SRINAGAR: In a major political breakthrough nearly seven years after Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory without a legislature, representatives of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on Friday announced that they had reached an “in-principle understanding” with the Union government for restoring democratic governance to the strategically important Himalayan region.
The understanding emerged during a meeting held in New Delhi between a sub-committee of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and representatives of the two influential Ladakh-based civil society groupings that have jointly spearheaded the region’s long-running agitation for statehood, constitutional safeguards and political representation since 2019.
According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, the Centre has agreed in principle to create a Union Territory-level legislative structure under which legislative, executive and financial powers would be vested in elected representatives of Ladakh.
The proposed arrangement, if implemented, would introduce an elected legislature and an executive head for Ladakh, proposed to function on the lines of a chief minister-led administration.
The LAB-KDA statement said that all bureaucrats in the Union Territory, including the Chief Secretary, would function under the authority of the elected executive setup.
“Legislative, executive and financial powers will rest with elected representatives through a Union Territory-level legislative body,” the statement said, adding that “all bureaucrats of the Union Territory, including the Chief Secretary, will come under the executive head of the Union Territory-level elected body.”
The development marks the most significant progress in talks between Ladakhi groups and the Union government since the Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a high-powered committee in 2023 to address growing political discontent in the region.
The delegation that attended Friday’s meeting included climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who participated for the first time as a representative of the Leh Apex Body. The LAB delegation was led by co-chairman Chering Dorjay Lakrook and Dorjay Stanzin, while the Kargil Democratic Alliance was represented by Asgar Ali Karbalai, Sajjad Kargili and Ghulam Rasool. Ladakh’s lone Lok Sabha member Mohmad Haneefa Jan also attended the meeting.
The talks focused on Ladakh’s future administrative and political framework amid ongoing demands for the restoration of democracy after the region was separated from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370.
The two organisations stated that they reiterated the “long-standing aspirations” of the people of Ladakh regarding restoration of democracy, constitutional safeguards, statehood and Sixth Schedule protections.
In another key development, the LAB-KDA combine said the Centre had also agreed in principle to extend constitutional safeguards to Ladakh on the lines of Articles 371A, 371F and 371G of the Constitution, which provide special protections to Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram against legislative and administrative overreach.
The proposed safeguards are expected to provide legal protection for Ladakh’s land, culture, identity and local governance mechanisms.
Representatives of the Ladakhi groups said MHA officials informed them that the Centre was not immediately considering full-fledged statehood primarily because Ladakh presently lacks sufficient internal revenue generation to independently sustain administrative expenditure, including salaries of government employees.
“It was explained by MHA authorities that the only reason why Ladakh cannot be made a state at the moment is that it currently lacks adequate revenue generation to meet the revenue expenditures like salaries of employees,” the joint statement said.
However, the groups said the proposed political arrangement could pave the way for eventual statehood once the Union Territory achieves greater financial viability.
Chering Dorjay Lakrook described the discussions as positive but said further clarity would emerge only after the Union government shares the draft proposal outlining the new governance mechanism.
“We were told that when Ladakh is financially sound, then statehood can be considered,” Lakrook said following the meeting.
KDA co-chairman Sajjad Kargili said the finer operational details of the arrangement would now be discussed with legal and constitutional experts in consultation with the MHA.
The latest breakthrough comes after years of sustained protests and negotiations by Ladakhi groups demanding constitutional safeguards and democratic representation.
The movement intensified after Ladakh’s conversion into a Union Territory without a legislature in 2019. While the move was initially welcomed by sections in Leh, dissatisfaction later spread across both Leh and Kargil districts over concerns related to political disempowerment, land rights, employment and cultural protections.
The region also witnessed serious unrest in September 2025 when protests in Leh turned violent, leaving four persons dead and dozens injured in police action, further escalating tensions between Ladakhi groups and the administration.
Following the violence, talks between the Centre and Ladakhi representatives had largely remained stalled until recent months.
Friday’s meeting is now expected to be followed up by deliberations within the 17-member high-powered committee headed by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has not yet issued an official statement on the reported understanding reached during the meeting.
