LADAKH'S JOURNEY from EUPHORIA to UNREST

ON August 5, 2019, the streets of Leh, the largest town in Ladakh, erupted in elation.

- FAYAZ WANI @ Srinagar

Firecrackers lit up the night sky, sweets were distributed, and locals rejoiced at the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, which had granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The decision fulfilled a decades-long demand of the people of Leh: the carving out of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory (UT). Six years later, the same streets witnessed the bloodiest of protests in the region's history, with four deaths and 80 injuries during a violent clash on September 24 last.

Two days after the violence, the police arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly inciting the youth who went on a rampage. Wangchuk continues to be in prison. The Union home ministry has just announced a judicial probe panel into the riots headed by retired Supreme Court judge B S Chauhan, addressing one of the demands of the protesters. A proposed silent march in Ladakh, too, has been foiled.