Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday accused the Centre of keeping Ladakh “deprived of democracy” and treating it as a “controversial area” by retaining its status as a Union Territory without a legislature.
The remarks came after a Union home ministry meeting with Ladakh leaders, scheduled for Thursday in New Delhi, did not take place. Wangchuk said the cancellation, without an explanation, had prompted the region’s leadership to consider taking its case to the United Nations.
“We were told with complete determination that we will meet in Delhi on the 22nd of October,” Wangchuk told the media in New Delhi. “We made our plans and bought our tickets. Today I am here, and the meeting is not happening. The country should know how the hopes of Ladakh have been ruined again and again.”
This was supposed to be the seventh round of talks between the Centre and the leaders of Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).
At the last meeting in Leh on October 15, the ministry of home affairs had reportedly fixed October 22 as the next date for holding talks in Delhi. The October 15 meeting had remained inconclusive and was dubbed “disappointing” by the LAB and KDA leaders.
{{/usCountry}}At the last meeting in Leh on October 15, the ministry of home affairs had reportedly fixed October 22 as the next date for holding talks in Delhi. The October 15 meeting had remained inconclusive and was dubbed “disappointing” by the LAB and KDA leaders.
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“On one hand, China has staked its claim over Ladakh and refuses to accept any changes being made in the region and on the other, our own country keeps betraying the people of Ladakh again and again,” Wangchuk said.
He recalled how the BJP had promised constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule and a democratically elected government since 2019 but has not delivered on its promise.
“When the people raised their voice and resorted to peaceful protests, they were subjected to brutalities….lives were lost, several others were injured, and many of us were jailed,” he said, referring to September 24 unrest last year that left four civilians, including a retired soldier, dead, more than 80 injured and over 85 arrested.
He said that the progress made at the May 22 meeting, when both sides had agreed in principle, had been squandered away at the October 15 meeting.
“The hopes of the people of Ladakh are being shattered repeatedly. At the October 15 meeting, the sub-committee of the MHA had squarely backtracked on its words and had suggested an agency, much lower than the existing hill development councils,” he said.
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Wangchuk also reiterated that the lieutenant governor VK Saxena should refrain from taking big decisions till an elected governance model was put in place.
“Now Panchayat polls are going to be held but without any consultation with the people. Therefore, I say that Ladakh has become a black spot in the name of Indian democracy as people there have no democratic rights,” he said.
Wangchuk said the LAB and KDA were mulling approaching the United Nations over the declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, to which India was a signatory in 2007.
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“Since Ladakh majorly comprises indigenous people, the UN’s declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples gives rights to the indigenous people of Ladakh to decide their future and rights. We are mulling to take the issue to the UN as well, and we appeal to all the citizens of India to support the people of Ladakh,” he said.