Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Wednesday ended his 15-day hunger strike as protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution turned violent in Leh.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets, with several vehicles set ablaze and the local BJP office attacked and torched. Flames and thick black smoke could be seen rising over parts of the city amid a complete shutdown.
In response to the unrest, authorities imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS, banning gatherings of five or more people to maintain order.
“I request the youth of Ladakh to stop the violence forthwith as it only causes harm to our cause and further deteriorates the situation. We do not want instability in Ladakh and the country,” Wangchuk told a large gathering of supporters. Tear gas shells were heard in the background during his appeal.
He also released a video message on X, urging calm. “My message of peaceful path failed today. I appeal to youth to please stop this nonsense. This only damages our cause,” he wrote.
VERY SAD EVENTS IN LEH
My message of peaceful path failed today. I appeal to youth to please stop this nonsense. This only damages our cause.#LadakhAnshan pic.twitter.com/CzTNHoUkoC— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) September 24, 2025
Gen Z-Led Protesters Take To The Streets
In his message, Wangchuk said that the violence was sparked by the hospitalisation of two hunger strikers whose condition worsened on Tuesday evening. This triggered anger among the youth. Young people — mostly from Gen Z — came out raising slogans, and many others soon joined them.
“This was an outburst from the younger generation — in a way, a Gen Z revolution. They took to the streets. For the past five years, they’ve remained unemployed. They’ve been pushed out of jobs with one excuse or another. And now, Ladakh is not even being given the protection it was promised.”
“I always say this is the blueprint — the recipe — for social unrest. If you keep young people without jobs and also take away their democratic rights, what do you expect? Today, there’s no democratic platform left. Even the Sixth Schedule, which was promised, has not been fulfilled,” the activist noted.
The violence followed days of rising tension. A separate group of 15 people had been on a 35-day hunger strike since September 10. After two of them were taken to hospital, the youth wing of the Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) called for intensified protests.
Protesters gathered at the NDS Memorial Ground before marching through the streets of Leh, chanting slogans in support of statehood and the Sixth Schedule. Clashes erupted when some protesters pelted stones at the BJP headquarters and the Hill Council building. Police and paramilitary forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution provides autonomous governance in certain tribal areas of the northeast. Protesters in Ladakh are demanding similar protection to safeguard their identity, land, and culture.
A fresh round of talks between the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ladakh representatives — including members of the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) — is scheduled for October 6. The Centre had extended the invitation on September 20, ten days after Wangchuk began his fast.
(With inputs from PTI)
