Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has criticised the latest talks between Ladakh’s key leadership groups and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), saying the meeting failed to produce any meaningful progress on the region’s long-standing demands.
The talks were held in New Delhi on September 9 by an MHA sub-committee to discuss Ladakh’s demands for statehood and constitutional safeguards, including protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Leaders of the Apex Body of Leh (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) had hoped that the meeting would result in a concrete proposal from the Centre.
However, representatives of the two organisations described the discussions as disappointing. LAB co-chairman and former minister Chering Dorjay Lakrook said there had been little progress and that officials had largely reiterated the points discussed during an earlier meeting on May 22.
According to Lakrook, the organisations were expecting a draft proposal from the MHA that they could study and respond to. He said no such draft was presented during the meeting, and the groups conveyed their disappointment to the officials in writing.
Wangchuk also criticised the outcome in a post on X. He said there was hardly anything new compared with the previous meeting and alleged that the government had not responded to the list of “non-negotiables” submitted by Ladakh’s representatives.
He further said there was no assurance that major changes to local governance or land-transfer policies would be avoided before a democratically elected Assembly is established.
Taking a satirical swipe at the meeting, Wangchuk shared an old clip from comedian Jaspal Bhatti’s popular show Flop Show. The clip features officials spending time in a meeting before announcing that the only decision taken was to fix the date of the next meeting. Wangchuk drew a parallel with the Ladakh talks, noting that the next meeting has been scheduled for October.
The MHA officials have reportedly assured the LAB and KDA that the next round of discussions will take place in Kargil during the first week of October.
Wangchuk also alleged that the September 9 meeting could have been intended to divert attention from the Leh-to-Kargil Padyatra scheduled to begin on September 10. He said the lack of progress was contributing to growing distrust between Ladakh’s representatives and the Centre.
The latest developments are likely to keep pressure on the government as Ladakh’s political groups continue to push for greater constitutional and political safeguards.
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