{"id":4320,"date":"2026-10-25T04:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T04:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/?p=4320"},"modified":"2026-10-27T05:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:32:18","slug":"federalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/federalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Federalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<table style=\"font-size: 16px; font-style: normal;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<blockquote><p><b>SYLLABUS: Indian Polity<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>General Studies \u2013 :\u00a0 II <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parliament and State legislatures\u2014structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers &amp; privileges and issues arising out of these.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b>IN NEWS:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> What do the Centre\u2019s steps mean for Ladakh?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>QUESTION: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The demand for statehood and constitutional safeguards in Ladakh reflects the challenges of balancing regional aspirations with administrative efficiency and national security. Discuss.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>ANSWER: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir under the <\/span><b>J&amp;K Reorganisation Act, 2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> created Ladakh as a Union Territory (UT) without a legislature. While this initially fulfilled a long-standing demand for administrative separation from J&amp;K, it subsequently gave rise to political unrest led by the <\/span><b>Leh Apex Body (LAB)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The region\u2019s major four-point demands\u2014<\/span><b>full statehood, Sixth Schedule status under Article 244(2), dedicated recruitment mechanisms (Public Service Commission), and double parliamentary representation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014highlight a tri-fold challenge: satisfying regional democratic aspirations, maintaining administrative efficiency, and securing critical international borders.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>1. Regional Aspirations: Core Demands and Rationale<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Preservation of Identity and Environment:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Over 97% of Ladakh\u2019s population belongs to Scheduled Tribes. The removal of Article 370 heightened anxieties over demographic dilution, land alienation, and unchecked commercial development that could harm its high-altitude, fragile eco-system.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bridging the Representation Deficit:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Governance directly by a Central-appointed Lieutenant Governor (LG) has led to grievances regarding bureaucratic dominance over local public representatives.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Resource Sovereignty via the Sixth Schedule:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Extending the Sixth Schedule would empower local Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) with legislative authority over land, water, forests, and customary law.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Local Employment:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The lack of a local Public Service Commission (PSC) since 2019 created recruitment bottlenecks, prompting demands for domicile-based job protection.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>2. Administrative Efficiency: Challenges of Governance and Viability<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Institutional Conflict:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Friction exists between the existing Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs of Leh and Kargil) and the centralized UT administration regarding fiscal delegation and legislative power.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Economics of Statehood:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Establishing full state machinery (Assembly, High Court, Public Service Commission) for a population of ~300,000 presents challenges regarding fiscal self-sustainability and reliance on central grants.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Constitutional Architecture:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Extending the Sixth Schedule outside the North-Eastern states (Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram) requires a Constitutional Amendment under Article 368 and could establish precedents for other non-Northeastern tribal regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>3. National Security Imperatives: Strategic Realities<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Border Vulnerability:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ladakh shares sensitive international borders with China (LAC) and Pakistan (LoC). Geopolitical tensions along the Line of Actual Control require unified, swift decision-making and seamless central coordination over military logistics and infrastructure creation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Border Population as Strategic Assets:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Local populations in border areas serve as essential eyes and ears for national defense. Sustained political dissatisfaction risks alienation, which could impact civil-military integration.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Comparative Assessment: Perspectives on Ladakh&#8217;s Governance<\/b><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Dimension<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Regional Aspirations<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Central Administrative &amp; Security View<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Governance Structure<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full Statehood with an elected Assembly.<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Centrally managed UT status to maintain unified command in a strategic frontier.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Land &amp; Tribal Rights<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sixth Schedule status to grant full legislative autonomy over land and resources.<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special statutory protections (e.g., Article 371-style safeguards or updated land laws) without amending the Sixth Schedule.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Development<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eco-friendly, locally planned growth prioritizing fragile ecology.<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rapid strategic infrastructure, renewable energy, and connectivity projects.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><b>The Way Forward: Towards Asymmetric Federalism<\/b><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Enhanced Local Autonomy (Asymmetric Federalism):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Rather than full statehood, an asymmetric governance model\u2014similar to Article 371 provisions applied to other states\u2014can be introduced to grant explicit protections for Ladakhi land, culture, and employment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Empowerment of LAHDCs:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Strengthen the legislative, executive, and financial powers of the twin councils (Leh and Kargil), providing them authority over land management, ecological regulation, and local recruitment without creating a heavy state bureaucracy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Environmentally Sustainable Carrying-Capacity Framework:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Establish environmental regulations and carrying-capacity caps on tourism and commercial exploitation to safeguard the fragile high-altitude ecosystem.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Institutionalized Consultation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Maintain structured dialogue between the Ministry of Home Affairs, the LG administration, and representatives from LAB and KDA to build trust and address recruitment and developmental issues.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<blockquote><p><b>PYQ REFERENCE UPSC 2023<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The asymmetric structure of Indian federalism has helped accommodate regional diversity and satisfy localized political aspirations.&#8221; Discuss with suitable examples.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b>SOURCE: <a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/210558\/OPS\/GN4GM7SHE.1+GTBGN4U63.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hindu epaper &#8211; What do the Centre\u2019s steps mean for Ladakh?<\/a><br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SYLLABUS: Indian Polity General Studies \u2013 :\u00a0 II Parliament and State legislatures\u2014structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers &amp; privileges and 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