The Ladakh leadership will meet the Centre’s High-Powered Committee (HPC) in New Delhi on Wednesday, with key demands such as statehood for the Union Territory, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, and the release of environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk expected to dominate the agenda.
Ahead of the meeting, leaders from the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) held an informal discussion in New Delhi on Tuesday to coordinate their approach and finalise issues to be raised with the committee.
This will be another high-level interaction between the Ladakh leadership and the Centre’s HPC following the September violence last year. The meeting is seen as significant amid continuing demands for constitutional safeguards and political assurances for the region.
“We are ready for talks and will place all our demands, including statehood, employment opportunities, and the release of Sonam Wangchuk and others. We are hopeful the talks will be successful,” said a member of the Leh Apex Body.
Earlier, the Government of India had informed the Ladakh chief secretary that the meeting would be held on February 4. In a communication issued last month, deputy secretary to the Government of India and member secretary of the HPC, Ruchicka Katyal, stated that the meeting would take place at 4 pm at Kartavya Bhawan-3, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
The Union home ministry had constituted the high-powered committee in 2023 to discuss measures to protect Ladakh’s unique culture and language, given its strategic location. The panel includes representatives of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance—a coalition of trade unions, tourism bodies, and religious and political groups. Its mandate covers issues such as protection of land and jobs, empowerment of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil, and other constitutional safeguards.
Leaders of the LAB and KDA have welcomed the fresh round of talks, saying they expect the meeting to substantively address the core aspirations of Ladakh’s people, particularly the demand for statehood, Sixth Schedule status, and serious consideration of the draft proposals submitted to the MHA. The Ladakh leadership has also submitted a 40-page document detailing its demands to the ministry.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has set up a panel headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice B S Chauhan to conduct a judicial inquiry into the September 24 violence in Leh, which claimed four lives.
