Protests in Ladakh: What led Ladakhis to protest in chilly winters?

Freezing winters in Ladakh did not stop the Ladakhis from coming on the street and asking for their demands to be met. Why are Ladakhis protesting? Here's everything you need to know.

Feb 19, 2024, 16:37 IST
Protests in Ladakh: What led Ladakhis to protest in chilly winters?
Protests in Ladakh: What led Ladakhis to protest in chilly winters?

Freezing temperatures did not stop thousands of people in Ladakh yo come to the stteets and demand full statehood for the Union Territory of Ladakh. The people also demand an inclusion in the Constitution's Sixth Schedule to safeguard the region's language, culture, environment, and land.
Two districts of Kargil and Leh had the shutdown. It was in response to the protest of "Leh Chalo", which literally means "Let's march to Leh". The protest is called by the Kargil Democratic Alliance and the Leh Apex Body. These are actually two strong and impactful socio-political groups which actually have strongly participated in the protest in the last three years. 
The recent update is that the Ministry of Home Affairs has declared the date on which the second round of  high-powered committee will be established to deal with these demands of Ladakh. However, in the coming days, a strong momentum in the protest is expected to be seen. For instance, Sonam Wangchuk, an activist, is actually proposing a determined fast unto death. 

ALSO READ: What is the demand of Ladakh on Gilgit- Balistan?

The reason behind the protests 

There have been multiple shutdowns in Ladakh in the past four years. The land has seen many street demonstrations and protests in the last few times. This has become frequent after the area has been carved out of the Jammu and Kashmir as a distinct Union Territory. The very incidence has made the people of Ladakh feel like a loss of identity.
The abrogation of Article 370 in the year 2019 repealed the special statuz confsrred to erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State. Moreover, it is important to note that Ladakh was one of the three distinct divisions of Jammu and Kashmir, and was set up as a Union Territory sans a legislature. 
The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil was set yp to administer the region. However, the powers it has are actually limited. Additionally, In the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, four members represented Ladakh, and two people represented it in the Legislative Council prior yo the abrogation. 

This reorganization for Ladakh was nothing less than a big shock. Initially, people were optimistic, as the religious minorities in the region eagerly wanted a Union Territory status for the region. However, this excitement soon turned in aggression. Ladakhis were of the view that opening the region to non-locals would hamper the demography of the region, which would ultimately leaf to loss of special identity.
Moreover, the unrest increased with a lack of political suppression and jobs crisis. 
All these apprehensions were enough for Ladakhis to kickstart a protest, even in the freezing temperatures.

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Astha Pasricha
Astha Pasricha

Content Writer

    Astha Pasricha is a content writing professional with experience in writing rich and engaging content for websites, blogs, and chatbots. She is a graduate of Journalism and Mass Communication and English Honors. She has previously worked with organizations like Groomefy, Shiksha.com, Upside Me, EGlobal Soft Solutions and Codeflies Technologies Pvt. Ltd. At Jagran Josh, she writes content for the General Knowledge section. You can reach her at astha.pasricha@jagrannewmedia.com.
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