Five killed in Ladakh autonomy protests as police clash with demonstrators

SRINAGAR: Five people were killed in India on Wednesday as police clashed with hundreds of protesters demanding greater autonomy in the Himalayan territory of Ladakh.

Police confirmed dozens were injured during the violent demonstrations in the main city of Leh.

Protesters set fire to a police vehicle and the offices of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

Officers responded by firing tear gas and using batons to disperse the crowds.

A police officer in Leh reported the five deaths on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to journalists.

Another police officer, Regzin Sangdup, confirmed that several people, including some policemen, were injured.

Authorities later imposed restrictions on gatherings by banning assemblies of more than four people.

The sparsely populated, high-altitude desert region is home to some 300,000 people and borders both China and Pakistan.

Around half of Ladakh’s residents are Muslim and about 40% are Buddhist.

Ladakh is classed as a “Union Territory”, meaning it elects lawmakers to the national parliament but is governed directly by New Delhi.

Wednesday’s demonstrations were organised in solidarity with prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on hunger strike for two weeks.

Wangchuk is demanding either full statehood for Ladakh or constitutional protections for its tribal communities, land and fragile environment.

“Social unrest arises when you keep young people unemployed and deprive them of their democratic rights,“ Wangchuk said in a statement posted on social media.

He appealed to people to avoid violence “whatever happens”.

India’s army maintains a large presence in Ladakh, which includes disputed border areas with China.

Troops from the two countries clashed there in 2020, leaving at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.

Modi’s government split Ladakh off from Indian-administered Kashmir in 2019, imposing direct rule on both.

New Delhi has yet to fulfil its promise to include Ladakh in the “Sixth Schedule” of India’s constitution, which allows people to make their own laws and policies.

“There is no platform for democracy here today,“ Wangchuk said. “Even the Sixth Schedule, which was promised and declared, has not been implemented.” – AFP