Leh unrest over statehood puts Delhi on the spot, rekindles debate in Valley

The unrest has triggered a political storm in Kashmir, with both mainstream and separatist voices framing it as evidence of the Centre’s failure to win trust since the scrapping of Article 370

Srinagar: The deadly turn of Ladakh’s statehood agitation has complicated New Delhi’s post-2019 experiment in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, raising fresh questions about whether the anger in Leh could ripple into the valley, where statehood remains a simmering demand.

Four people were killed and dozens injured when protests demanding Sixth Schedule protections and statehood for the Union Territory of Ladakh, which was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, spiralled into violence on Wednesday.

The unrest has since triggered a political storm in Kashmir, with both mainstream and separatist voices framing it as evidence of the Centre’s failure to win trust since the scrapping of Article 370.

Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah was quick to link Ladakh’s “sense of betrayal” to Kashmir’s “greater betrayal”, while Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti said the violent turn of events showed that “nothing has changed since 2019”.

Even separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq termed the clashes “aftershocks” of the 2019 downgrading, aligning Leh’s grievances with those of the Valley.

Yet, for all the rhetoric, the Valley’s streets have remained calm. Public response has been muted, limited largely to sharing pictures and videos of the violent clashes online. Analysts point to fatigue after years of confrontation and the deterrent effect of tight security as reasons for the lack of resonance.

“For Delhi, however, the crisis has created a bind. Any move to soften its stance on Ladakh — by offering statutory protections or reopening the statehood question — risks sparking fresh agitation in Jammu and Kashmir,” Rameez Makhdoomi, a Srinagar-based political analyst, told DH.

He said a hardline law-and-order approach may contain the situation for now, “but could radicalise Ladakh’s younger generation and provide Kashmiri parties with ammunition to accuse the Centre of ruling only through force.”

The BJP-led Centre has so far blamed “instigators”, including climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, for the violence, while insisting that dialogue through the high-powered committee will continue. But Ladakhi groups such as the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance say only iron-clad guarantees on land, jobs, and identity will prevent further eruptions.

The episode has nevertheless given Kashmir’s mainstream parties a new political handle. NC and PDP leaders argue that if Ladakh feels betrayed despite celebrating Union Territory status in 2019, Kashmiris — stripped of both statehood and special status — have even greater cause for grievance.

How Delhi responds will be watched closely in both Leh and Srinagar. A calibrated outreach may calm tempers but risks opening a Pandora’s box of demands across the Union Territory. A crackdown could buy time but deepen the perception of betrayal.

Either way, the message from Leh is clear: the turbulence unleashed by August 2019 is far from settled, and its aftershocks are being felt well beyond the cold desert.