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The Ladakh Apex Body youth wing called for the protest after two of the 15 people on a 35-day hunger strike since September 10, were hospitalised as their condition deteriorated
Smoke rises from a police vehicle that was torched by demonstrators near the BJP office in Leh on September 24. (Image: Tsewang RIGZIN/AFP)
Four people were killed and at least 45 injured, including 22 police personnel, as the protests demanding statehood for Ladakh turned violent on Wednesday.
Amid large-scale violence, arson, and street clashes, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk called off his fortnight-long hunger strike to press for statehood and extension of the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh.
The BJP office was vandalised and set on fire as were several vehicles. Flames and clouds of smoke could be seen from afar with police resorting to firing and teargas shelling to bring the situation under control.
According to officials, the administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS to ban the assembly of five or more people. Besides, Congress leader and councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag was booked for allegedly making a provocative speech at the hunger strike venue on Tuesday (September 23).
WHY DID THE PROTESTS TAKE PLACE?
The Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) youth wing called for the protest after two of the 15 people, who were on a 35-day hunger strike since September 10, were hospitalised as their condition deteriorated on Tuesday evening. Sonam Wangchuk said the fact that Tsering Angchuk (72) and Tashi Dolma (60) were taken to a hospital was most likely the immediate trigger for the violent protest.
Those on hunger strike were pushing the Centre to resume dialogue in support of their four-point demand – statehood, extension of Sixth Schedule, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil and reservation for employment.
Wangchuk said the situation is the outcome of frustration among the youth because they have been kept away from jobs. He said there is no democracy in Ladakh and the Sixth Schedule promise made to the public has not been fulfilled either.
A fresh round of talks is scheduled between the ministry of home affairs (MHA) and Ladakh representatives, comprising members of the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), on October 6.
The two bodies have been jointly spearheading an agitation over the past four years in support of their demands and have held several rounds of talks with the Centre in the past.
WHAT DID SONAM WANGCHUK SAY?
The default face of the hunger strike for statehood in Ladakh, Wangchuk stepped in with an appeal and an announcement that he was cutting short the fast.
“I request the youth of Ladakh to stop the violence forthwith as it only causes harm to our cause and further deteriorates the situation. We do not want instability in Ladakh and the country,” he told his supporters. “This is the saddest day for Ladakh and for myself personally because the path we are treading for the last five years was peaceful… We held hunger strikes on five occasions and walked from Leh to Delhi but today we are seeing our message of peace failing because of the incidents of violence and arson.”
He appealed to the administration to stop firing teargas shells and urged the government to be more sensitive.
“We are ending our fast immediately…the aim of the hunger strike is not fulfilled if our youth lose their lives. It is time to carry forward the dialogue with a cool mind. We will keep our agitation non-violent and I also want to ask the government to listen to our message of peace…when the message of peace is ignored, such a situation arises,” he said.
WHAT DID THE GOVT SAY?
Government sources said the Centre is committed to the welfare and empowerment of Ladakhi people and stands with the youth but the situation did not spiral on its own and was deliberately engineered.
In a statement from the ministry of home affairs (MHA), the Centre squarely blamed Wangchuk for the situation and said he made provocative statements drawing comparisons with the Nepal ‘Gen Z’ protests and Arab Spring. There is a high possibility that he could be booked for inciting mob violence, the sources said. Ladakh and its youth are paying a huge price for the narrow politics of certain individuals and the personal ambition of Wangchuk, they said.
The sources said the Centre had already fixed October 6 for the meeting between the high-powered committee and issues posed by LAB and KDA. It agreed on the new members for the committee as proposed by LAB, they said.
Wangchuck has long hinted at wanting an Arab Spring-style protest in Ladakh, the sources said. His reference to the Nepal protests seems like a blueprint and he has used this platform for his personal issues to hide certain irregularities coming to light now, they said.
Congress leaders made statements that sounded like instructions – talk of stone pelting, bandhs, and arson, they said. The youth are not to be blamed as they were misled and caught in a sinister plot for political and personal gain, they added.
WHAT IS THE CONSTITUTION’S SIXTH SCHEDULE?
The Constitution’s Sixth Schedule, meant for the tribal population of the four northeast states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam, makes special provisions in terms of governance, powers of president and the governor, type of local bodies, alternate judicial mechanisms and financial powers exercised through autonomous councils.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LADAKH
Ladakh, the cold desert region of India, known for its scenic beauty and strategic location as it borders both China and Pakistan.
It is a sparsely populated and high-altitude area, which is home to some 3,00,000 people. Around half of the residents are Muslim and about 40 percent are Buddhist.
Ladakh is classed as a union territory – meaning that while it elects lawmakers to Parliament and directly governed by the central government.
The Indian Army maintains a large presence in Ladakh. It was the scene of the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes between India and China, which left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.
The Narendra Modi-led government split Ladakh off from Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, imposing direct rule on both. But New Delhi is yet to fulfil its promise to include Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which allows people to make their own laws and policies.
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
Ladakh, India, India
September 24, 2025, 20:35 IST
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