Ladakh talks end without draft; Wangchuk warns of fresh agitation from 19 September
Talks between the Union Home Ministry and Ladakh's two main representative groups ended in disappointment this week after the government did not present the draft document the groups had been expecting on a proposed elected body for the Union Territory. Climate activist and Leh Apex Body member Sonam Wangchuk has since warned of a fresh agitation from 19 to 24 September if the Centre does not offer assurances within a week, according to India TV News and the Daily Excelsior.
The meeting was held in New Delhi on 9 September between a Home Ministry sub-committee and delegations of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra also attended, the Daily Excelsior reported.
What was on the table
The two groups have been in dialogue with the Centre since 2021, seeking constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, which has been a separate Union Territory without a legislature since the 2019 reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir. Their long-standing demands are statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
According to the Daily Excelsior, officials at the meeting outlined a governance model based on Article 371 of the Constitution rather than handing over a draft. What was confirmed, the paper reported, was that the proposed UT-level body would be directly elected with its own delimitation and constituencies, and that there would be constitutional safeguards covering land, mining, identity, culture and languages. The groups say there is still no clarity on how legislative, executive and financial powers, including law and order, would be distributed.
Reactions from Leh and Kargil
Wangchuk told reporters that people had "lots of expectations because four months have passed since the last meeting", but that "today the draft also did not come", the Daily Excelsior reported. KDA representative Sajjad Kargili said the delegation had hoped the talks would move forward from the previous round but was "disappointed".
Chief Secretary Kundra offered a different reading, posting on X that "a general air of positivity prevailed" at the meeting, according to the same report.
The deadline
At a media briefing in Delhi, Wangchuk said he remained hopeful of receiving an assurance within a week but would otherwise launch an agitation from 19 to 24 September, India TV News reported. The dates coincide with the anniversary of the violence in Leh in September 2025. The groups have also asked for a Bill to be brought in Parliament during the Winter Session.
What happens next
The next round of talks is expected to be held in Kargil in early October, according to the Daily Excelsior. Whether the LAB and KDA go ahead with the planned protest will depend on whether the Home Ministry offers a written assurance, or a timeline for the draft, before Wangchuk's one-week window closes.