SRINAGAR: Former Member of Parliament Thupstan Chhewang will lead a Buddhist delegation in discussions with the Union government regarding Ladakh’s request for Sixth Schedule status and statehood, following climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s ongoing hunger strike. The Leh Apex Body (LAB) announced on Tuesday that it will allow religious representatives, led by Chhewang, to take charge of the talks, stepping back from political party involvement. Chhewang resigned as LAB chairman on July 5, with Wangchuk assuming the position two days later, which fueled speculation about his role in the negotiations.
Wangchuk began a 35-day fast on September 9, claiming the central government has stalled dialogue on restoring democratic rights for Ladakh. The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, designed for tribal areas in the Northeast, offers special protections concerning land, culture, and resources through autonomous councils. Since the 2019 bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories, residents of Ladakh have called for similar measures to protect against demographic and industrial pressures.
The Union Home Ministry established a high-powered committee in January 2023 following prolonged protests. However, no significant progress has occurred since its last meeting with the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on May 27, which resulted in a domicile policy but little else.
M. Jaffar Akhoon, chairman of the Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council, urged Wangchuk to end his hunger strike, asserting that any future achievements, whether related to statehood, Sixth Schedule status, or other benefits, must come from discussions with the government. He cautioned that starting a hunger strike before dialogue begins could be detrimental.
BJP officials also called for Wangchuk to conclude his fast, warning that “outside activists with radical views” have joined the protests. They attributed the stalled discussions to internal discord within the LAB and alleged that Chhewang had been sidelined.
Wangchuk criticized the BJP for its inaction, linking his protest to the upcoming elections for the Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) in October. He described the elections as a test of the BJP’s reliability, noting that the party had previously prioritized Sixth Schedule status in its election manifesto. “But now, after five years, they want to bury that point,” he stated.
In the 2020 LAHDC-Leh elections, the BJP won 15 out of 26 seats. The council was established in 1995 during Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s tenure, with a similar body created for Kargil in 2003 by then-Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
