Latest news with #SonamWangchuk
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Northern crown
Times of India's Edit Page team comprises senior journalists with wide-ranging interests who debate and opine on the news and issues of the day. Govt did well to address some of Ladakh's concerns. Remaining issues must be resolved sensitively GOI did the right thing by introducing a new reservation and domicile policy for Ladakh. Guaranteeing 85% reservations for locals in govt jobs – excluding EWS category – will address local anxiety about high unemployment. It's important to recall that Ladakhis have been peacefully pressing for their demands, in the best traditions of democracy. This was best exemplified by activist Sonam Wangchuk's walk from Ladakh to Delhi and subsequent 16-day hunger strike last year. To its credit, govt did consult Ladakh's civil society organisations before working out the new policies. However, key demands remain unfulfilled. Ladakh's demands stem from the fact that following nullification of Article 370 in 2019 that abrogated special status for the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir – of which Ladakh was a part – the region was hived off and converted to a UT without a legislature. While initially welcomed – because Ladhakis often felt govts in Srinagar were biased against the region – the new setup was soon seen as inadequate in addressing key issues like unemployment, preservation of local culture, and protection of a fragile ecosystem. Hence the demand for inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. It can't be stressed enough that ecological conservation is central to Ladakh's aspirations. The region is experiencing serious glacier retreat, with some glaciers like Parachik retreating by 12-20 metres per annum. Therefore, development here can't happen the same way as in other regions. We have already seen the adverse impact of non-ecologically compliant infra projects in mountainous states. Also, Ladakh's status as a border region with China and Pakistan brings additional security challenges. Ecology and security are joined at the hip here. Therefore, defence infra projects and people's aspirations must be in harmony. People of Ladakh are our shield. Listen to them. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Sonam Wangchuk: ‘Govt's Ladakh notifications a partial resolution… If our main issues not met, BJP will face the consequences'
The Centre on Tuesday notified a series of regulations aimed at addressing Ladakh's concerns over jobs and cultural preservation. The new legal framework introduces a domicile-based job reservation system, and talks of recognition of local languages and procedural clarity in civil service recruitment. However, it stops short of any safeguards regarding land, promise of a Legislature for the newly formed Union Territory, and extension of the Sixth Schedule of Constitution to Ladakh. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been spearheading some of these demands, speaks to The Indian Express on the new regulations. Excerpts: * What is your view regarding the regulations the government has announced? To put things in perspective, the notification is only a partial resolution of the third point on the agenda of the negotiations between Ladakh and the Government of India. It was highest in terms of urgency, but low on priority. There was a concern regarding unemployment and that has been addressed. But our main issues are safeguarding our land and culture through Sixth Schedule protections… and the restoration of democracy. Ladakh has no form of people's participation at the moment. People have always expected constitutional safeguards for this region. The BJP assured us of the Sixth Schedule in two elections – the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2020 LAHDC (Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council) polls. It was part of their manifesto… People have expressed their displeasure by not electing the BJP in recent polls, and it will happen again if this issue is not addressed in the next talks that will be held in June and July. * The government notifications make no mention of land. This is only a partial resolution of our third point – of employment. It was mutually agreed by our leaders and the MHA (Union Ministry of Home Affairs) that they will first sort out the issue of employment of youth, and then issues of the Sixth Schedule and the rest would be taken up. But there is fear here as to what if the government just leaves things at this and doesn't take forward the main issues till the LAHDC elections. That will be a problem. So the coming two months are important (to gauge the government's sincerity). The next meeting (is expected to) discuss safeguards and democracy. If not, then the Hill Council elections will see an upheaval. … All Opposition parties have formally announced that if they (the government) resolve the main issues, they will offer the Hill Council elections on a platter to the BJP. But the reverse is also true: that if they do not address the main issue, they will face the consequences in the coming elections. * But you agree that the government has addressed the language and culture issue? That was never an issue. That was just mixed (in) as a feel-good factor. It was never demanded. At least it was not a part of the key issues. But it is a good step. * The demand from Ladakh was also for a 30-year-stay clause to get domicile. But the new regulations set this at 15 years. Yes. That is why I call it a partial resolution of our issues. People are not fully happy with the notifications. The demand was either 30 years or a cutoff date of 1989. But this issue will no longer figure in our negotiations. We hope that at the next two meetings, the real issues of safeguards and democracy will be taken up. Otherwise it will be a breach of trust and confidence. * Do you see the government's plans to open up Ladakh for the renewable energy industry as contrary to your demands regarding land safeguards? I always start with full hope and faith that the government will be sincere in its words and provide Sixth Schedule safeguards. As far as power projects and other industrial endeavours of national interest are concerned, it is the highest priority of Ladakhi people to be of use to the nation. Our only thing is it should be done in consultation with the people. The Sixth Schedule will not stop any important industrial project. It will only make Ladakhi people a partner in it. With the knowledge and wisdom they have about the land, it will be even better. But without the Sixth Schedule, people who know nothing about Ladakh are making big decisions. (For example) This big solar project without any consultation is earmarked at a place where the most precious Pashmina is produced. Those pastures will be gone. With public participation in such decisions, national interest will be served along with environmental protection. * Are you okay with the idea of no Sixth Schedule but similar protections? Yes, if these protections are based on the indigenous tribal identity of the local people. If they give similar protection or more, people will respond logically. But if you are ready to give all of those, why not the Sixth Schedule? * If the government gives you all the protections you are seeking but does not give you statehood or an Assembly, will that be acceptable? The Sixth Schedule and statehood are our main demands. Even if one of the two is given, it would be called progress. If both are denied, we will have to continue engaging in our struggle.
The Print
6 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 Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- The Wire
‘Issue of Statehood and Sixth Schedule Unresolved': Ladakh Leaders as Union Govt Notifies New Rules
Srinagar: The new reservation and domicile policies brought out by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)-led Union government for Ladakh have fallen short of addressing widespread concerns over the constitutional disempowerment and suspension of democracy in the border region following its separation from Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. 'For us, the main issue of statehood and the inclusion of Ladakh in Sixth Schedule remains unresolved,' Leh Apex Body (LAB) leader Chering Dorjay, who has been leading talks with the Union government over the last more than two years along with members of Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), told The Wire . He added, 'While we welcome the new measures, we want the government to talk about restoration of statehood now and granting of constitutional safeguards for Ladakh in some form. The job reservation was a small problem which should have been solved much earlier but the government sat on the matter unnecessarily for a long time.' Environmentalist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk, who has been protesting against the alleged disempowerment of Ladakh in the aftermath of its separation from J&K in 2019 and demotion into a Union territory (UT) without a legislature, said that the reservation policy was the least important demand of the LAB-KDA combine. 'In urgency, it (reservation policy) was the highest, but in importance it was the lowest. They (LAB-KDA combine) seem to have mutually decided (with the Union government) on picking the low hanging fruit first,' Wangchuk said, adding that the government didn't concede the demand of the LAB-KDA combine to set the condition of 30 years continuous residency for a non-local in Ladakh to obtain domicile certificate. The Ladakh Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment (Amendment) Regulation, 2025, which was notified by President Droupadi Murmu along with a set of new regulations on Monday (June 2) and Tuesday (June 3), sets 15-year continuous residency from October 31, 2019 for a non-local to obtain domicile certificate among other rules. The rules for obtaining domicile certificate have been laid out in the Ladakh Civil Services Domicile Certificate Rules, 2025. Ladakhi leader Mohammad Haneefa Jan, who won the region's only Lok Sabha seat in 2024 general election as an independent candidate, said that the new domicile policy was 'meaningless' in the absence of restoration of Ladakh's statehood. 'The government had agreed on a new domicile policy earlier also, so there is nothing new in it, especially because the LAB and KDA leaderships' demand of 30 years continuous residence has not been conceded by the Union government,' he said. While the rules governing the new regulations are yet to be specified, LAB chief Dorjay said that 95% jobs (including 10% for 'Economically Weaker Section' category) were now reserved for local domiciles under the Ladakh Reservation (Amendment) Regulation, 2025, which was also notified on Tuesday. The new regulation increases the cap on reservation in government jobs in Ladakh from 50% to 85% for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and other educationally and socially backward groups. 'Even if outsiders become domiciles of Ladakh after 2034, they can only compete for five percent of jobs while 95 percent jobs are reserved for original residents which is the highest in the country,' Dorjay said. He said that unlike in Jammu and Kashmir which got a domicile policy with retrospective effect after 2019, the policy in Ladakh has a prospective effect, 'The policy has been extended to admissions to medical, engineering and other professional institutions in Ladakh,' Dorjay said. According to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Ladakh has more than 83% tribal population and the new rules are seen as an attempt by the BJP to quell widespread public anger over the erosion of Ladakh's unique identity and appropriation of work opportunities in the government by outsiders post 2019. However, Ladakhi leader Jan, who is also a member of a high-powered committee set up by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2023 to examine the four-point demands of LAB-KDA combine, said that the main issue of negotiations was the 'restoration of democracy' in Ladakh. 'The country came out of the British colonial rule in 1947 but Ladakh has been pushed into slavery since 2019. We have no role in policymaking and the imported bureaucratic regime has turned Ladakh into an arena of slavery. The government should now focus on resolving the main issues,' he said. Wangchuk, who went on hunger strikes twice last year to demand constitutional safeguards under Sixth Schedule, also cautioned that the 15-years clause in the new domicile policy has not gone down well among the people of Ladakh. 'They were hoping for at least 30 years of continuous residence and the new regulation has not made them too happy. It was, however, important to address this issue because all the vacancies in the government are blocked which is not good for the administration to run the system and it is not good for the youth of Ladakh to remain unemployed,' he said. Wangchuk said that the next two meetings between the Ladakh civil society and the MHA were going to be crucial to determine the future course of the agitation. He said that many people are projecting the regulations on reservation and domicile as 'some kind of resolution' for the problems in Ladakh 'which is far from truth'. 'If the central government sincerely discusses safeguards under Sixth Schedule and restoration of democracy and statehood, then people would be very happy. But if they don't and hold the hill council elections, then it will impact the credibility of any democratic process,' he said. In the 2020 Hill Council election, the promise to include Ladakh in Sixth Schedule figured among the top three agendas of the BJP's election manifesto for the border region. According to the manifesto, the party promised to protect 'land, job and environment' by bringing 'constitutional safeguards under Sixth Schedule' with the agenda of 'political empowerment' of Ladakh following its separation from Jammu and Kashmir. 'It completes a full circle,' Wangchuk said of the BJP's reference to the Sixth Schedule in its election manifesto, 'If that promise is not fulfilled again, then consequences will be seen in the election as was seen in the 2024 parliamentary election when the BJP lost in Ladakh because in 2019 parliamentary election, they had promised to include Ladakh in Sixth Schedule and failed to fulfil it.' He added, 'In a democracy, people send a message through the electoral process which is what might happen again after the parliamentary election in the hill council election towards the end of September this year.' Among a series of notifications issued by President Murmu also includes the Ladakh Official Languages Regulation, 2025 which recognises English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti and Purgi as official languages of the Union Territory with making recommendations about their use, and The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Amendment) Regulation, 2025 under which one-third of seats in Hill Councils in Kargil and Leh would be reserved for women. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Hindustan Times
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Centre notifies new reservation, domicile rules for Ladakh
The government on Tuesday introduced new reservation and domicile rules for the Union Territory of Ladakh, reserving 85% jobs for locals and one-third of the total number of seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils for women. The move is aimed at safeguarding local interests as people in Ladakh have been protesting for constitutional safeguards to protect their language, culture and land after the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was abrogated in 2019. The changes in the policies of the reservation in jobs, autonomous councils and domicile will come into effect immediately, according to multiple notifications issued by the government. Under the new rules, those who have resided for a period of 15 years in the UT or studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10 or 12 examination in an educational institution located in the UT shall be domicile of Ladakh for the purposes of appointment to any post under the UT or under a local or other authority other than the cantonment board. Children of central government officials, all-India services officers, officials of public sector undertakings and autonomous body of central government, public sector banks, officials of statutory bodies, central universities and recognised research institutes of the central government who have served in the UT for a total period of 10 years are also eligible for domicile. The reservation for economically weaker sections continues to be 10%. In another notification, the government said that in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997, 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 rotation of constituencies reserved for women shall be made on the basis of serial number allotted to each constituency by notification in the official gazette. A high-level committee, led by minister of state for home Nityanand Rai, was first constituted in January 2023 to address the concerns of the people in Ladakh. It held several meetings with representatives of the Union Territory to find an amicable solution to their demands. In October 2024, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk also sat on an indefinite fast in Delhi to press for their demands After that, talks were held with civil society leaders from Ladakh on December 3, 2024 and again on January 15 this year and on May 27.
