‘Chai was nice, but nothing moved forward’: Sonam Wangchuk on Ladakh talks

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk said the dialogue was cordial, but produced no substantive outcome. (Image source: X/ @Wangchuk66)

A day after their meeting with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) Thursday said there had been no movement on their core demands and threatened to step up their agitation in Ladakh. The two bodies said they were planning to hold a padyatra from September 19 to 24 if the government did not come up with a concrete proposal within a week.

At a press conference in Delhi, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was part of the Ladakh delegation, said the talks were cordial but produced no substantive outcome. “The talks were cordial, chai was nice, but nothing has moved forward,” Wangchuk said. The leaders had expected the meeting to produce a draft proposal following the “in-principle understanding” reached with the Centre on May 22, he said.

Wangchuk said the delegation had presented a list of “non-negotiables” — supremacy of the elected UT-level leader over the bureaucracy, control over law and order — and an assurance that no major decisions concerning Ladakh and its administration would be taken before the proposed democratic structure was established.

“None of these were addressed,” Wangchuk said.

The leaders had also sought an assurance against irreversible decisions relating to land allotment and the grassroots democratic structure. “Even on these no assurances were given,” Wangchuk said.

Contentious issues

The LAB and KDA had said after Wednesday’s meeting that the MHA had proposed a directly elected UT-level body with legislative powers over land, culture and language, forests, and environment and natural resources, besides executive, budgetary, planning, and financial powers. But they flagged the lack of clarity over the body’s overall powers, particularly law and order.

The issue of bureaucratic control has been a key point in the negotiations. The final minutes of the May 22 meeting, endorsed on July 3, recorded that “control and supervision, including Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR)”, over civil servants dealing with subjects under the jurisdiction of the proposed elected body would be exercised by the elected executive body.

The leaders, however, said Wednesday’s meeting did not provide the broader clarity they were seeking.

Wangchuk also questioned the timing of the meeting, saying it appeared to have been called to persuade them to defer a padyatra planned for September 10, in which people from across the country were expected to participate.

“If we don’t get any assurance in the next one week, we will be compelled to step up our agitation in Ladakh. The padyatra will begin from September 19 till September 24 if the government does not give us a concrete proposal,” he said.

Responding to Chief Secretary’s comments

The leaders also responded to remarks made by Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra at a press conference in Leh Thursday.

KDA co-chairman Sajjad Kargili said the MHA had been expected to bring a comprehensive draft on the proposed constitutional safeguards under Article 371K at Wednesday’s meeting, but no such draft was presented. Instead, he said, the leaders were asked questions on the proposed governance structure during the meeting.

Kundra referred to these questions at his press conference Thursday.

“We were not there to appear for a NEET exam. We were there to demand a democratic set up for Ladakh,” Kargili said.

The questions, according to the leaders, concerned the designation of the head of the government, the structure of the proposed Assembly, the executive structure and financial powers.

Kargili said the Ladakh groups had been demanding a government draft for the past year and had already submitted three draft proposals of their own.

“But the government has not come up with even one till now. It shows the government is not sincere. Only when people talk of agitation and padyatra, meetings are called,” he said.

LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay Lakrook said the questions should have been part of an agenda circulated before the meeting if the government expected the leaders to come prepared with proposals.

Land decisions

The leaders also accused the Ladakh administration of taking decisions on land and the region’s democratic structure while negotiations with the Centre were continuing. Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa Jaan said the UT administration was “sabotaging the good intention that MHA is showing”.

“We have told the MHA that until this draft for Article 371K is prepared, the UT administration should not take any major decisions,” he said.

The September 24, 2025 violence also remained a major point of contention. Four people were killed during the agitation, and the LAB and KDA have been demanding withdrawal of cases registered against protesters.

Kargili said the MHA had assured them that cases would be withdrawn in phases, but they wanted all cases withdrawn immediately. They also sought early compensation for those killed and injured. Lakrook questioned the delay in the inquiry into the September 24 violence. An inquiry commission was constituted and several people had deposed before it, he said, but its findings had not yet emerged.