Leh, Ladakh – The Indian government has squarely blamed prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk for the violence that erupted in Leh, as an ongoing protest demanding statehood for Ladakh descended into mob fury, resulting in five deaths in police action on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released a statement accusing Wangchuk, the most prominent figure in the agitation that began around 2019-20 of “misleading the people through provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal.”

Hunger Strike and Escalating Tensions

The MHA statement said that Sonam Wangchuk began a hunger strike on September 10 to demand statehood and inclusion of Ladakh on the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution that gives special autonomy to tribal regions.

The ministry claimed that the Narendra Modi government was actively involved with the Apex Body Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance on those matters.

It claimed that formal meetings through a High-Powered Committee, along with informal discussions, had yielded “phenomenal” results, including an increase in reservations for Ladakh Scheduled Tribes from 45% to 84%, providing one-third of women’s reservations in the hill councils, and declaring Bhoti and Purgi as official languages.

The MHA added that 1,800 job recruitments had already started.

The next meeting of the High-Powered Committee is scheduled for October 6. Leaders of the youth wing of the Leh Apex Body had expressed dissatisfaction with this date, with Wangchuk calling it “too far” given that people were already on hunger strike.

A Day of Unrest

The protest became violent on Wednesday, according to the MHA statement. “At around 11:30 am, a mob instigated by [Sonam Wangchuk’s] provocative speeches left the venue of the hunger strike and attacked a political party office as well as the Government office of the CEC (chief electoral officer), Leh,” the statement said.

Protesters burnt these offices, assaulted security forces, and burned a police vehicle, injuring over 30 police and CRPF officers. In self-defense, the police were forced to shoot, resulting in casualties. At night, there were four confirmed dead, and some said there were five. The situation was reportedly controlled by 4 pm.

On September 24, activist Sonam Wangchuk released a video message on his social media platform asking, “youth to stop the nonsense”.