A vehicle is set on fire during a protest by locals demanding statehood for the federal territory and job quotas for local residents in Leh, in the Ladakh region, India, September 24, 2025. | Photo Credit: STRINGER

In Leh, where prayer flags flutter over monasteries and peace is more than just a word, blood was spilled this week. On Wednesday, September 24, a hunger strike seeking greater constitutional safeguards and statehood for Ladakh spiralled into a protest.

In the Gen Z-led clashes with armed forces, four people were shot and killed, and nearly 80 injured, including 30 security forces.

In a statement, the Union Home Ministry said an ‘unruly mob’ attacked the police, vandalised government offices, and that the police had to resort to firing, which resulted in “some casualties”.

Ladakh’s Lieutenant-Governor Kavinder Gupta confirmed the deaths but did not specify the number adding that curfew (Section 163 of BNSS under which the assembly of 5 or more persons is prohibited) had been imposed as a precautionary measure.

What sparked the protest?

For six years, Ladakh’s civil society groups have been pressing for greater autonomy and constitutional safeguards — but with little progress. The frustration came to a head during a 35-day hunger strike led by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). Their core demands: statehood for Ladakh and Sixth Schedule status to protect land, jobs, and resources.

On September 24, anger boiled over in Leh. What began as a peaceful hunger strike at the Martyrs’ Memorial Park escalated when young Ladakhis — many first-time participants — broke away from the site and vandalised local offices, including the BJP headquarters. Clashes with police followed, leaving four dead and nearly 80 injured, including 30 security personnel.

Why is Ladakh significant?

Ladakh was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370 and the subsequent reorganisation of the former State into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislative assembly), and Ladakh (without a legislative assembly).

While both the UTs are governed by the Central government directly, the presence of an Assembly in J&K allows its people to elect local leaders to voice their concerns to the centre. The lack of one in Ladakh means they can’t even do that. So, the initial cheers of separation from J&K was soon met with the harsh reality of absence of political representation.

With a population of approximately 3,00,000 people, Ladakh is a strategically significant region as it borders China and Pakistan, a national security landmine. It has two capitals – Leh and Kargil.

The Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil, have historically disagreed over their attachment to J&K. But in the recent times, both sides have closed ranks, jointly demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards.

What do protesters want?

Why are they unhappy?

Despite multiple rounds of talks with the High-powered committee (HPC) appointed by the Central government, Ladakh’s demands remain unresolved.

The HPC was first constituted in January 2023, led by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, to address the concerns of Ladakhi people. The committee was reconstituted in November 2023, but the talks broke down in March 2024. It once again resumed on December 3, 2024, and the last round of these discussions took place on May 27, 2025.

What happened on September 24?

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, the civil society groups and other residents of Ladakh started a 35-day hunger strike to demand constitutional safeguards for the region on September 10, the latest in a series of peaceful protests that has been happening since statehood was taken away from them.

The groups demanded that the talks be held soon, following which the Ministry announced October 6 as the day for holding the talks. However, on September 23, the LAB conducted a press conference seeking to advance the dates of the talks as the hunger strike was already on its 13th day.

When Tsering Angchuk (72) and Tashi Dolma (60) had been taken to a hospital after two weeks of hunger strike, the civil society groups called for a shutdown on Wednesday morning, September 24.

On that day, several Ladakhi youth joined the hunger strike at Martyrs’ Memorial Park, which soon turned violent. Fury took over and the youth-led groups broke away from the protest site and started vandalising local office buildings and the BJP headquarters in Leh, leading to clashes with the police. Four were killed and nearly 80 injured, including 30 security forces.

Following the violence, Wangchuk called off the hunger strike. Addressing a virtual press conference in the evening, he said, “This is the fifth time we have sat on a hunger strike. The peaceful protest turned violent today... The youth said peaceful protests are not working...”

“The Home Ministry gave a date for talks after 15 days of hunger strike. This further angered the people. The Sixth Schedule is as relevant as it was five years ago. In 2020, under similar circumstances, a special plane was sent from Delhi to enable talks with our leaders. The delay in determining the date of talks was a major reason for anger among the youth,” he said.

Is there a similarity between recent Nepal riots and this protest?

Yes and No. Both Nepal and Ladakh started as peaceful protests and turned violent. In the case of Nepal, the Gen Z-led peaceful protests were reportedly ‘hijacked by external forces and political party cadres’ leading to violence against public officials and vandalism of government properties across the country. In the case of Ladakh, the civil society groups had been on several peaceful protests and hunger strikes over the past six years. And even in the September 24 hunger strike, the youth participation was initially low.

According to Wangchuk, “We had not seen the faces of Gen Z who protested today. Till today, our complaint was that the youth are not participating and only the elderly are part of the protest. Only 25-30 youth participated so far, today it was beyond our imagination.” It was after the emotion-driven Gen Z took over, clashes took place and peace was lost.

Published on September 26, 2025