India imposes the curfew on the Ladakh after state demonstrations become violent

The Indian security forces imposed a curfew on Leh, the capital of the Himalayan region of Ladakh, after at least four people were killed in violent clashes between the police and the demonstrators requiring a state of state for the federal territory.

Dozens have also been injured and an office of the Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party in power of India (BJP) was set on fire Wednesday in the troubles.

The government blamed the Sonam Wangchuk activist, who led demonstrations of fomiament violence, a complaint he denies.

A mountainous desert with a Muslim-Buddhist population, Ladkah lost its semi-autonomy in 2019 when the BJP government divided it from the old state administered by the Jammu and cashmere Indians, imposing a direct rule on both.

The Leh region – where violence has broken out – is sandwiched between India, China and Pakistan. He is dominated by the Buddhist community, which for decades has demanded a region distinct for its people. Meanwhile, the Muslim majority Kargil district wants to be integrated into the cashmere administered by the Indians.

Since 2019, the two communities have gathered to demand the restoration of the State, as well as a greater autonomy which would give them employment quotas.

We do not know what triggered Wednesday violence – demonstrations have taken place intermittently in the region for months.

In a press release at the end of the evening, the India Federal Ministry of India blamed Mr. Wangchuk for the troubles, alleging that he had prompted the crowd by making provocative declarations.

“He (Mr. Wangchuk) continued with the hunger strike and in error by deceiving the people by a provocative mention of the Printanier Arab style protest and references to Gen-Z demonstrations in Nepal.”

He said the demonstrators attacked the local BJP office, burnt down the building and burnt down a police vehicle, injuring at least 30 police officers.

“In self -defense, the police had to resort to the dismissal in which unfortunately certain victims are reported,” the statement added.

Mr. Wangchuk has canceled a hunger strike he has been since September 12 and called calm, saying that violence “is just our cause”.

He denied having played a role in violence and declared that growing frustration among young people was what had pushed them in the streets, many of which were unemployed for years.

A well-known activist and local engineer who drew national attention to his work on education and climate change, Mr. Wangchuk was at the forefront of the demonstrations requiring the State for Ladkah.

He and other activists argue that since the change in the status of Ladakh, residents would obtain more power in local policy have not been respected.

Many fear that the loss of its former special status has left the region vulnerable to external economic interests and has diluted local control of culture, land and resources.

The federal government, however, denies that that it has had interviews with local leaders since 2023 and the dialogue process has given “phenomenal results”.

According to the government, he actively engaged with Mr. Wangchuk and other militants on their requests, but “some politically motivated people were not satisfied with progress” in talks.

On Wednesday, Lieutenant-Governor of Ladakh, Kavinder Gupta, who is the officer appointed by the federal government in charge of the region, said that an investigation into violence had been launched.

“In the past two days, attempts have been made to encourage people, and the demonstration organized here has been compared to those held in Bangladesh and Nepal. It feels a conspiracy,” he said.

Another series of meetings between demonstrators and civil servants are expected to take place on Thursday and Friday.

A committee set up by the federal government is also likely to meet with managers of the region on October 6.

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