Last Updated on February 3, 2022 at 5:40 pm
The scarcely populated Ladakh, known as the ‘cold desert’ of India which usually remains cut off from the rest of the country has been demanding for statehood since a long time now. The agitation for Ladakh’s statehood and inclusion of the region in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution would resume in March, since due harsh winters the agitation for the demand has been slowed down.
Ladakh was separated from Jammu and Kashmir as a separate union territory on August 5, 2019, following the reorganization of the erstwhile state after its special status under Article 370 was scrapped.
Asgar Ali Karbalai, senior leader of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), said that there will be increased agitation after March as people from villages, blocks and districts will come out of their homes to demand their right.
Karbalai further said that the joint demands included statehood, inclusion of Ladakh in 6th Schedule, additional seat for the Lok Sabha (at present there is only one seat) and recruitment of unemployed youth of Ladakh.
Despite some of the groups from Leh have moved out themselves from the movement on the demand of statehood and the Ladakh Buddhist Association of Nubra unit had last year claimed that they did not support the statehood demand but stood by the demand of Constitutional safeguards for the local population, as per The Tribune. Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal had said in Parliament earlier that the 6th Schedule, which safeguards people in regard to land, employment, environment and cultural identity, should be applied.
