The Demands of Ladakh's People Offer a Direction to Manipur's Tribes

Something very interesting is happening in Ladakh, a Union Territory without a legislature and a population of 2.74 lakh.

The bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and the creation of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory were done simultaneously, both as part of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. Ladakh's people are demanding that it be declared a tribal area, its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the constitution for local autonomy, land, and cultural safeguards, and statehood for full democratic and legislative rights.

One can ask why the last demand is not enough for the people of Ladakh and why they must also ask that the whole of Ladakh be declared a tribal area and come under the Sixth Schedule.

Tribal areas and the Sixth Schedule go hand in hand as far as the constitution is concerned and allow for a governance model in the form of:

(1) Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) with legislative, executive, and judicial powers.

(2) Land protections: Laws in many tribal areas prevent land transfer to non-tribals, or outsiders from acquiring land or settling without community consent.

(3) Customary laws: Tribes can follow their own customs in personal matters like marriages, inheritance, etc.

(4) Cultural protection: Tribes get safeguards for languages, rituals, and traditional institutions.

(5) Ensure control over local resource management, economic development, and ecological conservation.

This is useful for Manipur's tribes.

Right now, Ladakh is a UT without a legislature. They are dissatisfied with the current Union Territory status, where there is no elected assembly (unlike in Delhi or J&K), where major decisions are made by the Lieutenant Governor and central bureaucracy, and where people feel disempowered and underrepresented. They want full legislative and administrative powers. Earlier, as part of J&K, Ladakh at least had representation in the state assembly. Now, they are governed from the Centre and have limited voice in their affairs.

It is important to understand why their demands matter.

A region like Ladakh, even though tribal in composition, is neither a Scheduled Area (as in the Fifth Schedule – tribal predominant, but not always majority) nor a Tribal Area (as in the Sixth Schedule – tribal majority regions and always majority).

This situation is similar to the district councils in the “hill areas” of Manipur which are neither under the Fifth Schedule nor under the Sixth Schedule. Ladakh local Hill Councils lack both the state government-backed protection of Fifth Schedule areas and the constitutional autonomy of Sixth Schedule areas. Ladakh has 95% plus tribal majority and can fall under the Sixth Schedule provision. Hence the demand of Ladakh people is to declare Ladakh as a Tribal Area and bring it under Sixth Schedule for full tribal self-governance and land protection.

Manipur “hill areas” are a tribal majority region like the four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura to which the Sixth Schedule is extended. They too deserve to be in the Sixth Schedule. All the hill districts of Manipur, falling under the “hill areas” as determined by a presidential notification of June 20, 1972, under Article 371C of the Constitution, have above 95% tribal population and are qualified to be declared as “tribal areas” and under the Sixth Schedule.

The tribes in the “hill areas” of Manipur should understand why the Ladakhis consider it vital that their land is declared a “tribal area” along with the extension of the Sixth Schedule there.

In the struggle of Ladakh's people is perhaps a direction for Manipur's tribes to come together to work for a common purpose.

Ngaranmi Shimray is a New Delhi-based social activist and tweets @AranShimray.

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