Leh: Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk, has entered the twelfth day of his Fast for Sixth Schedule, calling on people from around the world to join a one-day fast on Sunday, March 17th, in solidarity with the cause, stating "We cannot allow the government to sell the sacred Himalayas to corporate and industrial mining lobbies to plunder and exploit."
On Thursday, Sonam Wangchuk urged people across the country to observe a one-day fast on March 17th to extend support to the people of Ladakh.
"The government will receive election funds, and corporates will make profits, but when disaster strikes, it will be the local people who suffer," he said while participating in the hunger protest.
"Stand up and defend truth, environment, and democracy," urging the need to safeguard their ecology and way of life.
"In sub-zero temperatures, many people have gone hungry to remind the government of its promise," he added.
"It was minus 17 during the first few days; now it goes minus 10. It is hard, but it's important to stand for truth, environment, and democracy. The present government had promised the sixth schedule during their 2019 manifesto; they cannot backstab the people of Ladakh."
Thousands of protesters rallied in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh on Saturday, February 3rd, in protest against the constitutional changes brought about by the reading down of Article 370. Hundreds join Wangchuk every day.
The climate activist explained that people in Ladakh thought they would be protected by the Sixth Schedule. “This rule is designed to help places with hills and special tribal groups. Usually, if 50% of the population is tribal, they can get this protection. But in Ladakh, 97% of people are tribal, so they were sure they would qualify easily. They trusted that since the government made Ladakh a special area, they would also give them this protection. It seemed like an obvious choice to them.”
"The government itself assured the people of Ladakh again and again that this safeguard would be given to Ladakh, and they spoke in large gatherings about this," Wangchuk said.
"The government even kept it in its 2019 election manifesto — it was, in fact, one of the top three promises they made." "Yet, four years later, nothing has happened," he added. (Behind Wangchuk’s seat hung a copy of the manifesto in which the BJP promised to implement the Sixth Schedule, and the climate activist also pointed to it in between his address).
He mentioned that the home ministry continuously procrastinated, avoiding decisions and providing various excuses," he stated. "Eventually, on March 4th, they flatly rejected any possibility [of this] and declared that they couldn't grant us the Sixth Schedule."
Wangchuk also informed that on March 24th, on the 19th day of his fast, he may urge people in capital cities of various countries to hold a one-day fast in support of Ladakh’s demands.
The people of Ladakh and its leaders have been demanding safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and statehood from the government of India.
On March 6, hundreds of people assembled in Leh after talks between the Centre and a sub-committee of Ladakh leaders regarding statehood, the Sixth Schedule, PSC, and parliamentary seats for Ladakh failed with Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk launching a 21-day fast unto death demanding a devolution of power and constitutional protections against what he said is an onslaught of outside influence that threatens the loss of their tribal identity.
"I am in support of leaders, Leh Apex Body (LAB), and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA),” the Ladakh icon maintains.
"It is an indefinite fast or fast unto death, but we are doing it in cycles of 21 days or as necessary because 21 days is the longest fast that Mahatma Gandhi kept in India’s independence struggle, and we are total followers of his fast of peaceful expression, and therefore we thought it would be great to follow that and make it multiples of his longest fast," Wangchuk said.
"We very much hope, though, that there will be good sense prevailing on either side or everything will be resolved sooner than that. But if not, we are very much prepared for longer durations."
“I'm reaching out from an altitude of 3500m, equivalent to 11500 feet. As our planet faces environmental challenges and climate change, its impact is felt more acutely in the Himalayas than anywhere else."
Based on the prevailing sentiment, residents of the area, which holds a single Lok Sabha constituency, might opt to abstain from participating in the upcoming general elections. They are deeply resentful towards the BJP administration, perceiving it as having betrayed their trust.
A high-powered committee (HPC) headed by Union Minister Nityanand Rai was constituted for talks with a sub-committee of Ladakh leaders. The sub-committee included Buddhist spiritual leader and former BJP MP Thupstan Chhewang, Chhering Dorje alias Lakrook, and Nawang Rigzin Jora, all from Leh Apex Body (LAB), along with Qamar Ali Akhoon, Asgar Ali Karbalai, and Sajjad Hussain alias Sajjad Kargili from Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) as its members.
Ladakh was separated from Kashmir when the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, revoked the special status (Article 370 of the Indian Constitution) on August 5, 2019. The government's choice to govern the region directly from New Delhi raised concerns about the region's democratic marginalization, limited involvement in developmental projects, and increased militarization of the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region. New laws passed by the federal administration that allow outsiders to settle and start businesses in the region have also alarmed locals.