Prominent local weather activist Sonam Wangchuk. File
| Photo Credit: S.R. Raghunathan
Prominent local weather activist Sonam Wangchuk mentioned on Friday that he would fast unto death in sub-zero temperature if the talks between civil society leaders of Ladakh and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officers on Saturday did not succeed. He mentioned that the federal government beneath the “influence of industrial lobby” does not want to ensure constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.
“These lobbies want to exploit Ladakh, like what they have done in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where the locals are now paying a price,” Mr. Wangchuk advised The Hindu.
He mentioned it was a fable that inclusion beneath the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution would hamper improvement. “It will give local people a say in development. It will ensure councils of indigenous tribal people who must be consulted in all projects and the management of Ladakh. Presently, the Lieutenant Governor can allot openings for minings and industries to whoever he wants. This is what the Ladakhi people fear the most,” he mentioned.
The members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) are anticipated to meet senior MHA officers on Saturday.
The LAB and the KDA, representing the Buddhist majority and Shia Muslim dominated areas respectively in Ladakh, are demanding Statehood for Ladakh and the inclusion of Ladakh within the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which is able to give it a tribal standing, job reservation for locals and a parliamentary seat every for Leh and Kargil.
Mr. Wangchuk mentioned he would start the quick in Leh if the federal government did not agree to talk about their calls for.
“We expect the people of India to support Ladakh because it is a just cause, it’s about the truth of what we were promised, truth of what these people who are sitting on the border with two hostile countries have done for the nation. They expect some support from the nation,” he mentioned.
Mr. Wangchuk, an training reformer whose work impressed the Hindi film 3 Idiots, mentioned that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had gained two elections prior to now on the promise of granting Sixth Schedule of their celebration manifesto.
“We seek support from the whole nation to support our struggle for truth. If this is how manifestos are treated, this is a big threat for all elections to come and for all the people of India,” Mr. Wangchuk mentioned.
The MHA and the civil society teams have had two rounds of talks thus far, on December 4, 2023 and February 19.
“In the first meeting, they asked the leaders to submit the demands in writing. In the second meeting, the talks almost broke down as they started talking about enhancing the financial powers of the hill councils. On Saturday, we are expecting concrete solution from the government,” he mentioned.
He mentioned that Article 370 of the Constitution which had protected the area was now not there and now Ladakh was a Union Territory with no legislature.
“We demanded a UT but it came with no powers to the people. We actually lost all the MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) we used to have in J&K; there is no public representation in how policies are framed or managed. We are now left with much less power at the democratic level. They should grant Statehood or at least UT with Legislative Assembly,” he mentioned.
After the Centre determined to finish the particular standing of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&Ok) beneath Article 370 of the Constitution, it was break up it into two Union Territories, J&Ok and Ladakh, on August 5, 2019. Ladakh has a inhabitants of 2.74 lakh (2011 Census). The UT has erupted in protests a number of instances prior to now 4 years amid considerations round safety of land, sources and employment for the locals and bureaucratic overreach.