(TibetanReview.net, Feb16’26) – New Delhi has made it clear that Ladakh cannot be granted statehood or Sixth Schedule status, and has instead proposed the creation of a Territorial Council, with the Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of the Hill Council serving as the Chief Minister of the Union Territory.
Both Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which have been spearheading these two key Ladakhi demands have rejected the Territorial Council offer and called for further talks.
The proposal was floated by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) during the meeting of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) on Ladakh, chaired by Union MoS Home Nityanand Rai held in New Delhi on Feb 4, noted newindianexpress.com Feb 14.
The HPC comprised MHA officials, Ladakh MPs, Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, CEC of Leh and Kargil Hill Development Councils, and leaders of Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). LAB and KDA are amalgams of political, social, trade, and religious groups from Leh and Kargil districts spearheading joint agitation for Sixth Schedule and statehood.
The MHA was stated to have raised questions about the financial viability of granting statehood and the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh.
“They asked where we would get resources. We told them Ladakh qualifies for a special category status. When we were part of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, it was a special category state. Why can that status not be extended to Ladakh?” LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay has said.
“In several Northeastern states, the Centre provides substantial financial support for salaries and pensions of the employees,” he has said.
The report cited sources as saying the MHA may invite Ladakh leaders for another round of talks within a month.
Dorjay has said there would be no compromise on the demand for Sixth Schedule and statehood (with legislature) for Ladakh.
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Meanwhile India’s Additional solicitor general (ASG) K M Nataraj has told a bench of the Supreme Court of India Feb 13 that the agitation and violence in Ladakh came under control after Sonam Wangchuk’s detention as he was the chief provocateur in September last year.
The bench was hearing a bail application of Wangchuk, who had sat on hunger strikes to press the demand for statehood before being arrested in the aftermath of the violent protests. The well-known Ladakhi engineer, innovator, and education reformer has denied having provoked the violent protest.
The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution provides for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram through Autonomous District Councils. It aims to protect tribal land, resources, and culture by granting legislative, judicial, and executive autonomy to these council.