Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk ends fast after Union govt says talks with Ladakh bodies to resume : Valley Vision

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his indefinite fast on Monday after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs assured him that talks would be resumed with representatives from Ladakh in December on a set of demands to protect the Union territory under constitutional provisions.

Wangchuk and other activists who have been demanding statehood for Ladakh, its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, job reservation for locals and two Lok Sabha and one Rajya Sabha seats for the region, began their fast on October 6 at the Ladakh Bhawan in Delhi after they were denied permission to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar on their demands.

The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 (Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas) of the Constitution guarantees certain protections for land and a nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal areas. In Ladakh, more than 97% of the population belongs to the Scheduled Tribes.

“On the 16th day of our fast, I am happy to say that our main appeal has been resolved,” Wangchuk said after meeting Prashant Lokhande, joint secretary of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladak. “The talks will be carried out by these bodies [the two civil society groups] and I hope that very good outcomes will come, not just for Ladakh but for the whole nation.”

On Monday, Lokhande met Wangchuk and handed him a letter from the home ministry.

The letter said that the committee of the ministry that had been holding talks with representatives from Ladakh would hold its next meeting on 3 December. The representatives include members from the civil society groups Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance.