SONAM WANGCHUK'S LADAKH STATEHOOD FIGHT

Ladakhis seek elected statehood and Sixth Schedule protections to safeguard land, jobs, and culture, ensuring locally accountable governance amid ecological fragility and sensitive border realities.

- TDG NETWORK

Complete shutdown and rally in Leh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards (Feb 2024). Ice stupa in Leh pioneered by Sonam Wangchuk—winter water storage for spring irrigation.

In late September 2025, a peaceful sit-in led by Sonam Wangchuk in Leh spiraled into chaos when some protesters torched a ruling party office.

Security forces opened fire on the crowd, killing four people. A curfew was imposed and Wangchuk - who had been on a hunger strike - was arrested under a national security law. It was “the worst violence... in the modern history of Ladakh”, as locals would later say.

Wangchuk - a 59-year-old engineer turned educator and environmental crusader - had broken his fast and appealed for calm as soon as clashes began. But within hours, this local hero was being branded a traitor. Officials even hinted at a “Pakistan hand” behind the unrest, pointing to Wangchuk’s past visit to a conference in Islamabad. The irony was that this same man had been celebrated by the state for years as an icon of innovation - yet now, for demanding constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, he was being treated as an enemy.