6th Schedule demand grows louder in Ladakh

A strong social media campaign is sweeping across the newly formed Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh rejecting the Jammu and Kashmir type domicile status for the residents and demanding application of the Sixth Schedule in the mountainous region by the Centre.

Youth, in particular, are growing restive on the issue and have stressed that they will accept nothing short of the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh as has been done in the country’s certain other tribal areas.

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A former MP and a respected leader of Ladakh, Thuptsan Chhewang, has also supported the demand.

Being part of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh too was covered under Article 370 that prohibited people from other states from acquiring land and getting government jobs. However, after Article 370 was scrapped in August last year and residents of J&K UT were brought under the Domicile Act in place of permanent resident of the erstwhile state, fear haunts people of Ladakh.

They fear the Domicile Act might also be applied in the area that would open the gates for outsiders to acquire land and settle there. Moreover, under the new system only class IV jobs have been reserved for domiciles of J&K. People in Ladakh were also not in favour of the Centre applying in the area the Article 371 that provides for special provisions to meet the unique needs of the backward regions, protect the economic and cultural interests and combat local challenges and protect the customary laws.