Ladakh pins hopes on Feb 4 talks with Centre over long-pending demands

Ahead of a High-Powered Committee (HPC) meeting between the Union Home Ministry and Ladakh leaders scheduled for February 4, residents and political leaders in the region are hopeful that the talks will lead to an “amicable solution” to their long-pending demands for statehood and Sixth Schedule.

The upcoming meeting will mark the first high-level engagement between Ladakh leaders and the Centre since last year’s violence in Leh, in which four people were killed and nearly 90 others injured during protests seeking statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh.

As sub-zero temperatures grip the region and the meeting draws closer, the proposed talks have started to become a point of discussion in Leh.

“This is a major meeting since last year’s incident. Everyone is waiting and hoping that the Government of India will listen to our leaders and agree to the demands,” said Stenzin, a businessman in Leh. He added that locals were hoping for a “breakthrough” on core demands.

The HPC, chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, was constituted three years ago to hold talks with Ladakh-based groups led by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). The last meeting of the committee was held in May, while another meeting scheduled for October last year was deferred following clashes in September.

Since then, Ladakh leaders have submitted a draft proposal outlining key demands, including statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the Union Territory, after a series of subcommittee-level discussions with Home Ministry officials.

Ishey Namgyal, general secretary of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), said the prevailing sentiment among locals was that a solution must emerge from the next meeting. “The government should listen to the demands of the people and result-oriented talks should be held,” he said.

Sajjad Kargili, a leader of the Kargil Democratic Alliance, said recent meetings with Home Ministry officials had yielded no major outcomes. “Because there have been no major outcomes on the core demands of the people, including statehood and Sixth Schedule status, there is a sense of resentment among locals. Now, we expect that at least amicable solutions will emerge on the basic demands in the next meeting,” he said.

Meanwhile, the emergence of a new group, the ‘Voice of Buddhist Ladakh’, has drawn attention in Leh. While its members claim that the interests of the Buddhist community are being ignored and inadequately represented, the Leh Apex Body has alleged that the group was formed to weaken its position ahead of the talks.