With May 23 talks nearing, uncertainty clouds Centre-Ladakh dialogue

Srinagar: Less than a week before the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) proposed talks with Ladakh civil society groups in the strategically sensitive region bordering China and Pakistan, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) say they are yet to receive formal invitations or an agenda for the meeting.

LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay Lakruk said that no formal communication had been received so far despite the May 22 meeting drawing close.

The talks were announced by Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Ladakh on April 30 and May 1.

The uncertainty has renewed concerns within Ladakh’s political and civil society circles over the pace and seriousness of the Centre’s engagement on the region’s long-pending demands, including Statehood, Sixth Schedule status, a separate Public Service Commission and safeguards for land and jobs.

The proposed meeting assumes significance because it comes after months of protests and political mobilisation in Ladakh, including climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s fasts and campaigns demanding constitutional protections for the ecologically fragile and strategically important Himalayan region.

Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. While the move was initially welcomed in Leh, concerns later emerged over constitutional safeguards to protect local identity, land and employment.

Unlike several tribal-majority regions in the Northeast, Ladakh was not brought under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides autonomy and protections for tribal populations through elected councils.

Over the past few years, LAB and KDA — representing Leh and Kargil respectively — have jointly negotiated with the Centre despite historical political differences between the two regions. Their joint platform has been seen as a rare political consensus in Ladakh.

The Centre later constituted a High-Powered Committee (HPC) headed by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai to discuss issues related to land, employment, language, culture and political representation. However, disagreements have persisted over the scope of discussions.

Leaders of LAB and KDA have repeatedly maintained that unless Statehood and Sixth Schedule status are discussed, the dialogue process risks being reduced to an administrative exercise.

Fresh concerns have now emerged because the May 22 discussions are expected to be held at the level of a sub-committee comprising officials from the MHA and Ladakh administration rather than under the full HPC framework headed by the Minister of State for Home Affairs.

Sources within the Ladakh groups said the absence of clarity over the format and agenda of talks has reinforced apprehensions that the Centre may avoid discussions on larger constitutional and political issues.

The uncertainty also comes amid internal transitions within both organisations. Veteran Ladakhi leader and former MP Thupstan Chhewang recently stepped down as LAB co-chairman, while KDA lost its co-chairman Qamar Ali Akhoon following his death earlier this year.

Observers say Ladakh has increasingly become a test case for the Centre’s post-Article 370 governance model.

Although the MHA has held several rounds of talks with Ladakh representatives since 2021, there has been little visible progress on the core demands. The absence of formal communication ahead of the May 22 meeting has therefore added to scepticism over whether the latest round of dialogue will produce any substantive outcome.