Indian security forces have imposed a curfew in Leh, the capital of the Himalayan region of Ladakh, after at least four people were killed in violent clashes between police and protesters demanding statehood for the federal territory.
Dozens were also injured and an office of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set on fire in the unrest on Wednesday.The government blamed activist Sonam Wangchuk, who’s been leading protests, of fomenting violence, a claim he denies.
A mountainous desert with a Muslim-Buddhist population, Ladakh lost its semi-autonomy in 2019 when the BJP government split it from the former Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, imposing direct rule on both.
Ladakh has a population of about 300,000 people and borders China and Pakistan. The Leh region – where the violence broke out – is dominated by the Buddhist community, who for decades have demanded a separate region for its people. Meanwhile, the Muslim-majority Kargil district had historically wanted to be integrated with Indian-administered Kashmir.”He continued with the hunger strike and misleading the people through provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen-Z protests in Nepal.”
“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. This smells of a conspiracy,” he said.A committee set up by the federal government is also likely to meet leaders from the region on 6 October.
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