Leh: “Do people ever get justice after the police kill?” 17-year-old Mepham Khasdup’s voice cuts through the air, nearly swallowed by chants of Buddhist monks upstairs, praying for his father, whose body stays wrapped in white sheets. His father’s death has left Khasdup in a state of shock, but the wailing of the women in his family drowns his sigh.
On Wednesday, 46-year-old Tsewang Tharchin stepped out of his home to join an ongoing hunger strike, called on 10 September by the Leh Apex Body, an organisation spearheading the demand for statehood as well as Sixth Schedule protection for Ladakh. By noon, he had been shot dead by security forces.
A day after two hunger strikers collapsed, Leh’s youth took to the streets on 24 September, with their protests leading to arson and violent clashes with police. By the evening, at least four protesters, including Tsewang Tharchin, had died, with at least 70 reportedly injured.
After calls to Tharchin went unanswered, panic within his family spread, as the once-calm streets of Leh dissolved into chaos and bloodshed. A few hours later, Tharchin’s family learnt of his death.
The retired serviceman’s house in Leh is now filled with Buddhist monks and relatives—all praying for his soul.
“My brother served the country—just like my father. He joined in 1996 and became a hawaldar in the Ladakh Scouts in 2017. He is a war veteran—he served in Kargil in 1999, and even a glacier fell on him once. But weeks later, he joined the service voluntarily,” said a tearful Konchok Ishley, a government official and younger brother to the deceased.
A specialised mountain infantry regiment of the Army, the Ladakh Scouts, also known as the ‘Snow Warriors’ or ‘Snow Leopards’, has been responsible for guarding the borders at high altitudes.
Tsewang Tharchin was not the only ex-serviceman to join the protests, which have been ongoing for a few years now. Many others, who have served in the Army, joined and have been taken into police custody in connection with the 24 September violence.
On that day, youngsters, aged between 18 and 24 years, took over the streets, but retired service men were among them, too. Besides Tharchin, the three others who died are Jigmet Dorjay, 25; Stanzin Namgyal, 23; and Rinchen Dadul, 20.
ThePrint has reached Director General of Police (DGP) of Ladakh S.D. Singh Jamwal for a comment, and this report will be updated if any response is received.
Unlike the usual crowd gathered for the hunger strike, numbering between 140 and 400 people, 5,000 hit the streets Wednesday, according to police. The protesters attacked the Secretariat of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in Leh, and the local BJP office, while they set several police vehicles on fire.
From Cheetah Chowk to the Nawang Dorjey Stobdan (NDS) grounds, where activist Sonam Wangchuk and others sat in a hunger strike, the crowd ran amok. Two days after the violence, Wangchuk, named as an accused in the FIR filed in connection with the violence, was charged under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and arrested.
Tharchin, from Kargil war to Leh protests
Historically, generations of Ladakhi men have consistently joined the military forces, as is tradition. Their ability to endure high-altitude and harsh cold weather conditions has even made them indispensable in protecting the borders.
Many Ladakhi families have at least one family member joining the forces. Some also have generations serving in the Armed Forces, and Tsewang Tharchin’s family is no different. His father, Stanzin Namgyal, served in Ladakh Scouts for 32 years before retiring in 2002.
“Is this what we get back for serving the nation? My son has served the nation twice. He fought in Kargil, climbed peaks and ensured we won the war. He fell and was badly injured, but went back again. This time, he also went because he wanted to do something for his people, but they killed him. They shot him in the chest and even beat him with sticks. Was this brutality necessary?” his father asked.
Tsewang Tharchin was the first of his seven children, and the only one who followed in his tracks, joining the Ladakh Scouts at the age of 18.
“He served 22 years, and then started running a shop post-retirement. He has served at Drass. He fought in Kargil on the glaciers as well as Dar Nala, and he, along with other Army personnel, hoisted the flag. He also served at multiple other high-altitude borders,” said the father. A subedar major during the Kargil War, he retired as a captain in 2002.
A native of Skurbuchan, some 230 km away from Leh city, Tsewang Tharchin moved back only a few years ago, returning to live with his wife and children.
“There are 250 families in our village and 150 ex-servicemen there. In some families, there are as many as three who served in the Army. They served to protect India—my son, for instance. He fought the war, but died by police bullets. That is the worst thing that could have happened to us,” the father said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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