More than 50 persons were detained and a curfew was imposed in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, on Thursday, a day after clashes left four dead and over 80 injured, PTI reported.

Police firing and violence broke out on Wednesday during protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Demonstrators clashed with and threw stones at the police, and set fire to the Bharatiya Janata Party office and a police vehicle.

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution guarantees protection for land and nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal-dominated areas. In Ladakh, more than 97% of the population belongs to the Scheduled Tribes.

Demands for constitutional safeguards in Ladakh have intensified over the years since it was carved out as Union Territory in 2019.

In response to the recent violence, authorities in Kargil and other major towns of Ladakh also enforced prohibitory orders banning gatherings of five or more people, PTI reported.

Police and paramilitary personnel in riot gear were deployed across Kargil, Zanskar, Nubra, Padam, Changtang, Drass and Lamayuru.

“Curfew has been imposed as a precautionary measure to prevent more casualties,” PTI quoted Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta as saying on Thursday.

Later, his office said that a high-level security review meeting had been held “to assess the emerging situation across Ladakh”.

The Centre has blamed the unrest on the “provocative statements” of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been leading the protests.

Gupta had also alleged on Wednesday that the protest “smells of conspiracy”, ANI reported.

In a democratic system, protesting is a right,” Gupta told ANI. “However, it must be done in a peaceful manner. For the past two days, attempts have been made to incite people, and the protest held here was compared to those held in Bangladesh and Nepal.”

He said an investigation would be conducted “to determine the involvement of individuals from outside Ladakh in the protest”.

On Wednesday, Wagchuk ended his hunger strike following the clashes and urged restraint, saying that violence was not the right way.

“I request the youth of Ladakh to stop the violence forthwith as it only causes harm to our cause and further deteriorates the situation,” PTI quoted him as saying. “We do not want instability in Ladakh and the country.”

The home ministry has said the next meeting of a high-powered committee to discuss the demands of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance had been scheduled for October 6. Meetings are also planned for Thursday and Friday with leaders of Ladakh, PTI reported.

The proposed talks in October will mark the fourth meeting of the committee since it was formed in January 2023.

The Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance were formed in 2020 to represent political and religious groups from Leh and Kargil.

Demand for inclusion under Sixth Schedule

On August 5, 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

This, along with the lack of a legislature in Ladakh, has led to increasing insecurities among the residents of the Union Territory about their land, nature, resources and livelihoods and stoked fears that the region’s cultural identity and fragile ecosystem may be in jeopardy.

In this backdrop, civil society groups have been demanding that Ladakh be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution so that its identity can be protected.

The inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule would allow for the creation of autonomous development councils to govern land, public health and agriculture. Ten such councils exist in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, the only states where the Sixth Schedule has been implemented.

Wangchuk had on September 10 started a 35-day hunger strike to push for the demands. He has held several protests demanding constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, including a 21-day hunger strike ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In June, the Union government brought in an ordinance to amend the reservation policy in Ladakh. According to the ordinance, 85% of jobs and admissions in professional educational institutions in Ladakh shall be reserved for residents of the Union Territory.

However, civil society groups said that the ordinance was only the “first step” and that the core matters pertaining to statehood and Ladakh’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule remained unaddressed.

Also read:

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting