by Vikalp Sangam General Assembly*
4 September, 2024
Download the full Statement here.
We, 85 organisations and movements across India, express solidarity with the ‘Delhi Chalo’ footmarch that people of Ladakh have embarked on, on 1st September. This Yatra highlights continued neglect of the region’s legitimate demands for special Constitutional status, enabling its people to protect their land, culture, environment and economic interests. It is in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent marches against colonial injustice, such as the Salt (Dandi) March. We commit to join the Yatra on its route and in Delhi on 2nd October.
The primary demands by the citizens of Ladakh are inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, statehood, separate Parliamentary seats for Kargil and Leh, and a public service commission for Ladakh enabling its youth to get jobs. Such steps are crucial to safeguard Ladakh’s ecologically and culturally unique and fragile status, especially against unrestricted and inappropriate land use, commercialisation, and excessive tourism. Protecting Ladakh’s ecological integrity is also vital for the climatic and water security of South Asia as a whole.
The measures demanded are the bare minimum to enable genuine democracy, rather than centralised decision-making from New Delhi. And they are crucial for creating dignified employment opportunities for Ladakhi youth.
As elaborated in a previous (Feb 2024) statement we issued, Special Constitutional status to Ladakh should empower the Kargil and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils to exercise control over land, natural resources including minerals, tourism, and development policy. Additionally, we urge that Ladakh also be included in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, if it is possible to include an area under both Schedules. This would include the application of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) to empower Gram Sabhas and enable meaningful local self-governance. Both the 5th and 6th Schedules are in principle applicable to Ladakh given that more than 90 percent of the population are of Scheduled Tribe status. Additionally, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 should be expediently applied, especially to enable pastoral and other ecosystem-dependent communities to secure their collective rights over landscapes essential for their livelihoods.
We are shocked at how the BJP, having promised 6th Schedule status when Ladakh was converted into a Union Territory in 2019, has gone back on this. We urge the Government of India to agree to the demands of Ladakhi people. We also urge the people of Ladakh to continue strengthening their own internal democratic processes, so that communities and institutions like the Hill Council are able to resist decisions that adversely impact them and their environment, as also construct viable alternatives for meeting basic needs, aspirations, and the goals of well-being.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Ladakh and wish the Delhi Chalo Yatra success!
Vikalp Sangam General Assembly
*The Vikalp Sangam General Assembly (VSGA) is the coordinating mechanism for the Vikalp Sangam process (www.vikalpsangam.org), which aims to network movements, organisations and individuals working on alternatives to unsustainable, iniquitous development. It contains about 85 organisations and networks across India, listed below.
VSGA has issued the following solidarity statements regarding Ladakh over the last few years:
February 2024: https://vikalpsangam.org/article/statement-and-appeal-on-ladakhs-demands-for-constitutional-safeguards/
February 2023: https://vikalpsangam.org/article/statement-and-appeal-on-ladakhs-constitutional-status/
December 2019: https://vikalpsangam.org/article/statement-and-appeal-on-ladakhs-union-territory-status/
Contact persons on behalf of the VSGA:
Kunzang Deachen ([email protected])
Tsewang Namgail ([email protected])
Shrishtee Bajpai ([email protected])
Ashish Kothari ([email protected])
Vikalp Sangam General Assembly Members
Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development (ACCORD)
AGRAGAMEE
Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA)
Alternative Law Forum (ALF)
Amhi Amchya Arogyasathi
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)
Bhoomi College
Blue Ribbon Movement (BRM)
Canopy Collective
Centre for Education and Documentation (CED)
Centre for Environment Education (CEE)
Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA)
Centre for Pastoralism
Chetna
CGnet Swara
Dakshin Foundation
Deccan Development Society (DDS)
Deer Park
Development Alternatives (DA)
Desert Resource Centre (DRC)
Dhaatri Trust
Dharamitra
Ektha
Equitable Tourism Options (EQUATIONS)
Forest Rights Coalition – JK
Fridays for Future – India
Gene Campaign
Goonj
Greenpeace India
Ideosync Media Combine
Inner Climate Academy (ICA)
Margshala Foundation
Jagori Rural
Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP)
Kalpavriksh
Khudai Khidmatgar
Kriti Team
Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation (LAMO)
Let India Breathe (LIB)
Local Futures Ladakh
Maadhyam
Maati
Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (MAKAAM)
Mahalir Association for Literacy Awareness and Rights (MALAR)
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
Movement for Advancing Understanding of Sustainability and Mutuality (MAUSAM)
National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM)
National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR)
National Coalition for Natural Farming (NCNF)
National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW)
Nirangal Charitable Trust
Non-timber Forest Products Exchange Programme India (NTFP-EP India)
North East Network (NEN)
Organic Farmers Market (OFM)
People’s Resource Centre (PRC)
Peoples’ Science Institute (PSI)
Pipal Tree
Regenerative Bihar Collective
reStore
Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network (RRA)
Rythu Swarajya Vedika
Sambhaavnaa
Foundation for Economic and Ecological Development (FEED)
Sahjeevan
Sahodaya Trust
Sangat
School for Democracy
School for Rural Development and Environment (SRDE)
Shikshantar
Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust (SLC-IT)
Sikkim Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association
Social Entrepreneurship Association (SEA)
Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM)
South Asian Dialogue on Ecological Democracy (SADED)/ Harit Swaraaj Samvaad
The Himalaya Collective
Titli Trust
TN Women’s Collective
Travellers’ University
Tribal Health Initiative (THI)
URMUL Seemant Samiti
Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN)
Women’s Collective
Youth Alliance
Yugma Collective
Yuva Ekta Foundation
Individuals (Bablu Ganguly, Dinesh Abrol, Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, Ovais Sultan Khan, Sehjo Singh, SP Ravi)