A demand has been raised to grant Ladakh recognition as a full-fledged state and to bring it under the ambit of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. On Wednesday, protests began in Leh in support of this demand, which soon turned violent. Quoting a local administration official, news agency PTI reported that four people have died so far in clashes between security forces and protestors, while nearly 70 others have been injured. Curfew has been imposed to bring the situation under control.
The Central government is scheduled to hold talks with a Ladakh delegation on October 6. Ahead of that meeting, a group of youths staged protests in Leh on Wednesday. Allegedly, during the agitation, protestors set fire to the BJP party office in Leh. They also torched a police vehicle parked in front of the office. The situation escalated rapidly, leading to clashes with police and security forces. To disperse the crowd, police fired tear gas shells and resorted to lathicharge.
Sonam Wangchuk expressed his anger over Wednesday’s violent protests. He remarked that peaceful resistance had been overshadowed by violence, and also criticized Ladakh’s political parties, calling them “incompetent” and unable to guide the younger generation. “This is the outburst of a fire that has been simmering for a long time,” Wangchuk said, while clarifying that he does not support violent movements of any kind.
For the past several years, a movement has been ongoing to secure statehood for Ladakh. Wangchuk has been one of its key faces. His demands include: bringing Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and granting it full statehood, establishing a separate Public Service Commission for the region, and providing separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts. The real-life “Rancho” has repeatedly voiced these demands and even staged multiple hunger strikes.
Wednesday’s protest was called by the youth wing of the Leh Apex Body (LAB). Its chairman, Thupstan Sowang, said: “Our movement in Ladakh has been centered around four main demands for a long time. Certain incidents occurred which led the protest to take a violent turn. Some of our people lost their lives. We want to assure the people of Ladakh that the blood of the young martyrs will not go in vain.” Sowang also declared that larger movements will be organized in the future.