The streets of Ladakh have not looked like this for decades. An eerie silence has consumed the otherwise peaceful region known for its scenic beauty. It is the first such eruption in decades, and the first since Ladakh became a Union Territory after the revocation of Article 370.
Shops are shuttered, roads lie empty, and the presence of security personnel under the state-imposed curfew has overwhelmed the air with tension, as if any moment, it would erupt again.
Four people died Wednesday, including an ex-serviceman who fought during the Kargil war in the Ladakh Scouts, and more than 70 were injured as mobs ran amok and police opened fire. On Friday, after the Centre blamed activist Sonam Wangchuk for “provocative speeches”, the Ladakh police arrested him under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). The internet has been suspended, slowing the flow of information and constraining any potential for further mobilisation.
Before this week, the region had not been gripped by violence since the 1980s, when communal tensions flared between Buddhist and Muslim communities, particularly in 1989. Protests have surfaced, but they remained largely peaceful—until this bloody Wednesday.
Wednesday’s violence highlights a fresh wrinkle in Ladakh’s political history that has not been seen in the past four decades. And that is why the Union Territory (UT) is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week.
What the protesters want
Wangchuk and others had been on a 35-day hunger strike, pressing their long-standing demand for statehood and Sixth Schedule protection. Yet, on 24 September, the youth poured onto the streets, attacking a government building and the local BJP office, setting police vehicles ablaze—an eruption of anger at what they see as the Centre’s deaf ear to their demands over the years.
On 24 September, the NDS ground in Leh, where Wangchuk and others staged their protest, drew a crowd ranging from 140 to 400 people, mostly between the ages of 18 and 25. Some servicemen also joined. The crowd soared to 5,000 in just one day. It is being said that after the hospitalisation of two elderly people in the hunger strike and several emotional appeals that followed, the youth took to the streets.
Their anger might have come out this week, but the mobilisation had been simmering for a while. They had come prepared this time: to fight for themselves and their future, almost ready to face the consequences of their actions.
Both sides, the state and protesters, blame each other. Local residents ask if the firing was indeed necessary. Meanwhile, several questions remain unanswered: Who orchestrated this violence? How was it planned?
The people of Ladakh demand statehood and Sixth Schedule over an increasing fear that outsiders would corrupt their beloved land. They fear that the climate will worsen, citing this year’s torrential rain of three days, Ladakh’s highest monthly rainfall in 52 years. They don’t want outsiders building factories here, commercialising and bringing down the scenic beauty of the region.
And the Sixth Schedule, which safeguards the interests of the tribal population, will give them this protection. It provides for the administration of certain tribal areas by autonomous district councils, which also exercise powers to make laws in areas such as land and forests, among others.
They are also protesting against the rising unemployment. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022-23 report shows that Ladakh’s unemployment rate is 6.1 per cent, higher than the national average of 3.2 per cent. Ladakh also registered the sharpest increase in the number of unemployed graduates in India between 2021-22 and 2022-23, over 16 per cent in a year, the government said in response to a question in Parliament in 2023. The protesters—spearheaded by the Leh Apex Body, comprising the Kargil Democratic Alliance as well as other social, religious, and civil groups—also demand separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts, and job reservation for local people.
Also read: ‘Centre disrespected our patience, anger against BJP’—how smolder turned into blaze in Ladakh
Shaky future
Ladakh’s demands for statehood and Sixth Schedule protection have deeper roots. Local residents rejoiced after the revocation of Article 370 and the grant of the UT status. But their joy didn’t last long; they soon realised that their statehood and Sixth Schedule demands had been left hanging.
Now, they feel more deceived than ever. The emotional appeals of leaders such as Wangchuk, Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, Smanla Dorje Nurboo, Stanzin Chophel, and Rigzin Dorjay reached the youth, who came out in large numbers to showcase their aggression toward the BJP-led Centre, wanting to send the message that they won’t be silent.
But with the face of their agitation now locked away under the NSA, the future of the movement looks shaky. Moreover, families now want their sons to stay home due to lingering fear. Next time, they will be the ones dead, crippled, or locked away, like 40 others now in police custody.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)