Students stage protest demanding inclusion of Ladakh in Sixth Schedule of Constitution

A group of students from Ladakh on Wednesday staged a demonstration here demanding for inclusion of the Union Territory in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The students, hailing from both Leh and Kargil districts, assembled at the Exhibition Ground in the heart of the city and held a peaceful demonstration in support of their demand, officials said.

The demonstration was organised under the banner of All Ladakh Students, Jammu.

"Our demand was UT with Assembly but since the Centre had only granted the UT status to our region, we are here to raise our demand for inclusion of the region in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to safeguard our identity, culture, environment and demography," one of the protesters said.

He said Ladakh is predominantly a tribal region and deserved to be included in the Sixth Schedule.

"We want development of our region but not at the cost of our identity, ecology and environment," he said.

The Union Territory of Ladakh was created after the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.