Sections of Ladakh’s Buddhist community express reservations about the joint demand for Statehood and Sixth Schedule status, citing under-representation in the talks between the Centre and the Apex Body Leh (ABL).
Ladakh Statehood Sixth Schedule
The political temperature in the Union Territory of Ladakh has risen as key regional bodies, the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), have resumed high-stakes negotiations with the Central Government in Delhi. These talks center on two fundamental and intertwined demands: granting Statehood for Ladakh and providing constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule.
The overarching goal of the ABL and KDA is to secure a legislative mechanism that prevents the influx of outsiders, thereby safeguarding local jobs and the region’s fragile high-altitude ecology. However, as the negotiations proceed, an internal dissent has emerged from within the Buddhist-majority population of Leh, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the supposed political unity. The core issue remains balancing the demand for greater political autonomy and Ladakhi identity protection with the Union Government’s strategic security concerns in this sensitive border region. The Central Government must navigate these internal divisions and the unanimous demand for constitutional safeguards to find an acceptable solution, thus avoiding further political unrest.
