Leh witnessed unprecedented violence after protesters clashed with police outside the BJP office, setting fire to a police vehicle and hurling stones at officials. The unrest followed a shutdown call issued by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) over what they termed the Centre’s failure to hold “result-oriented” talks on Ladakh’s long-standing demands, including statehood and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the streets of Leh, raising slogans and pressing for statehood. Police responded with baton charges and tear gas to disperse the crowd after protesters attacked security personnel and torched a vehicle. Additional forces were deployed to restore order.
This is the first major outbreak of violence in the ongoing statehood agitation. The protests came just days before scheduled talks with the Centre on 6 October, when Ladakh representatives are set to meet Union government officials to resume dialogue on their demands.
For the past fortnight, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has been observing a hunger strike in Leh to highlight the demands for statehood and the Sixth Schedule. Two fellow hunger strikers, who joined him on 10 September, were hospitalised this week after their health deteriorated.
Sonam Wangchuk has rejected the Ministry of Home Affairs’ recent announcement that a high-powered committee will meet the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on 6 October in New Delhi. He argued that the assurances lacked clarity and urgency.
The KDA, an alliance of political and religious groups in Muslim-majority Kargil, has also declared a separate shutdown on Thursday, extending support to the Leh Apex Body. In a rare show of unity, both Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil have joined forces under the LAB–KDA platform to push for safeguards.
Ladakh has been grappling with political unrest since it was carved out as a Union Territory in August 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir. Initially, many in Leh welcomed the move, but within a year discontent grew over what residents described as a “political vacuum” under central rule by a Lieutenant Governor.
Over the past three years, the region has seen recurring hunger strikes, rallies, and shutdowns demanding constitutional protection of its land, culture, and resources. Earlier this year, Ladakhi leaders walked out of talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, alleging that the government rejected their core demands.
The protests now coincide with the run-up to elections for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), scheduled next month. In the last polls held in 2020, the BJP had emerged victorious.
