The Leh Apex Body (LAB) has initiated a month-long padayatra—Delhi Chalo—from Leh to Delhi to press for their demands for Sixth Schedule status and statehood for Ladakh.
The LAB represents the influential Ladakh Buddhists Association (LBA) and other political and social organisations in Ladakh.
The LAB, along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), has presented a four-point demand to the central government, which includes the implementation of the Sixth Schedule, statehood for Ladakh, two Lok Sabha MPs (one each for Leh and Kargil districts), and a Public Service Commission for the region.
The yatra has received significant support from religious leaders from various communities, political and social activists, and many elderly people and youngsters.
The padayatra is being led by renowned environmentalist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk, who previously held a 28-day hunger strike in support of Sixth Schedule status and statehood for Ladakh. This hunger strike was continued by Wangchuk's supporters for 66 days in Leh.
The idea of the 'Delhi Chalo' yatra was inspired by Gandhi’s famous Dandi March.
The padayatra will conclude in New Delhi on October 2. Members of the KDA are expected to join the peaceful march in Delhi.
Tsering Dorjey, co-chairman of LAB, told THE WEEK that the padayatra will continue in Leh for 10 days before entering the Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh, then travelling to Kullu Manali.
"From Kullu Manali, it will pass through Punjab and Haryana to reach Delhi," he said. "We want the padayatra to reach Delhi on Gandhi Jayanti."
He said that they decided to undertake the yatra because the central government had shown no in accepting their demands for statehood and the Sixth Schedule.
"Even demands that were accepted, like a separate Public Service Commission for Ladakh, have not been implemented yet," he said.
He said that they would continue their struggle until their demands were met, adding that "Sonam Wangchuk is supporting our struggle."
He also said that some members of the KDA are participating in the yatra in Leh. "We had asked them to take the yatra from Kargil to Srinagar and then to Delhi," he said. "They said because of elections in Jammu and Kashmir, they would travel to Delhi to join the yatra."
There was initial euphoria in Leh when Ladakh was made a Union Territory.
But when the people realised they had lost the safeguards they enjoyed under Article 370 as part of Jammu and Kashmir, they presented the four demands to the Centre to safeguard their identity, land, and culture from outside influence.
The LAB and KDA leaders have held talks with the Home Ministry, but the Centre has refused to commit to granting statehood and Sixth Schedule status to Ladakh. The Centre has stated that they will provide Sixth Schedule safeguards applicable to Ladakh, but the LAB and KDA have refused to compromise, leading to a deadlock.