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Statehood for Ladakh    

20th December, 2021

Figure 1: No Copyright Infringement Intended

Context:

  • Ladakh observed a shut down on December 13 to press for four demands — statehood for Ladakh, protection under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, filling of 12,000 vacancies, allocation of two Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha seat. 

Demands:

  • Amending the Ladakh Autonomous Hill District Council (LAHDC) Act to clarify the role and responsibilities of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
  • Land, employment and cultural identity of Ladakh be protected under the Sixth Schedule. 

About 6th Schedule:

  • The Sixth Schedule consists of provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, according to Article 244 of the Indian Constitution.
  • It seeks to safeguard the rights of tribal population through the formation of Autonomous District Councils (ADC).
  • ADCs are bodies representing a district to which the Constitution has given varying degrees of autonomy within the state legislature.  
  • The governors of these states are empowered to reorganise boundaries of the tribal areas.
  • The roles of the central and state governments are restricted from the territorial jurisdiction of these autonomous regions.
  • The councils are empowered to make legislative laws on matters like land, forests, fisheries, social security, entertainment, public health,

About Regional Council:

  • The Sixth Schedule also provides for separate Regional Councils for each area constituted as an autonomous region.
  • Each autonomous district and regional council consists of not more than 30 members, of which four are nominated by the governor and the rest via elections.