Leh stir explodes into deadly violence; govt. blames activist

Leh stir explodes into deadly violence; govt. blames activist

BJP office torched and Ladakh Hill Council premises vandalised as protesters seeking Statehood, tribal status for region go on a rampage; Centre says an unruly crowd destroyed public property, attacked the police; 30 security personnel injured.

Several people were feared dead and many injured in Leh city in the Union Territory of Ladakh on Wednesday after an ongoing protest demanding the constitutional safeguards of Statehood and tribal status for the region bordering China turned violent.

The Union Home Ministry, in a statement, said an unruly mob destroyed public property and attacked the police, injuring around 30 security personnel. The police had to resort to firing, in which “unfortunately some casualties are reported”, it said.

The Ministry said a hunger strike was started by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on September 10 to press for Statehood and inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule (tribal status). It said the Government of India had been actively engaging with the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), and despite a planned meeting on September 26 with the leaders, “a mob guided by Sonam Wangchuk’s provocative statements” caused violence.

“The government stands committed to the aspiration of people of Ladakh by providing adequate constitutional safeguards,” the Ministry said.

It added that the demands on which Mr. Wangchuk was on hunger strike were an integral part of the discussion of a high-powered committee.

‘Mislead the people’

“In spite of many leaders urging to call off the hunger strike, he continued with the hunger strike and misleading the people through provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal... Amidst these violent developments, he broke his fast and left for his village in an ambulance without making serious efforts to control the situation,” it said. The protesters, mostly youth, torched the BJP office and vandalised the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council premises.

The Ministry added that the process of dialogue through the high-powered committee had yielded phenomenal results, such as increasing reservation for Ladakh Scheduled Tribe from 45% to 84%, providing one-third reservation for women in the councils, and declaring Bhoti and Purgi as official languages. The process for recruitment for 1,800 posts had also commenced, the Ministry said.

Ladakh Lieutenant-Governor Kavinder Gupta, in a televised address, confirmed the deaths but did not specify the number, adding that curfew had been imposed as a precautionary measure.

“Deployment of security personnel was made in the wake of a shutdown call to maintain law and order in Leh. The security personnel were provided with lathis (batons). However, there was an attempt to burn down a CRPF vehicle with personnel in it. The vehicle of the Director-General of Police was attacked with stones,” Mr. Gupta said.

On Tuesday, Home Ministry officials had called a delegation of seven leaders from Ladakh to Delhi on September 26 for a preliminary meeting, Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, the president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), told The Hindu.

Mr. Lakruk, who is also the co-convener of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), which had been spearheading the protests, told The Hindu that a large number of people in the age group of 14-25 joined the protests on Wednesday, a day after two elderly protesters, who were on hunger strike along with Mr. Wangchuk for 14 days, were hospitalised.

Following the violence, Mr. Wangchuk called off the hunger strike. Addressing a virtual press conference, he said that “nobody had an inkling something like this will happen”.

“Many leaders who came here said that peaceful protests are not enough. We never thought it will explode like this. Ladakh witnessed Gen Z frenzy today. They were not listening to anybody. They were not even afraid of bullets. This is the fifth time we have sat on a hunger strike. The youth said peaceful protests are not working... we were being told by the youth for the past few days,” Mr. Wangchuk said.