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The Print
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
If Centre stops at job quota, it'll be serious breach of trust—Wangchuk reiterates Ladakhis' core demands
Speaking to ThePrint, Sonam Wangchuk said the notification addressed only 'the third and least important' of the core demands of Ladakhis, adding that if the Centre now stopped, it would be a 'serious breach of trust'. The central government on Tuesday released a notification , reserving 85% of all government jobs in Ladakh for locals, and a third of all seats in the hill councils for women on a rotational basis. New Delhi : Climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk is among the prominent Ladakhi voices, terming the recently notified policies on domiciles, job reservations, the composition of hill councils, and the official languages of the Union Territory as 'only a partial resolution'. 'This is not a resolution of Ladakhi issues. It is only a partial resolution of the third and least important of our demands—youth employment. The core demands of statehood and the Sixth Schedule protections have not even come up for discussions yet.' 'People are confused and anxious, fearing the Centre would project the job reservations as the final solution. If that happens, it will be a serious breach of trust,' Sonam Wangchuk said. 'The Centre earlier assured us of taking only the first step towards resolving urgent issues now. If the notification is the only step, it, for sure, does not address the main demands, and the people of Ladakh will, in that case, feel cheated.' Speaking to ThePrint, Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, the president of Ladakh Buddhist Association and co-convener of Leh Apex Body, said, 'It is the best we could negotiate with the Centre for now. It met one of our key demands—85% job reservation for Ladakhis. But there is still confusion among people, which is why they are not celebrating yet.' 'Many wrongly believe that STs (Scheduled Tribes) from outside can claim benefits. We will hold a press conference to clear that up,' he added. On the other hand, calling the notification a 'welcome move', members of different hill councils said that the discussions on the remaining demands would take place at some later point. The notification also restricted the children of central government employees from becoming Ladakh 'domiciles' until they proved they had continuously lived in Ladakh for 15 years, starting 31 October 2019, or the day Ladakh became a UT. It also declared English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti, and Purgi as the UT's official languages. Also Read: Shivaji statue in Ladakh is part of an unfortunate trend. Indian Army must introspect Ladakhis wait & watch The Centre's notification, of course, is not all bad. It, after all, is the wind beneath the wings of the youth awaiting government action for a long time. 'The announcement brings relief for unemployed youth and understaffed departments, but even that is only partial,' Sonam Wangchuk said. 'We were hoping for a 30-year domicile cut-off, not 15 years, as notified all of a sudden.' According to Sonam Wangchuk, people are still willing to place trust in the Centre, but only if it keeps the promises of providing full democratic rights to Ladakhis and implementing the Sixth Schedule in the region, providing special provisions for the administration of the tribal areas. Sonam Wangchuk said that Ladakh's statehood and the Sixth Schedule protections were the top agendas in the BJP manifesto released before the 2020 elections to the hill councils in Ladakh—demands, so far, unfulfilled. Now, elections are again approaching, and if the BJP meets the two main demands before polling, all parties might withdraw from contesting. Sonam Wangchuk said that in the September elections, people would hand the hill councils over to the Centre on a platter if it sincerely addressed their main demands. 'Parties are saying the government can win—uncontested—in that case,' Sonam Wangchuk said. 'However, if the discussion ends with domicile, it will not be enough for the leadership or the people. In case the Centre sincerely pursues discussions on security and democracy, Ladakh will forever be grateful,' he added. How Ladakhis will eventually feel about the central government depends on what will happen next—the public is 'expecting real talks' to begin soon. 'If the real talks begin now, this is a welcome start. If not, people will respond through the next elections,' Sonam Wangchuk warned. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Who was Tsetan Namgyal, 'unsung hero' who served with the Indian Army in the 1962 war
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Centre notifies new domicile, reservation policy for Ladakh; caps reservation at 85%, excluding EWS
Amid demands by Ladakhi civil society groups seeking 'constitutional safeguards' for the region, the Union Government on Tuesday (June 3, 2025) notified new policies on reservation, languages, domiciles, and the composition of hill councils for Ladakh, which became a Union Territory in 2019. The notifications pave the way for 85% reservation for resident Ladakhis in government jobs. For other residents — including children of Central government officials — to be considered 'domiciles', they will have to show 15 years of continuous residence in the UT from October 31, 2019, Ladakh's foundation day. In a first, a third of the seats in hill councils have been reserved for women on a rotational basis. The official languages of the UT will be English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti, and Purgi. The total reservation for government jobs in the Union Territory now stands at 95%, one of the highest in the country. Meghalaya has 85% reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SCs/STs) and Arunachal Pradesh has an 80% quota for STs. The Rules governing the Regulation, which are yet to be notified, will specify the categories covered under reservation. Around 80% of Ladakh's population of 2.74 lakh is around 80% tribal, according to the 2011 Census. Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, the president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association and co-convenor of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), who is also part of the high-powered committee which has been deliberating the constitutional safeguards with the government, told The Hindu that they were studying the multiple notifications published on Tuesday. Three other Regulations were also notified by President Murmu: The Ladakh Official Languages Regulation, 2025; The Ladakh Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment (Amendment) Regulation, 2025; and The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Amendment) Regulation, 2025. The decentralisation and recruitment Regulation is applicable to 'all the Gazetted and non-Gazetted posts' in the UT. Its Rules, also notified by the MHA on Tuesday, specified the criteria to qualify as a 'domicile' to apply for government jobs. The Rules empower the tehsildar to issue the domicile certificates to anyone who has resided for a period of 15 years in the UT from October 31, 2019. Anyone who has studied for a period of seven years and appeared in the Class 10 or 12 examination in Ladakh, children of Central government officials, All India Services officers, officials of public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies of the Central government, public sector banks, among others, who have served in Ladakh for a total period of ten years from October 31, 2019, are also eligible to be domiciles. The regulation to amend the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997 said that 'not less than one-third of the total number of seats in the Council shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different territorial constituencies.' The Ladakh Official Languages Regulation, 2025 said that 'English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti and Purgi' shall be the official languages, adding that 'institutional mechanisms shall make special efforts for the promotion and development of other native languages of Ladakh: Shina (Dardic), Brokskat (Dardic), Balti and Ladakhi.' Both the hill councils and official languages regulations will come into effect from June 3. The Hindu's Editorials The Hindu's Daily Quiz What led the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to announce that they will ban Kamal Haasan's new film Thug Life? Actor's remark on Kannada language Propaganda in film trailer Copyright breach False history in trailer To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here.
The Hindu
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
15-year continuous stay since 2019 must to be Ladakh domicile
The Union Government is considering a new policy for Ladakh under which citizens who have had a continuous 15-year stay in the region, beginning 2019, will be considered domiciles, according to a consensus reached at a high-powered committee meeting between civil society leaders and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials on Tuesday (May 27, 2025). Any 'outsider' who settled in Ladakh after its special status along with that of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was struck down in 2019 will be considered a domicile only after 2034. The definition is important to decide eligibility to apply for 5% gazetted government vacancies as many citizens feared that people from other parts of the country would take away the jobs of the locals. At least 80% vacancies are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), 4% for people living along the Line of Actual Control/Line of Control, 1% for Scheduled Castes and 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019 without a Legislative Assembly after Article 370 of the Constitution was read down by the Parliament. A year later, the region comprising Buddhist-dominated Leh and Muslim-dominated Kargil district, erupted in protests with civil society leaders pressing forth constitutional safeguards such as Statehood for Ladakh, inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution thus giving it a tribal status, job reservation for locals and a parliamentary seat each for Leh and Kargil. Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, the president of Ladakh Buddhist Association and co-convenor of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) who is also part of the high-powered committee (HPC), said, 'It is a big achievement for our cause. The domicile policy will be notified in a week. A similar policy for Jammu and Kashmir was implemented with retrospective effect, but in Ladakh's case, any new domicile will be eligible for a government job only in 2034.' The J&K domicile policy notified in 2020 removed the concept of permanent residents stating that anyone 'who has resided for a period of 15 years in the UT of J&K or has studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10th /12th examination in an educational institution located in the UT of J&K or who is registered as a migrant by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants)' will be considered a domicile. The J&K policy said that children of Central government officials who have served in J&K for a 'total period of 10 years' will also be domiciles and it did not give a cut-off date. Since it became a UT, recruitment for gazetted government posts is yet to begin in Ladakh. LAB and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) have been protesting for the past four years. Sajjad Kargili of KDA said, 'LAB and KDA pushed for a 30-year domicile, MHA has agreed to review its legal aspect. Next meeting will be held on modalities of Public Service Commission. The meeting continued for around 4 hours as the two parties were deliberating on the domicile timeline.' The HPC led by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai was first constituted in January 2023 to address the concerns of people in Ladakh. The talks broke down in March 2024. In October 2024, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk sat on an indefinite fast in Delhi to draw the government's attention to their demands after which the MHA agreed to resume talks with civil society leaders from Ladakh on December 3 the same year. The next meeting was held on January 15 and Tuesday's meeting was the third round of dialogue after the talks resumed. During the December 3 talks, the MHA had proposed a 95% reservation in government jobs for locals in Ladakh and a one-third reservation for women in hill councils.
