Leh: Atleast four people were killed and 30 others injured in intense clashes between protesters and security personnel when the movement for statehood for Ladakh and extension of the Sixth Schedule took a violent turn on Wednesday, September 24, officials said.
A BJP office and several vehicles were set on fire and hundreds of people took to the streets. Prohibitory orders were imposed soon after banning the gathering of five or more people as the protests intensified.
Flames and dark smoke clouds could be seen from afar amid a complete shutdown in the Ladakh capital.
The administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS to ban the assembly of five or more people, officials said.
The violence forced climate activist Sonam Wangchuk to call off his 15-day hunger strike.
“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 his supporters who had gathered in large numbers at the venue of the strike.
The Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) youth wing called for the protest after two of the 15 people, who were on a 35-day hunger strike since September 10, were shifted to a hospital after their condition deteriorated on Tuesday evening.
Prohibitory orders in Ladakh
Authorities on Wednesday promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Leh district of Ladakh, banning assembly of five or more persons following a movement demanding statehood for Ladakh and extension of the Sixth Schedule.
Leh District Magistrate Romil Singh Donk issued the order and said, “As notice cannot be served individually, this order is being passed ex parte. Any violation of this order shall invite punitive action under section 223 of BNS.” Under section 163 of the BNSS, he said, no procession, rally or march shall be carried out without the prior written approval of the competent authority.
“No one shall use a vehicle-mounted or other loudspeaker without prior approval from the competent authority. No one shall make any statements which have the potential to disturb public tranquility and which may lead to law and order problems in the district,” Donk said, adding assembly of five or more persons shall remain prohibited within the jurisdiction of the entire district.
Citing reasons for the implementation of the order, the district magistrate said it has been brought to his notice that there is an apprehension of disturbances to public peace and tranquility, danger to human life and a possibility of law and order problems.
“I am satisfied that immediate prevention and remedial measures are necessary to maintain public order and tranquility,” he said.
What is the Sixth Schedule?
The Constitution’s Sixth Schedule, meant for the tribal population of the four northeast states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam, makes special provisions in terms of governance, powers of the president and the governor, type of local bodies, alternate judicial mechanisms and financial powers exercised through autonomous councils.
The movement for extending the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh has been gathering pace.
A fresh round of talks is scheduled between the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ladakh representatives, comprising members of the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), on October 6.
The two bodies have been jointly spearheading an agitation over the past four years in support of their demands and have held several rounds of talks with the government in the past.
Shut down in Leh, violence and arson reported
Responding to the protest call, Leh town shut down and large crowds assembled at the NDS memorial ground and later took out a march through the streets of the town, chanting slogans in support of the Sixth Schedule and statehood, officials said.
The situation worsened when some youth pelted stones at the headquarters of the BJP and the Hill Council. Police and paramilitary forces, deployed in strength across the town, lobbed teargas shells to bring the situation under control, the officials said.
Groups of youth set ablaze a security vehicle and some more, and also targeted the BJP office. They set fire to furniture and papers within the complex and one of the buildings.
Reinforcements were rushed to the scene, and the situation was brought under control after several hours of intense clashes, officials monitoring the situation added.
After nearly four months of stalled talks, the Centre on September 20 extended an invitation to the LAB and KDA for the talks, 10 days after Wangchuk began the hunger strike. Tensions spiralled after Tsering Angchuk, 72, and Tashi Dolma, 60, were hospitalised after their condition deteriorated on Tuesday. This led to concern among the LAB constituents who urged the Centre to advance the talks.
Former MP and LAB chairperson Thupstan Chhewang, who had resigned from the body after the last round of talks on May 27, has returned to the helm and is likely to lead the joint delegation during the negotiations.
The Congress opted out of the LAB after some constituents expressed the view that the LAB delegation should be non-political in view of the Leh Hill Council elections next month.
The KDA had called for a complete shutdown in Kargil on Thursday in solidarity with the people on the hunger strike and to press for advancing the talks.
Response from political parties
On the protest in Leh, National Conference MLA Tanvir Sadiq told ANI, “It is very unfortunate that everything has been mishandled. The way J&K is being mishandled, Ladakh is also being mishandled in a similar way. While this is true, we condemn violence and hope that the central government sitting in Delhi will sit down and talk with the people of Ladakh…”
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah slammed the BJP for delaying the statehood of J&K, saying that it is ‘unfair’ to the people of Kashmir as there have been demands for statehood of both Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir since the annulment of Article 370.
Accusing the BJP of delaying the statehood till they come in power, he said, “It is the BJP’s bad luck that they couldn’t win. However, people here can’t be punished for that. It seems like statehood is not being provided to the people since the BJP didn’t form the government.”
“Ladakh wasn’t even promised Statehood, they celebrated UT status in 2019 & they feel betrayed & angry. Now try to imagine how betrayed & disappointed we in J&K feel when the promise of statehood to J&K remains unfulfilled even though we have gone about demanding it democratically, peacefully & responsibly,” he wrote on X.
(The copy has been updated with the latest information, including death toll)
