Quite disappointing
After months of negotiations, Ladakh representatives agree to meet Union minister on December 4
Ten months after the Union government formed a high-powered committee to discuss measures to protect Ladakh’s “unique culture and language”, sociopolitical representatives from the region have agreed to attend a meeting with Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai scheduled to be held in the national capital on December 4.
The meeting comes after months of backchannel negotiations between the Centre and the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). The names of the committee members — a key sticking point earlier — have been finalised.
Ladakh has been witnessing protests for greater autonomy after it became a Union Territory without a legislature in August 2019.
The organisations that led the protests had sought a four-point agenda in the committee’s mandate — statehood for Ladakh, safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, reservation of jobs for the youth of Ladakh and creating separate parliamentary constituencies for the two parts of the region — Leh and Kargil.
A source involved in the discussions with the groups told The Indian Express that for the Centre, “anything short of the Sixth Schedule is on the table” and that the Centre was keen to take the discussions with the groups forward.
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution provides for the establishment of autonomous councils with special powers.
A January 2 Union Home Ministry order had cited Ladakh’s geographical location and strategic importance while constituting the high-powered committee. The panel’s mandate also includes “ensuring the protection of land and employment for the people of Ladakh”.
Representatives of Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil regions had refused to meet with the Centre owing to a disagreement over the meeting’s agenda as well as some of the members named by the Home Ministry.
In June, six members representing both regions had met with the MoS for Home to discuss measures to address the resentment in Ladakh. The agitation helped the National Conference-Congress alliance in Kargil sweep the recent hill development council polls.
For the December 4 meeting, the ABL and the KDA have forwarded seven names each which include senior Congress leader Asgar Ali Karbalai, senior NC leader Qamar Ali Akhoon, political activist and KDA member Sajjad Kargili, Skarma Dadul and Sheikh Bashir Shakir.
“We are going to attend the meeting with the same four-point agenda we had drafted earlier. We welcome the move and are ready for dialogue with an open heart and mind. On December 4, the people of Ladakh will reiterate four crucial demands: statehood, Sixth Schedule, job reservations and PSC, and representation in Parliament for both Kargil and Leh,” Sajjad Kargili said.
The region is currently represented by one member of Parliament and 30 members each in its two hill development councils.
Naveed Iqbal – 2023-11-26 03:13