SRINAGAR: Over 100 people embarked on a 1,000 km padyatra to Delhi, led by Sonam Wangchuk, to advocate for Ladakh’s statehood and safeguards.
More than 100 people, including representatives from Ladakh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, have started their padyatra from Leh via Manali Road. After covering 1,000 kilometres, they will reach Delhi on October 2 to highlight the importance of dialogue between the people of Ladakh and the union government.
This foot march has been initiated by social activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk, and he is heading this march to New Delhi. He told the media before leaving Leh that through this foot march, they want to convey to the union government that people of Ladakh deserve statehood and elected Assembly, a public service commission and safeguards to their identity under the sixth schedule of the constitution. It is in place to mention that in the month of March, during a round of talks between the collective leadership of Ladakh and union home ministry, the dialogue almost broke down as the central government said that they were not ready to implement the four-point formula given by the representatives of Ladakh.
The foot march was also prompted by the recent decision of the union home ministry to create five more districts in the Union Territory of Ladakh, thus, showing no inclination to implement the four-point formula which includes full-fledged statehood for Ladakh; constitutional safeguards under the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution, early recruitment process & PSC for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
It may take a lot of time for the government to create the new five administrative units or districts, as it has to go through a process. A statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently said that the Ladakh administration would form a committee to assess various aspects related to the formation of the new districts, such as headquarters, boundaries, structure, creation of posts among others and submit the report within three months.
“After receiving the report of the said committee, the Union Territory of Ladakh will send the final proposal regarding the creation of new districts based on this report to the Home Ministry for further action,” the MHA said.
Wangchuk said that the foot march to New Delhi is the part of struggle by the people of Ladakh to get their democratic rights from New Delhi.