Radical Socialist Statement on Ladakh (Oct 2025)

The latest round of repression of leading activists of the Ladakh Apex Body (LAB)---putting them under house arrest when they sought to organize a peaceful protest march---shows once again the ugly face of the Modi government. This action was earlier preceded by the unjustified and condemnable detention of Sonam Wangchuk under the draconian National Security Act (NSA) ridiculously accusing him of conspiracy to overthrow the government.

Ladakh is close to 60,000 square kilometres in size but with a total population of around 3 lakhs. Some 90% are tribals, an ethnicity that cuts across the religious difference between mostly Buddhists in the Leh region and mostly Muslims in the even more mountainous region of Kargil. This ethnic similarity has overridden so far any religio-political tensions and the other main political body, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) has stood with the LAB to put forward four common key demands. These are first, the call for separate statehood. The second demand is for the application of the Sixth Schedule that would provide for Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) having their own legislative, executive and judicial powers to enable safeguarding of tribal land, forests and cultural rights. These rights are enjoyed by other tribal areas in the northeastern states. Third, is the establishment of a full-fledged Public Service Commission that would prioritise gazetted jobs at all levels for the local youth and population. Fourth, is the demand for two Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil respectively.

When Ladakh was part of J&K the sense of ethnic separateness meant that the annulment of Art. 370 in 2019 and granting Ladakh Union Territory (UT) status was extremely popular and welcomed. Over time, however, it became clear that this was in many ways a turn for the worse. As part of J&K, Ladakh had greater autonomy with its own revenue section, Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police. Art. 35A, now abrogated, then gave special rights to locals regarding job recruitment and property acquisition.

Why is the Central government behaving this way?

One can point to three main reasons. First, being a border state next to both Pakistan and Chinese Tibet, New Delhi wants to maximize its political and military control especially after its 2020 setback vis-