Four Killed, 50 Injured as Agitation Demanding Statehood for Ladakh Turns Violent, BJP’s Leh Office Set on Fire

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Sept 24: At least four people were killed and over 50 were injured after a massive agitation over demands for statehood for Ladakh turned violent in the capital city of Leh on Wednesday. Police fired teargas and used batons after a section of demonstrators allegedly turned violent and pelted stones. The protestors also torched the BJP office in Leh.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Leh forcing the police to fire teargas and use batons to disperse the mob after a section of demonstrators allegedly turned violent and pelted stones. They have been observing hunger strike and called a complete shutdown on Wednesday to press their statehood demand.

It was the first time in recent memory that such clashes were witnessed in Ladakh. The violence played out in the backdrop of the upcoming talks with the government. The centre has called for a meeting with Ladakh representatives on October 6 to resume talks on the demands of people of Ladakh.

The administration has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS to ban the assembly of five or more people. Leh District Magistrate Romil Singh Donk said no procession, rally or march shall be carried out without the prior written approval of the competent authority. “No one shall use a vehicle-mounted or other loudspeaker without prior approval from the competent authority. No one shall make any statements which have the potential to disturb public tranquillity and which may lead to law and order problems in the district,” Donk said.

According to reports, the climate activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 15-day hunger strike in Leh amid intense clashes. He told his supporters he didn’t want any more trouble. For the last two weeks, Mr Wangchuk has been observing a hunger strike in Ladakh for statehood and the inclusion of the region under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The climate activist also issued an appeal to the people to shun violence. Wangchuk, who has long been demanding statehood for Ladakh, urged people to stop the violence, saying that it damages the cause. “My message of peaceful path failed today. I appeal to youth to please stop this nonsense. This only damages our cause,” Sonam Wangchuk said in a post on X.

The Leh Apex Body (LAB) youth wing had given a call for protest and shutdown after two of the 15 people, who were on a 35-day hunger strike since September 10, were shifted to a hospital after their condition deteriorated on Tuesday evening. The hunger strike led by Mr Sonam Wangchuk was also part of the ongoing agitation in the region.

Preliminary reports suggested that supporters of the LAB, an amalgam of religious social and political organisations, assembled outside the BJP office in Leh to register their protest over the Centre not resuming talks with representatives of Ladakh over a series of demands, with Statehood and Sixth Schedule status topping the list.

According to locals, violence broke out when the police tried to disperse the LAB protesters assembling outside the BJP office. There were reports of stone pelting outside the BJP office. The police used teargas shells to disperse the protesters. Several vehicles were also set on fire during the clashes between the BJP supporters and the LAB activists. The police have not issued any statement on what sparked violence outside the BJP office.

Over the past three years, Ladakh has seen growing unrest against the direct central rule, with the residents repeatedly calling for statehood and constitutional safeguards to protect their land, culture, and resources. Violence broke out two days after leaders of the Leh Apex Body, an independent organisation that’s been leading the protests, warned that public patience was wearing thin. The demand is not merely about statehood, but extends to a wider set focused on preserving the unique character of the mostly tribal region.

On the protest in Leh, J&K leader Mehbooba Mufti said, “It’s time the Government of India undertakes a sincere and thorough appraisal of what has truly changed since 2019. This video isn’t from the Kashmir Valley considered the epicentre of unrest but from the heart of Ladakh, where angry protesters have set police vehicles and a BJP office on fire.”

She added, “Leh, a region long known for its peaceful and measured protests, is now witnessing a disturbing shift toward violent demonstrations. People seem to have lost patience, feel betrayed, insecure, and let down by unfulfilled promises. It is imperative that the Government move beyond day to day crisis management and address the root causes of this discontent urgently and transparently.”

Reacting to the violent protest in Leh, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah reminded that Ladakh wasn’t even promised statehood and that they “celebrated” the UT status in 2019. “Ladakh wasn’t even promised Statehood, they celebrated UT status in 2019 & they feel betrayed & angry. Now try to imagine how betrayed & disappointed we in J&K feel when the promise of statehood to J&K remains unfulfilled even though we have gone about demanding it democratically, peacefully & responsibly,” he wrote on X.

Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory in August 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. At the time, many in Leh, including Mr Wangchuk, had welcomed the move. But within a year, concerns began to mount over what residents described as a political vacuum under the administration of the Lieutenant Governor.

This discontent gave rise to large-scale protests and hunger strikes. For the first time, political and religious groups from Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil joined hands under a joint platform: the Apex Body of Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance.

In response, the centre set up a high-level committee to examine Ladakh’s demands. However, successive rounds of talks yielded no breakthrough. This March, the Ladakh representatives had met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. But the talks collapsed soon, with the local leaders claiming the Home Minister rejected their core demands.

“During the meeting, the Home Minister told us that he had made a mistake by carving out Ladakh as a separate Union Territory. He also rejected our demand for statehood and the Sixth Schedule,” a leader who attended the meeting had said.

Tension was brewing in Ladakh since Tuesday after two protesters were hospitalised where they were reported to be improving. The civil society leaders from Ladakh, who are demanding constitutional safeguards for the region, had said on Monday that the Union Home Ministry’s decision to call them for talks on October 6 was “unilateral” and wanted that the Centre should have called the meeting sooner since the hunger strike by residents in Leh has entered the 13th day.

Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) and co-convener of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) which is spearheading the protests, said: “People are getting impatient now and matters can go out of our hands. So far, the hunger strike and our protests have been peaceful. Past experience shows that they (government) start taking us lightly if we do not exert pressure. The talks called by the Ministry are very late, they should take place as soon as possible.”

Mr Wangchuk had also said a delay in resolution of demands would affect the prospects of the BJP in the upcoming hill council elections. “They (government) can even go to the extent of postponing the polls or dissolving the elections, but that would be akin to foul play. They (BJP) should honour the promise made during the 2020 hill council elections (on granting Sixth Schedule status to Ladakh),” he said.