Explained: Centre's new regulations for jobs and domicile in Ladakh, where they fall short
The new legal framework introduces a domicile-based job reservation system, recognition of local languages, and procedural clarity in civil service recruitment.
What are the new regulations?
On June 2 and 3, the government notified five regulations:
1. Ladakh Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment (Amendment) Regulation, 2025
This regulation introduces a domicile requirement for recruitment in government posts under the Union Territory of Ladakh, for the first time. The domicile is defined as a person who has resided in Ladakh for 15 years; or a person who has studied for 7 years and appeared in either Class 10 or 12 examination in Ladakh; Children of Central Government employees who have served in Ladakh for at least 10 years; and children and spouses of domiciles.
2. Ladakh Civil Services Domicile Certificate Rules, 2025
These rules lay out the procedure and documentation required to obtain a domicile certificate. The tehsildar is designated as the issuing authority, while the Deputy Commissioner is the appellate authority. Applications can be submitted both physically and electronically.
3. Union Territory of Ladakh Reservation (Amendment) Regulation, 2025
This regulation caps the total reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and other socially and educationally backward groups at 85%, excluding the 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
Importantly, these reservations have also been extended to professional institutions, such as engineering and medical colleges in Ladakh. The quota for SC, ST and OBC for admissions into these colleges was earlier capped at 50% and has now been expanded to 85%.
4. Ladakh Official Languages Regulation, 2025
This law recognises English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti, and Purgi as the official languages of Ladakh. It also mandates institutional support for the promotion of Shina, Brokskat, Balti, and Ladakhi, for preserving Ladakh's linguistic and cultural diversity.
5. Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Amendment) Regulation, 2025
This amends the LAHDC Act of 1997 to reserve one-third of the seats for women in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil, through rotation.
Why are these regulations significant?
This is the first comprehensive attempt by the Centre to tailor governance and administrative frameworks specifically for Ladakh, following its bifurcation from Jammu & Kashmir in 2019. Since the government is reluctant to grant Sixth Schedule status to Ladakh, which would result in greater autonomy under the Constitution, the regulations aim to address Ladakhi concerns through executive orders rather than constitutional guarantees.
By defining the domicile criteria and creating a legal filter for recruitment, the government has taken a significant step towards reserving jobs for the local population, a demand that has been at the heart of the protest movement.
Additionally, the language regulation offers long-awaited recognition to Bhoti and Purgi, which are mother tongues for large sections of the population. The promotion of Ladakhi, Balti, and other minority dialects reflects an understanding of the importance of cultural identity in political demands.
Since the abrogation of Article 370 and the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the political and legal status of Ladakh has been a deeply contentious subject. With the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir being bifurcated into two UTs — Jammu & Kashmir with a legislature, and Ladakh without one — the people of Ladakh found themselves under direct central administration.
What followed was not a celebration, but concern. Despite assurances from the Centre, residents feared that without constitutional protections, Ladakh's unique tribal identity, fragile ecology, and limited resources would come under pressure from external economic and demographic forces.
This led to a growing demand for the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule, which provides tribal-majority areas in certain northeastern states with legislative and financial autonomy through autonomous district councils. The demand is grounded in the fact that more than 90% of Ladakh's population belongs to Scheduled Tribes.
The demand has been consistently voiced by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which jointly represent the Buddhist and Muslim communities in the region. In 2024 and 2025, the movement gained national visibility thanks to a high-profile hunger strike led by Sonam Wangchuk, an engineer, innovator and climate activist.
How are the new regulations different from existing provisions?
Before these regulations, Ladakh was governed largely by adapted versions of laws in J&K, including the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004 and the Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment Act, 2010. These did not include any concept of domicile specific to Ladakh, protection for jobs for locals, clear reservation caps or exclusions for EWS, and recognition of Ladakhi languages in official use.
In that sense, the 2025 regulations represent a departure from borrowed laws and a move towards region-specific governance.
How do they compare with Jammu & Kashmir's protections?
After bifurcation, the UT of Jammu & Kashmir received:
In contrast, Ladakh:
So, while these regulations bring Ladakh somewhat closer to the protections given to Jammu & Kashmir post-2019, the region still lags behind in constitutional safeguards.
What are the limitations of these regulations?
Despite being an important step, the regulations fall short of addressing certain core demands of the Sixth Schedule movement:
1. Lack of constitutional protection: All new rules and regulations have been made under Article 240 of the Constitution, which allows the President to make regulations for UTs without the legislature. These are executive decisions that can be amended or withdrawn by the Centre at any time, unlike the Sixth Schedule, which is part of the Constitution and offers guaranteed protections.
2. No land safeguards: The most critical omission is the absence of any restriction on land ownership by non-domiciles. This is a key issue in Ladakh, given concerns over large-scale tourism, infrastructure projects, and climate vulnerability.
3. No local legislature or council with law-making powers: The Sixth Schedule allows for the creation of Autonomous District Councils with powers over land, forests, customs, education, and more. The LAHDCs, even with one-third seats now reserved for women, remain administrative bodies without legislative power.
4. Symbolic cultural protection: While local languages have been recognised, there is no roadmap for their official use in education, governance, or the judiciary.
KDA leader Sajjad Kargili expressed partial satisfaction with the new regulations. 'Something is better than nothing. There was a huge pressure from the public due to rising unemployment. We hope that the government will also now quickly notify vacancies and fill up posts so that the frustration of youth is addressed,' Kargili told The Indian Express.
He, however, said the Ladakhi civil society will continue to push for inclusion in the Sixth Schedule. 'Our demand is that the domicile condition should be 30 years and not 15 years. Also, the new provisions do not address our concerns over land and environment. There is no protection for land in the new regulations. Also, our key demand has been representative politics through the creation of an Assembly. So, these regulations are welcome, but they are only baby steps,' he said.
Sources said the Ladakh delegations will meet representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs next month, and all pending issues will be discussed. 'In our past meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, we have been assured that all issues will be discussed,' Kargili said.
Rishika Singh is a Senior sub-editor at the Explained Desk of The Indian Express. She enjoys writing on issues related to international relations, and in particular, likes to follow analyses of news from China. Additionally, she writes on developments related to politics and culture in India.
... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
"Unjust, unnecessary, and anti-poor": Mayawati slams UP govt's decision to merge primary schools
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 2 (ANI): Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati, on Wednesday, raised concerns over Uttar Pradesh government's recent decision to merge primary schools with fewer students with nearby institutions, saying that the decision appears to be 'Unjust, unnecessary, and anti-poor'. In a post on X, Mayawati said that the UP government's decision will affect children who receive accessible and affordable government education near their homes. 'The decision taken by the Basic Education Council, Government of Uttar Pradesh, to close numerous schools under the guise of merging/integrating primary schools is unjustice for the millions of poor children who receive accessible and affordable government education near their homes; rather, at first glance, it clearly appears to be unjust, unnecessary, and anti-poor,' the BSP Chief said. She further emphasised that if the BSP forms the next government in the state, then this decision will be cancelled, and the previous system will be restored. 'We appeal to the government to immediately withdraw this decision of merging/integration in the broader interest of poor students. If the government does not retract this decision, then our party wishes to assure all parents and guardians that, upon the formation of our party B.S.P.'s government, this decision will be cancelled, and the previous system will be restored in the state,' Mayawati said. 'However, it is hoped that the UP government, keeping in mind the broader interest of the education of the poor and the general public, will certainly consider revising this decision with empathy,' she added. The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) also held a protest on Tuesday against the UP government's decision to merge the primary schools. Earlier on Tuesday, Mayawati launched an attack against the Centre for revising the passenger fares in the Railways. She said that it appears to be a business-minded decision rather than one made for the public welfare. Addressing a press conference, Mayawati said, 'When Most of the people in the country are suffering from unemployment, inflation, fall in income, and poverty then Centre's decision to hike Railway prices is against public welfare and it feels like it is a business minded decision rather than Constitution's idea welfare.' Slamming the government, she added, 'In the name of nation first, like GST, now with Railways, the government is increasing the burden on the public. If the government rethinks the decision, it will be good.' (ANI)
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Court's pivot on social justice
Caste-based reservation in employment is an important feature of the social justice architecture envisaged in the Indian Constitution. It covered the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the early years after Independence, and was extended to the other backward classes (OBCs) after the Centre accepted the Mandal Commission in 1990. Meanwhile, political mobilisations provided the thrust to the making of a legislative climate favourable to the introduction of laws mandating quotas in various public institutions. The judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, supported these moves and, in fact, nurtured the vision that some form of affirmative action is necessary to realise the Constitutional ideal of building an egalitarian democracy through judgments that fine-tuned the reservation policy. Ironically, the Supreme Court, which is authorised by the Constitution to set its own rules on its functioning, had forgotten to implement this vision in its institutional structure, though multiple high courts had introduced reservations. PREMIUM Importantly, Justice Gavai's initiative to adopt a reservation-in-promotion policy for the apex court will have a bearing on other public institutions as well. (ANI) Which is why Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai's June 24 curricular, first reported in HT, that introduced a formal policy of reservation in the direct appointment and promotion for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) staff working in the apex court, is historic. To be sure, the policy does not extend to the appointment of judges, though the collegium is trusted to ensure that the judiciary is representative of the larger society. Nor does it extend to OBCs: The lack of compatibility between state and central lists make extending reservation to the OBCs a tricky affair, but surely, the Court will work its way around the problem. Importantly, Justice Gavai's initiative to adopt a reservation-in-promotion policy for the apex court will have a bearing on other public institutions as well. Legal and procedural complications had stymied affirmative action in promotions leading to skewed representation in higher posts. The establishment of a model roster and an updated register are steps that should help ensure internal accountability in promotions. The Supreme Court's experience could offer a template for other institutions, which have been reluctant to crack the glass ceiling in promotions. Besides cementing the legacy of Justice Gavai, only the second Dalit CJI, the initiative has sought to address a major incongruence in the working of the Constitution's social justice vision. Representation is an essential feature of constitutional democracy in India. It's a welcome step when it aligns the apex court with that vision.
The Print
3 hours ago
- The Print
Bihar BJP passes resolution criticising anti-Waqf Act stance of opposition
The political resolution, which dwelt at length on 11 years of the Narendra Modi government, also said, 'We oppose the appeasement politics of Lalu Yadav and the Mahagathbandhan.' The resolution slammed the RJD supremo's son, Tejashwi Yadav, and Congress leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Imran Pratapgarhi, who had attended a mammoth rally held here a couple of days ago in protest against the Waqf Act. At the state executive meeting here, held in the presence of Defence Minister and former national president Rajnath Singh, the party passed a two-page political resolution, besides a 'Vijay Sankalp Prastav' that declared 'Lalu (Prasad) and his allies cannot defeat us' in Assembly polls due later this year. Patna, Jul 2 (PTI) The BJP's Bihar unit on Wednesday passed a resolution criticising the 'appeasement politics' of the Mahagathbandhan helmed by Lalu Prasad's RJD, which has been opposing the Waqf (Amendment) Act that came into force in April. 'These leaders spoke of throwing the Waqf Act into the dustbin. The legislation has been passed by Parliament, and their stance is anti-Constitution. Their stand is in line with the politics of appeasement, much to the detriment of Pasmandas, who have been victims of oppression for centuries', the resolution said. Pasmanda is an umbrella term encompassing Backward, Dalit, and Adivasi Muslims whom the saffron camp is trying to woo. The resolution added: 'The BJP will never compromise on the welfare of any section of society. The Waqf (Amendment) Act was an important step in the direction of social reforms taking place in the country. Its benefits will be reaped by the generations to come. We thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same'. The resolution also touched upon the Emergency imposed 50 years ago, and alleged that the 'lives of many generations were wasted behind (Indira Gandhi's) slogan 'Garibi Hatao'. It was under Modi that 27 crore people have been able to overcome poverty'. The resolution also lauded Rajnath Singh for 'giving a strong message to China, while on its soil, against double standards towards terror, by refusing to sign the joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Minister's meeting'. The 'Vijay Sankalp Prastav' said, 'This resolution is dedicated to Mother Sita. The Bihar government has sanctioned Rs 882 crore for the development of Punauradham, her place of birth. It is a matter of pride for party workers. After the Ram temple at Ayodhya, the shrine of Sita Mata will be yet another grand symbol of our ancient heritage'. The 'Vijay Sankalp Prastav' also focused on economic growth in Bihar under NDA rule, besides pointing out the Centre's nod for caste census, which had been an emotive issue in the state that was at the forefront of the Mandal churn. PTI NAC MNB NN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
