Ladakh groups call off talks with Centre, say dialogue can’t be held ‘at gunpo ...
The Apex Body Leh and Kargil Democratic Alliance, civil society coalitions that have been leading the movement seeking constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, have called off talks with the Union home ministry, The Hindu reported. The coalitions stated that “talks cannot be held at gunpoint”.Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, co-convenor of the Apex Body Leh, said that the Union government and some media organisations had been making baseless allegations about the citizens of Ladakh being “anti-national”, and had been accusing them of having Pakistani links.
The primary reason for calling off the dialogue was the lack of commitment by the Centre to hold a judicial inquiry into the killing of four persons in police firing during the protests on September 24, said the Apex Body Leh.
“Our children were shot in the head,” Lakruk was quoted as saying by The Hindu. “…The Central Reserve Police Force fired at our people without the permission of the district magistrate. We have proof to support this.”
The protesters on September 24 were demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which guarantees protection for land and nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal-dominated areas. Demonstrators clashed with and threw stones at the police, and set fire to the Bharatiya Janata Party office and a police vehicle.
After the clashes, the police detained 50 persons, Lakruk was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
“Till the time the tag of anti-nationals on our children is not removed, we will not participate in the talks with government,” he said. “Ladakhis will not tolerate this.”
Lakruk also questioned the restrictions on citizens participating in the cremation of two of the four persons killed during the protests, The Indian Express reported.
Former Ladakh Scouts members Tsewang Tharchin and Rinchen Dadul were cremated on Monday, with only close relatives, friends and neighbours allowed to attend. The other two persons who were killed – Stanzin Namgyal and Jigmet Dorjay – were cremated on Sunday.
Further, Lakruk questioned the detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act in the wake of the protests. “They started finding irregularities with Wangchuk’s institute only after he raised his voice for Ladakh,” he said, according to The Hindu. “They want to silence us.”
A day after the clashes, on September 25, the Centre cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act license of Wangchuk’s non-governmental organisation, which is mandatory for a non-profit organisation to receive foreign funds.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had initiated a preliminary inquiry two months ago into alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act by the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, a non-governmental organisation run by Wangchuk.
The Centre has alleged that the “provocative statements” of Wangchuk, who had been leading the protests in Ladakh, incited the violence on September 24.
Also read: In Sonam Wangchuk, the Centre finds a scapegoatfor its failures in Ladakh
The Kargil Democratic Alliance, which is leading the movement in Kargil seeking the implementation of the Sixth Schedule and statehood, said its position on talks is the same as the Apex Body Leh, The Indian Express reported.
The home ministry on Monday said it has always been open for dialogue with the two organisations. It said that the dialogue mechanism established with them through a High-Powered Committee has yielded good results “in the form of increased reservations to the Scheduled Tribes of Ladakh, providing women reservation in LAHDCs and protection to local languages”.
The ministry said it was confident that “continuous dialogue would yield the desired results in near future”.
⭐ The Government has always been open for dialogues on Ladakh matters with Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) at any time.
⭐ We would continue to welcome the discussion with ABL and KDA through the HPC on Ladakh or any such platform.
⭐ The dialogue…
— PIB - Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) September 29, 2025Also read:
Ladakh violence: How government inaction on its promises on autonomy has fuelled frustration
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