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<p>The much-celebrated Union Territory status of Ladakh turned into a dicey political bargain for the people of Ladakh as the Centre took over the administrative control of the glacial territory, significantly limiting the powers of the Hill Development Councils—the local governing body—on crucial matters including governance of land. A major ramification of this is that the people have lost their ownership over land and agency over ecology. Ladakh’s governance has prioritised pursuit of three key developmental agendas—augmentation of security infrastructure, advancing carbon-neutral ambitions, and resource exploration. The local stakeholders have criticised the sweeping developmental initiatives as aggressive, undemocratic, contradictory, unsustainable in scale, lacking essential ecological context, and undermining local tribal autonomy and agency over land and resources. Against this backdrop, <i>Ladakhis</i> (demonym for Ladakh locals) have demanded the Schedule VI status to realise the local aspirations, and to reinstate tribal governance in their pursuit of environmental justice for the fragile ecology of Ladakh, and for themselves. The ongoing dialogue between the Centre and the people has highlighted the tension between the modern sovereign state and Indigenous right to self-determination. Accordingly, the research aims to examine the feasibility of the demand for the Schedule VI framework for Ladakh in light of the enviro-legal doctrines and prevailing ground realities from an environmental justice perspective.</p>

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Sixth schedule status for Ladakh: the quest for environmental justice through indigenous governance

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月12日

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  • Satyajeet Panigrahi,
  • Sanskriti Mohanty

摘要

The much-celebrated Union Territory status of Ladakh turned into a dicey political bargain for the people of Ladakh as the Centre took over the administrative control of the glacial territory, significantly limiting the powers of the Hill Development Councils—the local governing body—on crucial matters including governance of land. A major ramification of this is that the people have lost their ownership over land and agency over ecology. Ladakh’s governance has prioritised pursuit of three key developmental agendas—augmentation of security infrastructure, advancing carbon-neutral ambitions, and resource exploration. The local stakeholders have criticised the sweeping developmental initiatives as aggressive, undemocratic, contradictory, unsustainable in scale, lacking essential ecological context, and undermining local tribal autonomy and agency over land and resources. Against this backdrop, Ladakhis (demonym for Ladakh locals) have demanded the Schedule VI status to realise the local aspirations, and to reinstate tribal governance in their pursuit of environmental justice for the fragile ecology of Ladakh, and for themselves. The ongoing dialogue between the Centre and the people has highlighted the tension between the modern sovereign state and Indigenous right to self-determination. Accordingly, the research aims to examine the feasibility of the demand for the Schedule VI framework for Ladakh in light of the enviro-legal doctrines and prevailing ground realities from an environmental justice perspective.