Leh: Angry protesters clashed with the police in Leh city of Ladakh this morning, pelting stones at officials and even burning down a police vehicle, in the first such instance of violence during the ongoing statehood movement.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Leh today, demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards. They have been observing a hunger strike and called a complete shutdown today to press their statehood demand.
The angry protesters attacked the BJP office in Leh, pelted stones at the police and also burnt down a police vehicle. In return, the police resorted to tear-gas shelling and lathi-charging to disperse the violent crowds.
It's 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.
For the last two weeks, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has been observing a hunger strike in Ladakh for statehood and the inclusion of the region under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
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.
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, Ladakhi representatives met 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 told NDTV.
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