August 5, 2019, the BJP government decided to strip the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, downgrade it to a union territory, and also carve out a separate UT in Ladakh. The people of Ladakh, its leaders including activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk hailed this move and welcomed the idea of the place being governed directly from New Delhi. Little did they know, that the very move they are celebrating will become the devil in the bag, fighting against which will see many of them being killed, their main face being jailed and branded “anti-national”.
In this Blog, I will talk about the Ladakh’s long-standing demands for statehood and protection under Schedule 6 and the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk.
What are Ladakh’s Demands and Concerns
As everyone knows, Ladakh was part of the Jammu-Kashmir ever since the accession of the province into India. Historically, Ladakh’s complaint remained that it was ignored over the years as India’s main focus remained on combating terrorism and militancy in J-K, and understandably so. So, when the Article 370 was abrogated and Ladakh was made a UT, most people were happy thinking that being governed directly by the centre will be more beneficial for them. It is pertinent to note that while it was clear that J-K will be a UT with legislature, Ladakh wasn’t given an assembly. Also, the government had affirmed that J-K will be given the statehood back once situation improves, but no such thought, let alone promise was made for Ladakh.
As time passed, however, the story didn’t pan out as well as the people of Ladakh expected. Not having a state legislature meant there was no legislator accountable to the people to hear their issues directly. Sustained issues of youth unemployment, and deterioration of basic facilities were making things difficult for the people. On top of this, they were hit by a new concern regarding protection of their land and environment.
Here, we should remember that as long as Ladakh was part of erstwhile state of J-K, no one from outside the state could’ve purchased land there under the protections granted by Article 370. But, once Article 370 was abrogated and Ladakh was carved into a separate UT, no such special protection existed for the province. Because of this, the locals have been concerned over the prospects of industrialization and mining being permitted at large scale, which they say might be catastrophic for the sensitive ecology of Ladakh (we already have examples of Himachal and Uttarakhand). This has stemmed their demand for protection under Schedule 6 of the Constitution, the provision which gives some autonomy to the states through regional bodies to protect local culture, land and resources from any outside exploitation. For a fact, four states; Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are already protected under Schedule 6 so the demand is not that extraordinary.
The other demand of Ladakh has been full statehood. The people had thought that being governed directly by the Centre would be better for them, but slowly they realized that not having any local accountability is not helping their case. The youth unemployment in the state stands at staggering 27%, over 10 points than the national average, and however surprising it sounds, there has been NO government recruitment drive in Ladakh since the abrogation in 2019. As a result of all this, the people of Ladakh have been carrying out protests, marches and ‘anshans’ (hunger protest) over the past 2 years with Mr Wangchuk being their main face.
Demand for statehood and Schedule 6 protection for Ladakh have intensified (Photo: Scroll)
Government’s ‘Arrogant’ Ignorance for Ladakh’s Demands
Though the protests over the last 2 years were completely peaceful with no case of any violence or incitement, the government took an arrogant approach by completely ignoring the demands. Interestingly, this same BJP had promised protection under Schedule 6 for Ladakh in their 2019 election manifesto, but this promise had evaporated by 2024 polls. Even though talks have been going on between the Ladakh representatives and government delegation, there have been no major breakthrough as government has been firm that it won’t bow either for Schedule 6 or statehood.
Even when thousands of Ladakh people marched to the national capital, requesting to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and their team. But, as harsh as it may sound, let alone the PM and HM, not top dignitary came to visit them and they returned empty-handed and even more, empty-hearted. This lack of empathy by the government for their own people is both surprising and shameful. The resentment was also seen in the election results as the same BJP which won the Ladakh seat in 2019, not just lost but actually came out third in 2024 in the state.
Visuals from violent protest in Ladakh (Photo: Reuters)
Violent Protests in Ladakh
After months of negotiations not reaching any point, the outrage was brewing among the people of Ladakh. Tsering Angchuk (72) and Tashi Dolma (60), who were on a 35-day fast as part of the rotational hunger strikes by the people of Ladakh, collapsed on Tuesday and were shifted to hospitals. The moving visuals infuriated the people, especially the youth. Additionally, despite the people being on hunger protest, the government delegation put the next meeting date on October 6 (some 2 weeks ahead), something seen as both insulting and non-serious by the locals.
By Wednesday (Sep 24), section of youths started gathering and a shutdown was called. Slowly, the protests erupted into violent clashes with protestors storming into different government properties and even setting on fire the local BJP office. The armed forces, trying to salvage the situation, opened fire further worsening the conflict. At least four people were killed around 60 more were injured including 22 policemen. Sonam Wangchuk, who himself was on hunger strike since September 10, called it the “saddest day for Ladakh”, ended his protest and urged people to not resort to violence and spoil the movement he has built through peaceful protests over the last 2 years.
Visuals from protest in support of Sonam Wangchuk (Photo: Wire)
Arrest and Framing of Sonam Wangchuk
Hours after the violence in Ladakh, the Home Ministry in its statement blamed Mr Wangchuk and his alleged “provocative statements” for fueling the violence. The MHA claimed that its process of dialogue was yielding “phenomenal results” but “certain politically motivated individuals were not happy with the progress made under HPC and have been trying to sabotage the dialogue process”. The Centre said that despite many leaders urging Wangchuk to call off his hunger strike, he continued while “misleading” people through “provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal”.
The Ramon Magasaysay Award winning environmentalist, however, has strongly denied the charges. He clearly said that all his protests and addresses were peaceful, and the violence stemmed from a section of dissatisfied youth due to continuous negligence from Centre. Wangchuk was already anticipating arrest and said his arrest will “wake the country more” than him being outside. Not just this, months before, he had also anticipated being framed under the draconian National Security Act (NSA).
On Friday, first the news came of the government revoking the FCRA license of Mr Wangchuk’s NGO – the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL). Notably, the license that allows NGOs to take money from foreign countries, was given to the educator under the same BJP government years ago. The government was already probing the FCRA license since July. Now, just a day after the violence, the ‘sources gang’ miraculously became active and started claiming that Wangchuk had received money from Pakistan
Eventually, Wangchuk was arrested by Friday evening and sent to Jodhpur jail. The government said it has decided “based on specific inputs” to detain him (Wangchuk) “under the NSA and move him to Jodhpur”. I would just like to share one example of how the activist is being framed. SECMOL had received a donation of donation of Rs 4.93 lakh in 2021-22 for “creating awareness among youth on issues such as migration, climate change, food security and sovereignty and organic farming” through workshops and trainings. Now, the government has very cunningly has nit picked 2-3 words and alleged that the NGO got the money for study on “sovereignty of the country” which it calls dangerous. So, they merged “food sovereignty” into country’s sovereignty” (just like extra 2ab). Now, either the top leadership is extremely illiterate or vile, or more dangerously both. I honestly think, it’s the last case.
Risk of Deeper Crisis
I don’t even have words to say how deeply condemnable, problematic and vile this whole episode has been. Ladakh is a strategically important region, surrounded by India’s two great neighbors. Allowing any resentment to brew in such a sensitive place is inviting trouble, especially after seeing what happened in Manipur. The whole Ladakh situation could have been handled with care and maturity, if this government had kept its ego aside and held meaningful talks with the people. There can’t be a more painful way of protest than people starving themselves while urging for their demands. Any government with compassion, let aside brain, would’ve urged protestors to end their strike and started talks. Had government at least promised Schedule 6 protection while keeping talks on statehood underway, it would’ve made the people feel that at least they are being heard. But no, the fragile ego and benefits of ‘friendly’ industrialists matter more, right?
Also, the whole Sonam Wangchuk episode is a huge wake-up call for all the blind supporters of this regime. Just remember, Mr Wangchuk too was a big supporter of Prime Minister Modi and was celebrated by the ecosystem. But, just when he dared to question the great, avatar and once-in-generation leadership of ours, he was deemed “anti-national”, “Soros funded” and a “Chinese, ISI, CIA agent” (all at once). A man who spent his life educating children about science, climate and innovation; who has more qualifications and recognitions than the whole union cabinet combined; who built solar power tent for Indian Army and Ice Stupa for water conservation; if such a person can be deemed ‘national threat’, don’t think you’re safe.
