Leh Protests Resume Over Statehood and Sixth Schedule Safeguards for Ladakh
Protests led by the Apex Body Leh (ABL) resumed in Leh on 12 November 2026. The protesters are asking for statehood for Ladakh and for constitutional safeguards (special legal protection for land, jobs and culture).
The local administration removed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from the protest site and directed him to stay at home.
The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) has supported the agitation and called for a candle march in Kargil.
The ABL and KDA have jointly pressed four main demands for several years: statehood, inclusion in the Sixth Schedule, a separate Public Service Commission, and more Lok Sabha seats. Talks with a committee of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have also discussed an Article 371-type model of special provisions.
Ladakh has been a Union Territory without a legislature since 31 October 2019, under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
Sixth Schedule: Autonomous District Councils
The Sixth Schedule is a part of the Constitution that gives self-rule to tribal areas in four north-eastern states: Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. It creates elected Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) that can make laws on land, forests, village administration, marriage, inheritance and social customs. This lets tribal communities protect their land and way of life. Ladakh's groups want the same kind of protection.
Sixth Schedule status is one of the core demands of the Leh protests. Groups want elected councils with law-making power over land and jobs, which the present hill councils in Leh and Kargil do not have.
Constitutional Framework for Union Territories (Part VIII, Articles 239–241)
A Union Territory (UT) is an area governed directly by the Central Government through an Administrator, usually called the Lieutenant Governor (LG), appointed by the President. The rules are in Part VIII of the Constitution (Articles 239 to 241). Some UTs, like Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, have an elected legislature. Others, like Ladakh, have none, so the Centre and the LG make most decisions.
Ladakh became a UT without a legislature in 2019. Statehood would need a law of Parliament under Article 3. Until then, the people of Ladakh have no elected body that can make laws for the whole territory, which is a key grievance behind the protests.
Article 371: Special Provisions for Certain States
Article 371 and its sub-articles (371A to 371J) give special arrangements to particular states to protect their culture, land, or regional development. These were added by constitutional amendments over the years. Some protect customary law and land (as in Nagaland and Mizoram). Others create development boards or job quotas for backward regions (as in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka). An Article 371-type model is seen as a middle path between the present UT status and the Sixth Schedule.
In talks with the MHA committee, an Article 371-style package for Ladakh has been discussed as one way to give legal protection to land and jobs. The protesters say such steps are not enough without statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards.
- Ladakh became a UT without a legislature on 31 October 2019 (J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019)
- Protesting groups: Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA)
- Four core demands: statehood, Sixth Schedule, Public Service Commission, more Lok Sabha seats
- Sixth Schedule: Articles 244(2) and 275(1); four states (Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram)
- Ladakh ST population (Census 2011): about 79.6%; NCST recommended Sixth Schedule in September 2019
- June 2025 Ladakh rules: 85% of government jobs reserved for locals (plus 10% EWS); one-third of hill council seats for women
- New state formation: Article 3, simple majority, President's recommendation; not an Article 368 amendment (Article 4)