Why in News?

• Recently, an Member of Parliament (MP) from Ladakh demanded that the region be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to safeguard land, employment, and cultural identity of the local population. 
• The MP spoke in Parliament a day after Ladakh observed a shutdown to press for statehood. Representatives of the region have raised the demand repeatedly since the constitutional changes in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

What is the Sixth Schedule?

• The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 provides for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions — Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) — that have some legislative, judicial, and administrative autonomy within a state.
• ADCs have up to 30 members with a term of five years, and can make laws, rules and regulations with regard to land, forest, water, agriculture, village councils, health, sanitation, village- and town-level policing, inheritance, marriage and divorce, social customs and mining, etc. 
• The Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam is an exception with more than 40 members and the right to make laws on 39 issues.
• The Sixth Schedule applies to the Northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram (three Councils each), and Tripura (one Council).

Why does Ladakh want to be part of the Sixth Schedule?

• There was much enthusiasm initially, mostly in Leh, after the August 5, 2019 decisions that created two new Union Territories (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh).
• The Buddhist-dominated Leh district had long demanded UT status because it felt neglected by the erstwhile state government, which was dominated by politicians from Kashmir and Jammu.
• Ladakh wants some legislative, judicial, and administrative autonomy with more financial concessions.

Can Ladakh be included in the Sixth Schedule?

• In September 2019, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes recommended the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule, noting that the new Union Territory was predominantly tribal (more than 97%), people from other parts of the country had been restricted from purchasing or acquiring land there, and its distinct cultural heritage needed preservation.
• Notably, no region outside the Northeast has been included in the Sixth Schedule. 
• In fact, even in Manipur, which has predominantly tribal populations in some places, the autonomous councils are not included in the Sixth Schedule. Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, which are totally tribal, are also not in the Sixth Schedule.
• Ladakh’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule would be difficult. The Constitution is very clear, the Sixth Schedule is for the Northeast. For tribal areas in the rest of the country, there is the Fifth Schedule.
• However, it remains the prerogative of the government — it can, if it so decides, bring a Bill to amend the Constitution for this purpose.

Reference:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/ladakh-sixth-schedule-constitution-explained-7675082/