Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). File picture
The talks between the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ladakh civil society leaders, being held after more than three months, remained inconclusive, said Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, co-convener of the Leh Apex Body (LAB). The October 22, 2025, draft proposal submitted by the group regarding Statehood and inclusion of Ladakh under the sixth schedule of the Constitution, thus giving it a tribal status, was discussed at the meeting.
The leaders also demanded the unconditional release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and others who were detained after the September 24, 2025, violence in Leh city, where four persons were killed, and several were injured. Mr. Wangchuk is presently detained under the National Security Act at the Jodhpur prison in Rajasthan.
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), representing the two main districts in Ladakh, which have been spearheading the movement for constitutional safeguards in the Union Territory, were called to New Delhi on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) to participate in the meeting of the high-powered committee (HPC).
The HPC, which is led by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, is meeting after more than three months. The last talks were held on October 22, 2025.
The meeting continued for three hours, but the MHA officials only offered safeguards available under Article 371 of the Constitution and insisted on strengthening the hill councils.
Article 371 deals with “Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions”, and exists under Part XXI of the Constitution. It is currently applicable in 12 States: Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, and Karnataka.
“We want to see how serious the MHA is towards our demands and concerns. The results of the meeting were not satisfactory. We went with a positive outlook but it was not up to our expectations. But we have not lost hope,” said Asgar Karbalai, Co-Chairman, KDA.
Mr. Lakruk added that they were hopeful that the MHA would call for another meeting in the next 15-20 days.
“The discussions centred around the draft proposal submitted by us in October 2025 regarding Statehood and sixth schedule. The issue of detention of Sonam Wangchuk and others is dear to the people of Ladakh. The cases registered against them are illegal. We forcefully demanded the release of all of them and pressed for the withdrawal of cases,” Mr. Lakruk said.
The issue of job aspirants was also discussed.
Ladakh, earlier part of Jammu and Kashmir, became a union territory in 2019 following the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution.
Published – February 04, 2026 10:47 pm IST
