"Unity at risk": Wangchuk calls for urgent action to bridge growing Leh-Kargil gap
The activist expresses "dismay" over stalled dialogue regarding Ladakh's Statehood and demands 6th Schedule
File image of the environmentalist and Ladakh rights activist Sonam Wangchuk(Photo: @TheDailyPioneer/X)
Srinagar, April 13: Climate activist and prominent Ladakhi rights activist, Sonam Wangchuk, on Monday, expressed dismay at the slow pace of progress in the ongoing dialogue between the representatives of the Ladakh union territory and the Centre.
Sonam Wangchuk said on X, “Today marks exactly one month since the unconditional revocation of my detention under the NSA, 1980. The revocation order gave us hope that the Centre was willing to correct past mistakes, as it spoke of “building mutual trust” for a “constructive and meaningful dialogue".
"However, even after 2.5 months since the last dialogue on 4th February, not even a date for the next round of talks has been announced. On the “trust” front shady entities are using this gap to sow seeds of Leh- Kargil (Buddhist - Muslim) divide. As people in this sensitive border region grow disheartened and demoralised, I urge Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji and HM @AmitShah ji to take timely measures, in national interest, to resolve the issues at the earliest,” he wrote.
Ladakh Apex Body (LAB), Leh, and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), two representative bodies of the union territory, have been demanding statehood, inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, and protection of the land and cultural identity of the Ladakh region.
The peaceful agitation for these demands took a violent turn on September 24, 2025, when four people were killed, and over 80 were injured, including security personnel, after police opened fire during violent protests in Leh.
Demonstrators, demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards, clashed with security forces, burning a BJP office and police vehicles.
Protests had turned violent with stone-pelting, arson of a BJP office, and destruction of a police vehicle, prompting police to use tear gas, batons, and ultimately, live ammunition. Sonam Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and shifted to Jodhpur Jail in Rajasthan for allegedly instigating protesters to violence.
He was released from Jodhpur Central Jail on March 14, after 170 days of detention. The Union government revoked his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) to foster dialogue in Ladakh following protests in September 2025 regarding regional autonomy.
--IANS