Sonam Wangchuk Announces 10-Day Fast to Demand Ladakh Be Brought Under Sixth Schedule

New Delhi: Sonam Wangchuk, the innovator and Ladakhi Magsaysay Award recipient, is going on a 10-day hunger strike demanding various safeguards for Ladakh. He had previously gone on a five-day hunger strike in January.

The reason for the fresh hunger strike, Wangchuk said according to The Tribune, is because the Union government has not acted on the demand for extension of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to Ladakh.

“It was in the first point of BJP’s manifesto for Ladakh and people voted for the party as they had assured us of granting 6th Schedule status to Ladakh,” he said, according to The New Indian Express.

“If you keep something at No 1 agenda in the manifesto and after winning the polls ignore it totally, then people will lose trust in democracy,” he continued.

The Sixth Schedule provides for the formation of autonomous administrative district councils in tribal areas that have some legislative, judicial and administrative autonomy. These councils can make rules and regulations governing land, forest, water, agriculture, health, sanitation, inheritance, marriage and divorce, mining and more.

Various bodies in Ladakh have made similar demands after the region was separated from Jammu and Kashmir and made a union territory on August 5, 2019. Major citizens' bodies in Ladakh have criticised the BJP for not doing enough to safeguard Ladakhi culture and rights after this move.

His next fast, Wangchuk said, will be held at the end of May or the beginning of June. “I was planning to stage the fast from April 26. But since the Y-20 pre-summit was held in Ladakh on April 26, we postponed it for the better interests of the country. I will now be beholding the climate fast either in May end or early June,” he said.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.