Four years of protests and Centre’s apathy: Why Ladakh exploded

Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were clamped in Ladakh’s Leh district, banning the assembly of five or more persons, as the ongoing movement led by activist Sonam Wangchuk demanding statehood for Ladakh and extension of the Sixth Schedule took a violent turn on Wednesday (September 24), leaving four persons dead and many injured.

After appealing for peace on social media and otherwise, Wangchuk called off his 15-day hunger strike. “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,” Wangchuk told his supporters who had gathered in large numbers at the venue of the strike.

Flames and dark smoke clouds could be seen from afar amid a complete shutdown in the picturesque Ladakh capital as a BJP office and several vehicles were set on fire by unruly mobs. So, what led to the sudden spike in tensions in Ladakh?

Also read: Ladakh | Regret over long-sought UT status, with no visible road ahead

A four-year-old protest

Ladakh has been protesting — peacefully — for the past four years, under the banners of the Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), a movement that Wangchuk joined later.

So far, he has organised several hunger strikes, periodically, and, last year, their movement came under major focus when he led a group of Ladakhis on a march to Delhi, only to be detained by the police before being released and given fresh assurances by the government of talks.

While so far not much has come of those talks, a fresh round of discussions is scheduled to be held between the ministry of home affairs and Ladakh representatives, comprising members of the LAB and the KDA, on October 6.

Also read: Fewer jobs, growing frustration: Ladakh fast running out of options

What caused outburst?

However, the announcement of the latest round of talks came only after Wangchuk went on yet another hunger strike on September 10, after two months of silence from the Centre. Even after the announcement of talks, the LAB and Wangchuk did not withdraw the strike, in which the activist was joined by 14 others.

What the Ladakhi protesters also did not like was the setting of the date by the Centre without consulting them, calling it “just dictation”. They had demanded an immediate next meeting with the central government.

Moreover, what led to the current flashpoint was that two of those on hunger strike — Tsering Angchuk (72) and Tashi Dolma (60) — had to be hospitalised after their condition deteriorated on Tuesday evening. That is when the LAB youth wing called for the protest, saying that public patience was wearing thin.

Also read: Stripped of J-K quota, no infra at home, Ladakhi students on protest path

A warning that came true

LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjey told the media that they had told the Centre that they would end the hunger strike only when an agreement was reached. “Our protest is peaceful, but people are getting impatient. The situation may get out of our hands,” Dorjey said, according to news agency PTI.

Wangchuk had also warned on Monday that people were growing impatient. The BJP government at the Centre should keep its promise of including Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, he said, and it should be done before the upcoming Hill Council elections.

“If they fulfil their promise, Ladakh will vote for them. They will benefit the most, and vice versa,” Wangchuk said. “Now the people tell us we are getting nothing through peaceful protest. We do not want anything to happen that may be embarrassing for India,” he added.

And the warning came true, manifesting in the outburst on the streets of Leh on Wednesday.

Also read: Dilli chalo | Why a group of Ladakhis are on a month-long padayatra

What are Ladakh’s demands?

The Ladakhi movement began after its separation from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and transformation into a Union Territory in 2019. Once the initial euphoria wore off, Ladakh realised very soon that the new status did nothing to change their situation and, in fact, did worse.

While the other Union Territory of the bifurcated state — Jammu and Kashmir — is more “independent”, with its own assembly and an elected government, Ladakh still remains more centrally governed. At the same time, it also lost some of its protections such as those under now-abrogated Article 370.

Also, Ladakh being a tribal-dominated region with its own fragile ecology, the demands are focused on preserving its unique characteristics. The four-point agenda of the protest includes:

1. Statehood for Ladakh

2. Inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution

3. Setting up a separate public service commission for Ladakh

4. Two parliamentary seats for Ladakh instead of the one it has now

Also read: Will career politician Kavinder Gupta be a better LG? Ladakh uneasy but hopeful

So, what do these demands address?

Even though Ladakh had for long demanded a UT status, it later realised that it did not fulfil their need for self-governance and greater protection. Ladakh currently has its Autonomous Hill Development Councils, which have executive powers for district-level planning and development.

The Constitution’s Sixth Schedule, on the other hand, is meant for the tribal population of the four northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Assam, which 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.

The home ministry has reportedly agreed to discuss only the last two demands. The demand for a separate public service commission for Ladakh is meant to address the issue of unemployment — a major reason for youth anger.

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According to a recent government survey, 26.5 per cent of graduates in Ladakh are unemployed as against the overall average of 13.4 per cent in the country.

Ladakh (26.5 per cent) features second in the list of unemployment, with Andaman & Nicobar topping it at 33 per cent, among all states and UTs.

And finally, an extra MP would mean greater say at the national level in issues that matter.

(With agency inputs)