On 10 December 2023, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution in Jammu and Kashmir stating that it was a "temporary provision.”
Delivering the landmark judgment, the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud held that the exercise of presidential power to issue a constitutional order abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution is valid.
On 5 August 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government abrogated Article 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution which had guaranteed limited autonomy to the region. The state was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The top court directed the Election Commission of India to hold elections in the region by 30 September 2024. It also directed that the restoration of statehood should take place as soon as possible.
It may be noted that J&K has been under governor’s rule since 2018 and saw the last Assembly elections in 2014.
Ladakh Group’s Meeting With Delhi Officials
The court also upheld the carving out of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory.
Even if the SC put a rubber stamp on what the BJP did on 5 August 2019, the people of Ladakh have not lost hope and are firm in protecting their land and job rights.
Just a week before the SC's landmark decision, representatives from Ladakh on 4 December met the Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai at the Ministry of Home Affairs to discuss the issues and concerns of the people of Ladakh region.
In a first of its kind, the meeting comes 11 months after the MHA constituted a High-Powered Committee (HPC) headed by Rai to “ensure protection of land and employment”.
After many negotiations, the group from Ladakh agreed to meet the officials in New Delhi and maintained that the meeting was "successful”. Notably, the cold desert was up in arms against the BJP-led government for not addressing the demands.
According to reports, the group from Ladakh put forth their concerns in a four-point agenda before the MHA in a meeting which lasted for over 90 minutes.
The four agenda points include full-fledged Statehood for Ladakh, Constitutional Safeguards under the 6th schedule of the Indian Constitution, early recruitment process, and PSC for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
The Quint spoke to Sajjad Kargili – one of the members of the representative regarding the meeting. Kargili who hails from the Kargil region is a known social and political activist from Ladakh and fought the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate.
He is one of the representatives of Jamiat-ul-Ulama Isna Asharia – a top socio-religious institution of Kargil.
Here are the excerpts:
A few weeks ago, you had a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). What specific issues and concerns did you discuss during this interaction?
Yes, this was the first official meeting after the formation of the high-powered committee. It consists of seven people from Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), seven from the Leh Apex Body (LAB), apart from Chief Executive Counsellors from Kargil and Leh and MPs from Ladakh.
But what was their response?
The response was positive. We were told to submit all of our demands in written format and after the culmination of the winter session, the government will call another meeting and they will try to solve all the issues one after the other. This is the assurance we got.
Since Ladakh has been demanding implementation of the 6th schedule of the Indian Constitution, did you discuss it with the MHA?
The government listened to all our concerns. We told them that 97 percent of Ladakh's population is tribals and Ladakh MP, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal was the first person to talk about the 6th schedule. The tribal Minister Arjun Munda had also put forth the issue. The promise should be fulfilled.
As it was our inaugural meeting, they predominantly lent an ear to our concerns. The government provided assurances that our issues would be addressed as a priority and emphasised the special significance of Ladakh to them.
For now, we'll adhere to the sixth schedule and discussing Ladakh's statehood will be part of our agenda in future.
Our demands are not something that is out of the box. We are hopeful they will be looked into even though it may not happen all of a sudden.
Why do the people of Ladakh feel that they should have a UT with legislature?
Having a legislature is part of a democracy and that of the political process. At the time of the Abrogation of Article 370, there was a clear divide between Leh and Kargil. The people from Kargil did not want it, however, the people of Leh wanted Ladakh to be a Union Territory but with a legislature.
Without a legislature, the voice of the people of Ladakh is getting undermined and no one among them is involved in decision-making which is making things worse. That is why the demand for the legislature is justified and necessary.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision on Article 370 has come, do you have any hopes that the Centre will agree to your demands?
As far as the KDA is concerned, we are very disappointed with the decision of the Supreme Court. In future, it can hurt the federal structure of India.
Ladakh is a sensitive region and is strategically very important. More than 80 percent people of Ladakh are united on the four-point agenda despite many differences on religious and other basis.
But how will SC’s decision impact regional politics in Ladakh?
I don’t think it will have much of an impact. This is not the first verdict of the SC. Before this, in the case of Samprat Prakash, the decision came. I don’t feel this is the last decision of the Supreme Court.
Maybe the time will come when the seven bench will give another verdict, no one knows. Politics in this region has been changing every 15-20 years.
And if the demands aren’t met, what will be the future course of action?
As I said, when it comes to Ladakh, things are different. People are living in a sensitive region and the region is strategically very important. I don’t think that the government will try to anger the people of Ladakh. The government may take time but we hope that it will listen to all of our four points.
If our demands are not met, we will take a unified call and address the issue according to the leadership.
What made the Buddhists from Leh and the Muslims from Kargil join hands?
Because of the sense of insecurity. You see there wasn’t any clarity on things. We speak the same language and no one was listening to us, so we decided to set aside our differences and fight collectively.
This is the second time that the government is negotiating with protestors. One was at the time of Kisan Aandolan or the Farmers Protest and the second time it was with the people of Ladakh. During the CAA, demands were not looked into, even for that matter Kashmir, a meeting was called on only once.
I think the government is taking Ladakh seriously and people are fighting for their rights unitedly.
(Auqib Javeed is a Srinagar-based journalist. He tweets at @AuqibJaveed. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)