Protest to depend on outcome of Ladakh talks: Sonam Wangchuk

Leh, February 21

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Sonam Wangchuk, a key campaigner for constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, said the proposed “fast unto death” protest will be reviewed next week, depending on the outcome of talks with the Centre over their various demands, including statehood to the Union Territory.

“We will call a very big public gathering in Leh city on February 26 to either thank the government for accepting the demands of the people of Ladakh or go for a fast unto death in case the talks fail,” Wangchuk, who was set to begin a hunger strike till death from Tuesday in support of the demands, said.

The Ladakh leadership, which is presently camping in the national capital, temporarily dropped the “fast unto death” programme after a fresh round of talks with the central government on Monday, terming the development as significant.

It said the Centre had agreed to discuss threadbare the demands for Ladakh’s statehood, inclusion of the Union Territory in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the setting up of an exclusive public service commission for the high-altitude region.

The agreement was agreed during a meeting between the High Powered Committee (HPC) for Ladakh, headed by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, and a 14-member delegation of the Apex Body of Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), representing various organisations of the Union Territory.

The meeting also resolved to constitute a joint sub-committee for carrying forward the exercise to look into the details of the demands. “We will wait till the February 24 meeting of the sub-committee and the return of our leaders to Leh on February 25. We will call a very big public gathering the next day in Leh city to either thank the government for meeting our demands or start our fast unto death in case the talks fail,” Wangchuk, a winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, said.

Among the demands of the delegation are two Lok Sabha seats — one for Kargil and one for Leh — and job opportunities for residents of the Union Territory. Ladakh currently has one Lok Sabha seat. Ladakh, which no longer has any assembly constituency, was earlier part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were abrogated on August 5, 2019, and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

According to provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, Jammu and Kashmir has been made a Union Territory with a legislative assembly and Ladakh a Union Territory without an assembly. The BJP-led Centre assured the delegation from Ladakh in December that it was committed to fast-tracking the development of the Union Territory.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) formed the HPC for Ladakh under Rai’s chairmanship with a mandate to discuss the measures needed to be taken to protect the region’s unique culture and language, taking into consideration its geographical location and strategic importance.— PTI

Will go on ‘Fast unto death’

We will call a very big public gathering in Leh city on February 26 to either thank the govt for accepting the demands of the people of Ladakh or go for a fast unto death in case the talks fail. — Sonam Wangchuk, activist