladakh BJP MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, chairpersons of the Autonomous Hill Development Councils of both Kargil and Leh, and officials of the MHA. The committee was chaired by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai.
This announcement came after the first round of talks were held on December 4, 2023 wherein MHA had sought a list of demands from the two aforementioned civil bodies in writing.
ANI took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to share the statement made by Haji Ghulam Mustafa, the legal adviser of Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, during the protest. He has been quoted as saying, “Ever since Ladakh has become a UT, Apex body and KDA have had a demand on the four-point agenda. All our powers which were people-centric have weakened. When we were a part of Jammu and Kashmir, we had four members in the assembly and two in the legislative council. Now we have no representation in the assembly.”
The video can be viewed here:
#WATCH | Ladakh: Legal Adviser of Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance Haji Ghulam Mustafa says, “Ever since Ladakh has become a UT, Apex body and KDA have had a demand on the four-point agenda. All our powers which were people-centric have weakened. When we were a part… pic.twitter.com/op0x6Oablo
— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2024
It is essential to highlight here that as per the report of the Indian Express, the union government has been urging the two organisations, who joined forces in raise their demands in the year 2021, to end its protests in and outside the region.
The demands of the people of Ladakh:
Notably, on January 23, the aforementioned two organisations had also submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Ministry, demanding statehood for Ladakh, and status under the Sixth Schedule. In the said memorandum, reference has been made to precedents of states like Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and other north-easterns states and the protection enjoyed under the Sixth Schedule and Article 371 of the Constitution of India has been emphasised upon. According to a report of the India Today, a draft of a bill for amending the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019 to provide statehood to Ladakh had been submitted by the representatives.
In addition to this, the memorandum had pointed out that tribal communities like Balti, Beda, Bot, Boto, Brokpa, Drokpa, Dard, Shin, Changpa, Garra, Mon and Purigpa form a major chunk of population in Ladakh and deserved to be protected under the Sixth Schedule. It also demanded a Ladakh Public Service Commission, stating that opportunities for the gazetted posts for the students of Ladakh have become limited as there is no such provision at present.
Related:
Massive protest in Delhi by Bharat Mukti Morcha with one demand- REMOVE EVMs, SAVE DEMOCRACY
Protest in Delhi: Indian state unleashing ‘undeclared, undocumented’ war on Adivasis