Day after Sonam Wangchuk presser, Ladakh leaders say 6th Schedule, statehood demands non-negotiable

Leaders from Ladakh have clarified that their twin demands for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule remain non-negotiable and they will not backtrack. This is a day after activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk suggested at a press conference in Delhi that both the Centre and the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) should adopt a “give and take” approach in negotiations.

On March 14, Wangchuk was released from Jodhpur Central Jail after the Centre dropped the National Security Act (NSA) charges against him, ending nearly six months of incarceration. In a press release, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that its decision to revoke charges against him under the NSA was part of an effort to foster an “environment of peace, stability, and mutual trust” for “meaningful dialogue”. 

For nearly five years, the ABL and KDA have spearheaded the movement for statehood and Sixth Schedule protections. Over the past two years, Wangchuk has emerged as the national face of the struggle, amplifying the cause through climate fasts and padyatras. 

In his first comments following his release, Wangchuk urged flexibility from leaders at both the Centre and in Ladakh. “I’m sure talks are a give-and-take process; both sides have to be flexible,” he said on Tuesday during a press conference, where he was joined by his wife, Gitanjali Angmo, and his lawyer, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tanka.

On Wednesday, leaders from the ABL and KDA told Newslaundry that proposals from the government that suit the region could be reviewed. 

Tsering Dorjay Lakrook, the co-chairman of the ABL, said that both sides have to accommodate each other, but there is a “limit” to how far they can negotiate. “I agree with Sonam Wangchuk. Talks mean that both parties have to accommodate each other's views. But we are still adamant on our (twin) demands. If there is a proposal from the government that suits us, we can think about it.”

Lakrook is a member of the high-powered committee (HPC) – formed by the MHA in 2023 to discuss land, employment, and cultural protections, and chaired by the minister of state.

Sajjad Kargili, member of KDA and HPC, said the government's purported proposal of protection under Article 371 was never their demand.

“Our ultimate demands are statehood and the Sixth Schedule. There can’t be any other position on this. If the government presents an acceptable alternative, we will consider it. For example, it is said that the government is proposing constitutional protections under Article 371. This was never our demand. We are going to the government with our demands – not the other way round,” he said. 

Unlike the Sixth Schedule, Article 371 does not provide for the formation of autonomous districts and regional councils.

“If the government says it can’t fulfil the promise of statehood or the Sixth Schedule, then it should clearly reveal what it can give to us. For example, if the government proposes a union territory with a legislature, we will welcome it. We will consider it a stepping stone (for our goal of statehood),” Kargili said.

Seconding Kargili, Jigmat Paljor, the ABL's coordinator, said the ABL and KDA would review any progress towards the larger goal of statehood. 

“Historically, achieving statehood has been a gradual process. In the ongoing discussions, if the government proposes conditions that support progress toward statehood, ABL and KDA would review them. However, our core demands — full statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule — are non-negotiable,” he said.

Despite this openness to a phased transition, the actual negotiation process has been fraught with delays. 

Kargili noted a pattern where the government only engages after significant unrest. “It has become a pattern that the government calls us for discussion only after the protest. We, Ladakhis, don’t want to come across as a people who are continuously protesting. We instead want to engage in a dialogue process that has concrete outcomes,” he said.

Pointing to the unresolved fallout of previous protests, Kargili also demanded the release of two leaders – ex-Congress councillor Smanla Dorje Nurboo and ex-MLA Deldan Namgail – who are still in jail following the events of September 24, 2025, when a group of protestors demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule protections clashed with security personnel. Four were allegedly killed in police firing. He also sought compensation for the families of the four victims and accountability for their deaths. “How is it possible that four people were killed by the bullets of security forces in daylight? Who is going to fix this accountability?” 

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