The government blamed activist Sonam Wangchuk for clashes in Ladakh today that killed four and injured 70. “In spite of many leaders urging to call off the hunger strike, he continued with it and misled the people through provocative mentions of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
“A mob motivated by his provocative speeches left the venue of the hunger strike and attacked a political party office as well as the government office of the CEC Leh… It is clear that the mob was guided by Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements,” it said.
Earlier, government sources said the situation in Ladakh did not spiral out of control on its own; it was deliberately engineered. Ladakh and its young population are paying a huge price for the narrow politics played by certain individuals, and also the personal ambitions of activist Sonam Wangchuk, the sources said.
The young people of Ladakh are not to be blamed as they were misled and caught in a sinister plot for political and personal gain, government sources said, adding the centre stands committed to the welfare and empowerment of the people of Ladakh.
As protesters demanding statehood in the Union Territory violently clashed with the police today, a section of them set on fire the hall of the Ladakh Hill Council Assembly, the Leh deputy commissioner said. The administration said 50 security force personnel were injured in stone-throwing by the mob..
Mr Wangchuk also called off his fortnight-long hunger strike to demand statehood and extension of the Sixth Schedule under the Constitution to Ladakh.
The Centre had already fixed October 6 for the meeting of a high-powered committee to discuss issues raised by the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), and also agreed on new members for the high-powered committee as proposed by the ABL.
However, some meetings were being considered to be held on September 25-26 after getting requests to advance them, government sources said, adding the Centre has in fact always been ready for talks. They pointed out that earlier talks were proposed to be held on July 25, but it did not get a positive response.
When talks are already lined up, why was violence provoked in the peaceful place, the sources said. They alleged Mr Wangchuck has long hinted at wanting an Arab Spring-style protest in Ladakh.
“… The process of dialogue through this mechanism has yielded phenomenal results by increasing reservations for Ladakh’s Scheduled Tribes from 45 per cent to 84 per cent, providing 1/3 women reservations in the councils and declaring Bhoti and Purgi as official languages. With this, the process for recruitment to 1,800 posts also commenced. However, certain politically motivated individuals who were not happy with the progress made under HPC have been trying to sabotage the dialogue process,” the MHA said, referring to the high-powered committee or HPC that is in talks with the Apex Body Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance.
His references to the Gen Z protests in Nepal seem like a blueprint, government sources said, and asked whether he used the platform in Ladakh for his personal issues i.e. to hide certain irregularities which are coming to light now.
Sources alleged Congress leaders made statements that sounded like instructions – talk of throwing stones, bandhs, arson. They said the entire episode smacks of a conspiracy motivated by politics and personal gains.
Ladakh’s Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta said a mob tried to “burn CRPF men inside a vehicle”, referring to the Central Reserve Police Force. The local BJP office was set on fire.
‘Saddest Day’: Sonam Wangchuk
When the situation worsened earlier today, Mr Wangchuk made an online appeal that he would cut short his fast to demand statehood and Sixth Schedule.
“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,” he told supporters.
“This is the saddest day for Ladakh and for myself personally because the path we are treading for the last five years was peaceful… We held hunger strikes on five occasions and walked from Leh to Delhi but today we are seeing our message of peace failing because of the incidents of violence and arson,” he said, and asked the administration to stop firing teargas shells.
“We are ending our fast immediately… The aim of the hunger strike is not fulfilled if our youth lose their lives. It is time to carry forward dialogue with a cool mind. We will keep our agitation non-violent and I also want to ask the government to listen to our message of peace… when the message of peace is ignored, such a situation arises,” the activist who is also a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award told supporters.
The Constitution’s Sixth Schedule, which has been applied for the tribal population in four northeast states (Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam) makes special provisions for governance, powers of president and the governor, type of local bodies, alternate judicial mechanisms and financial powers exercised through autonomous councils.
The LAB and the KDA have been jointly spearheading the protests for the last four years in support of their demands, and tension had been building up since Tuesday evening after they made a call for a protest by shutting down Leh town.
