Ending all speculation, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has called the agitating groups of Ladakh, including the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), for the next round of talks in New Delhi on February 4.
The High-Powered Committee (HPC) will be chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai.
The last formal interaction between the MHA sub-committee and representatives of Ladakh was held on October 22, 2025, after the Centre ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence and accepted a detailed memorandum of demands submitted by the agitating groups.
During that meeting, Ladakhi representatives presented a revised 29-page draft proposal reiterating their key demands, including restoration of statehood and inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
"The High-Powered Committee for the UT of Ladakh, under the chairmanship of Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Government of India, will meet on February 4, 2026, at 4 pm in Kartavya Bhawan, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi," the meeting notice issued by the MHA Ladakh Division reads.
Earlier, the MHA had conveyed to the LAB and KDA leadership that the meeting would be held in the second half of January.
Co-chairman of the LAB, Chering Dorjay, told The International Business Times that the agitating groups of Ladakh will attend the meeting. He said that a 29-page memorandum comprising all demands has already been submitted to the Union Home Ministry.
In November 2025, the agitating groups of Ladakh had submitted a 29-page draft proposal, including demands such as the grant of statehood, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, and amnesty for people arrested in connection with the violence, to the Union Home Ministry.
In their charter of demands, the agitating groups seek statehood, the grant of Sixth Schedule status, and amnesty for arrested persons as some of the main points. They also demanded the release of all people arrested after September 24, including climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.
The Ladakh bodies had agreed to resume talks after the Centre ordered a judicial probe into the Leh violence by a panel headed by a former Supreme Court judge.
The Ladakh bodies are confident that the next round of talks will be fruitful, as MHA officials had, during the October 22 meeting, shown a very positive response to the issues raised by LAB and KDA leaders.
On September 24, 2025, Leh erupted in protests over demands for statehood and constitutional safeguards on the 15th day of a hunger strike led by activist Sonam Wangchuk.
As many as four civilians were killed, while nearly 100 others, including police and paramilitary personnel, were injured in clashes between protesters and law-enforcement agencies.
The High-Powered Committee, chaired by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, was constituted following sustained protests after Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory in 2019. Since then, voices across the region—cutting across religious, political, and social lines—have consistently sought constitutional safeguards to protect Ladakh's unique identity, fragile ecology, and cultural heritage.
The Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, despite ideological differences, have largely worked in tandem on the core demands, stressing that the movement represents the collective future of Ladakh. Their joint charter of demands has received widespread public support and has remained consistent across multiple rounds of talks with the Centre.
