8 months ago
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Weeks aft the Union Territory of Ladakh was created successful August 2019, 3 Ministries of the Union authorities gave a greenish airy to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) to urge Ladakh’s inclusion arsenic a tribal country nether the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, according to minutes of an NCST gathering held connected September 11, 2019, seen by The Hindu.
On Wednesday (September 24, 2025), protests successful Leh municipality of Ladakh for Statehood and inclusion successful the Sixth Schedule turned violent, starring to 4 deaths. The Union Home Ministry has accused clime activistic Sonam Wangchuk, who has been the look of the protests successful Ladakh, of allegedly “instigating” the violence.
Six years ago, weeks aft the Union authorities bifurcated the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir into 2 Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature) – the NCST had taken suo motu cognisance of the request for the inclusion of Ladakh successful the Sixth Schedule. In a gathering connected September 11, 2019, it had recommended “after cautious consideration” that the “UT of Ladakh beryllium brought nether the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution”.
As per the minutes of this 119th gathering of the Commission, the sheet had consulted the Ministries of Home, Tribal Affairs, and Law and Justice successful a gathering connected September 4, 2019, to sermon the issue. In this meeting, the Commission said that aft deliberations, the “Ministries were of the sentiment that they person nary objection successful lawsuit the Commission recommends for granting Tribal country presumption to the UT of Ladakh successful the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.”
Accordingly, the Commission had recommended the UT’s inclusion successful the Sixth Schedule, besides noting that earlier the instauration of Ladakh arsenic a UT, the locals had definite agrarian rights and rights implicit onshore that restricted radical from extracurricular the portion from purchasing oregon acquiring onshore successful Ladakh. In its recommendation, the sheet said it felt that Ladakh’s inclusion successful the Sixth Schedule would support these agrarian rights, including rights connected land.
The Commission besides said it believed Sixth Schedule presumption to Ladakh would assistance with “democratic devolution of powers”, “preserve and beforehand chiseled civilization of the region”, and “enhance devolution of funds for speedy improvement of Ladakh region”. While the Ministry of Tribal Affairs issued a connection connected this proposal of the Commission astatine the time, this connection had near retired the sentiment of the Ministries.
The Home Ministry told Parliament successful December 2019 that the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1997, already provided for the instauration of autonomous elevation improvement councils successful the Ladakh region, the powers for which are “more oregon little successful enactment with the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India”.
However, the pursuing year, erstwhile the Hill Council of Leh went to polls successful 2020, the Bharatiya Janata Party had promised law safeguards for the portion nether the Sixth Schedule successful its manifesto.
Yet, successful December 2022, responding to a Parliamentary panel’s proposition to research the anticipation of Sixth Schedule presumption to Ladakh, the Home Ministry had said, “The main nonsubjective for inclusion of tribal colonisation nether Fifth/Sixth Schedule is to guarantee their wide socio-economic development, which, the UT Administration has already been taking attraction of since its creation. Sufficient funds are being provided to Ladakh to conscionable its wide developmental requirements.”
Records of the NCST showed that the 2019 proposal to see Ladakh successful the Sixth Schedule came erstwhile the sheet was nether the chairmanship of BJP person Nand Kumar Sai. The Commission had noted that a quality clipping from August 2019 voicing Ladakhi leaders’ request for Sixth Schedule presumption prompted it to instrumentality up the issue.
It said that it discussed the contented successful its gathering that period itself and had past decided to telephone for a peculiar gathering with the 3 Ministries, pursuing which the proposal was finalised.
