Two civil society organisations from Ladakah on Thursday accused the Union Territory’s administration of crushing any protests against joblessness, which they described as a major problem for the youth.

The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) held a joint news conference here demanding statehood for Ladakh, autonomy under the Sixth Schedule, prompt recruitment to vacant government posts, the establishment of a Ladakh Public Service Commission, and separate parliamentary constituencies for Kargil and Leh.

“There is no democracy in Ladakh. When (certain provisions of) Article 370 were abrogated, the people of Leh and Kargil were happy (thinking) that the Union Territory status would usher in development,” Sajjad Hussain, a KDA member, said.

“But we feel that the lieutenant governor (LG) and some bureaucrats are running the Union Territory’s affairs without consulting the autonomous hill councils. Unemployment is the biggest problem.”

Hussain said that after students held a protest last year in Kargil demanding appointments to 12,000 vacant government posts, they were summoned by the police for questioning. “If students protest, action is taken by the police. There is no space for dissent,” he said.

Hussain said that 36 government officials were recently transferred from Kargil to Leh without consultations with the hill councils, which work with the panchayats on development issues. Hussain said the administration should have instead filled the vacant posts in Leh.

He said 90 per cent of Ladakh’s population was tribal. Ladakhis are demanding the region’s inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which would confer a special status on the hill councils, allowing them to decide on issues such as the utilisation of land and natural resources.

Hussain said the Centre had promised non-lapsable funds for Ladakh, yet the unspent funds were lapsing. The KDA and the LAB had protested at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday to press their demands before the Union home ministry.

The ministry had last month set up a high-powered committee headed by junior home minister Nityananda Rai to suggest ways of protecting Ladakh’s culture and language and addressing unemployment.

Hussain and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk alleged that the two autonomous hill councils, made up of representatives elected by the people, had not been consulted before the higher-powered committee was set up. The LAB and the KDA have decided to boycott the panel till its composition is reworked in consultation with the hill councils.

Wangchuk said the LG was invariably from outside the region and had little idea about the ecology, culture, living standards and aspirations of Ladakhis — and yet took all decisions unilaterally.

“Because there is no consultation, the hill councils have become weaker. That is why we have demanded full statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh,” he said.