‘Stop the killing. Stop the violence. Give Ladakh a voice’, Rahul Gandhi to BJP-RSS

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that Ladakh’s people, culture, and traditions were under attack by the BJP and RSS. 

He wrote on X, “Ladakh’s amazing people, culture, and traditions are under attack by the BJP and RSS. Ladakhis asked for a voice. The BJP responded by killing 4 young men and jailing Sonam Wangchuk.  Stop the killing. Stop the violence. Stop the intimidation. Give Ladakh a voice. Give them the 6th Schedule.”

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution provides special rights and protections to tribal areas and is currently in force in certain northeastern states. In Ladakh, too, there has been a growing demand for its implementation, as residents lost land rights safeguards after the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories in 2019.

The agitation has been ongoing, largely peaceful until now, but turned violent on Wednesday, September 24.

Prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, the leading voice behind the demand, was arrested on Friday and jailed in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, along with about 50 others accused of involvement in the violence. Wangchuk, however, had denounced the unrest and even ended his hunger strike in protest against it.

The Centre, which directly administers the Union Territory, has alleged that Wangchuk incited the clashes through provocative speeches.