New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) A meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) on Ladakh on Wednesday remained inconclusive, with two prominent groups from the Union Territory — the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) — reiterating their demand for statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the region.
During the two-and-a-half-hour meeting chaired by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, a first after last year’s clashes, both groups demanded that jailed activist Sonam Wangchuk be freed and 70 other detainees be released unconditionally.
Wangchuk was detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on September 26 last year, two days after violent protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 90 injured in the Union territory. The government had accused him of inciting the violence.
The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner “prejudicial to the defence of India”. The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier.
“Detailed discussion on our draft agenda demanding sixth schedule status and statehood for Ladakh took place during the HPC meeting, but the talks remained inconclusive. We cannot say the talks failed, but they remained inconclusive,” Asgar Ali Karbalai of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) told PTI.
“We raised the issue of Sonam Wangchuk and said that he was arrested on the basis of false and baseless allegations. He has been rendering service to the entire country in the field of education and environment for the last 40 years,” he said.
Rai, who is the chairman of the HPC, said he would convene another meeting where discussions would continue.
Karbalai said the two groups also demanded dignified compensation for the four persons who died during the protests, besides complete treatment for the injured.
It was the first meeting of the HPC since the September clashes last year, marking the resumption of suspended deliberations between the Centre and representatives from Ladakh.
The talks were suspended following the September 24 clashes between security forces and protesters demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh.
Both bodies, KDA and Leh Apex Body (LAB), demanded greater political autonomy for the Union territory created in 2019 following the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir.
The LAB and KDA have been demanding full statehood for Ladakh with its own legislative assembly to ensure greater political representation and self-governance, to protect the unique culture and fragile ecosystem, and land rights of the predominantly tribal population by granting autonomous district councils and two Lok Sabha seats.
A meeting between leaders of Ladakh and home ministry representatives took place in October 2025 for sub-committee level talks, where the Ladakh representatives had demanded an immediate release of all arrested leaders, including Wangchuk.
On June 3, 2025, following a meeting of the HPC on May 27, the home ministry announced new reservation and domicile policies for Ladakh, reserving 85 per cent of jobs for locals and one-third of the total number of seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils for women.
Under the new rules, those who have resided in the Union Territory for 15 years or studied there for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10 or 12 examination in an educational institution located in the UT shall be a domicile of Ladakh for the purposes of appointment to any post under the UT or under a local or other authority other than cantonment board. PTI ABS NSD NSD
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