Ladakh watches shutdown over Centre’s ‘missing’ proposal, fresh political pressure

Kargil and Leh districts of Ladakh on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) witnessed a shutdown over the Centre’s failure to release the minutes of a meeting held on May 22 that apparently agreed to a new set of democratic and constitutional guarantees for the region.

Most markets and businesses in Leh and Kargil, the two main cities of Ladakh, witnessed a shutdown in response to a call by the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which are among the main civil society groups that have engaged the Center in a dialogue over long-standing demands for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Plan. However, operations continued as normal during the shutdown.

“All important points related to constitutional guarantees and an elected legislature for Ladakh were omitted from the official minutes of the meeting. We refused to approve the minutes after noticing the omission of key provisions, including guarantees under Article 371 and powers for the proposed elected body in the Union Territory. The Center is trying to water down commitments,” LBA president Polo Tsering Lehrje told the gathering.

Mr Lakrook also criticized proposals promoting large-scale investment and luxury tourism. The new excise duty policy was introduced “without proper consultation”, he said. “It could encourage alcohol consumption, disrupt family and social harmony and pave the way for outside commercial interests to dominate the alcohol trade in the region,” Mr Lakrook said, questioning why local stakeholders were not properly consulted before the policy was formulated.

Sajjad Kargili, a senior member of the KDA, who attended talks with the Center on May 22, said that a successful gang was observed in Leh and Kargil. “It reflects the growing demand of the people of Ladakh for democratic rights, constitutional guarantees, protection of land and resources, and greater participation in decisions that directly affect their future,” Kargili said.

The shutdown was also against the recently introduced excise tax policy to facilitate the opening of liquor stores; the ongoing land digitization process is being carried out without the consent of local stakeholders and adequate consultation; and the proposed privatization of the power ministry, Mr. Kargili said.

A sub-committee of the Union Home Ministry held a “fruitful meeting on a new arrangement” for Ladakh, Ladakh MP Haji Hanifa said. “It has been agreed that it will have power at par with the legislature and provisions under Article 371 to protect the interests of Ladakh. The dialogue is going on on these fronts. There is no clear picture of the proposal and minutes of the meeting,” Hanifa said. Apart from the minutes of the May 22 meeting, Ladakh is also facing a lot of problems and needs immediate attention, he said.

According to the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, two major civil society groups promoting Ladakh’s demands, the Center on May 22 offered constitutional guarantees under Article 371 in lieu of the Sixth Schedule and a legislature with a chief minister for Ladakh. The proposal also offered to strengthen legislative, executive, administrative and financial powers for the local leaders of Ladakh and brought the entire bureaucracy under it.

Published – 23 Jun 2026 23:31 IST