Ladakh statehood row: Leh simmers after deadly stir; Sonam Wangchuk calls govt action ‘scapegoat tactic’

Srinagar: A day after violent protests left four people dead and over 70 injured, Ladakh’s capital Leh remained under curfew on Thursday with prohibitory orders extended to neighboring Kargil district and other major towns.

Reports said more than 50 people were detained in pre-dawn raids as security forces fanned out across the Union Territory to prevent further escalation.

The unrest, the most serious since Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory in 2019, erupted on Wednesday when demonstrators gathered at the site of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike. While the main protest was peaceful, a section of youth clashed with security forces, triggering the bloodshed.

In a tough response, the administration filed an FIR against Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin and cracked down on local organisers. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah came out in defence of the Congress and said it is the BJP’s habit to blame others for its own failures, and the violence in Leh was no different.

The Ministry of Home Affairs also cancelled the foreign funding licence of Wangchuk-led Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, days after the CBI launched an inquiry into alleged FCRA violations. The Union Home Ministry said that Wangchuk's fast and “provocative” speeches—citing the Arab Spring and Nepal’s Gen Z protests—incited a mob that attacked BJP and government offices and torched property

Wangchuk, seen as the face of Ladakh’s statehood campaign, dismissed the charges as a diversion. He accused the Centre of making him a “scapegoat” instead of addressing what he called the “frustration of six years of unemployment and unmet promises.” He warned that targeting individuals would only “further aggravate” the situation.

Kargil, where the Kargil Democratic Alliance had called for a complete shutdown, observed a total strike. In Leh, the agitation is being steered by the Leh Apex Body. Together, the two groups have been pressing for restoration of statehood and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule to protect the region’s fragile ecology and tribal identity.

The Centre has held multiple rounds of talks with Ladakhi leaders, most recently in New Delhi earlier this month, but has refrained from offering a timeline for meeting the core demands. This, protesters say, has deepened resentment among Ladakh’s youth.

In Srinagar, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq expressed sorrow over the deaths, describing the crisis in Ladakh as “aftershocks” of the August 5, 2019 decision that stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and split the state into two Union Territories.

With curfew and prohibitory orders still in force, the administration has appealed for calm. But the heavy security presence, continuing detentions and uncertainty over talks with the Centre suggest that Ladakh’s agitation is far from over.