Sonam Wangchuk has announced plans to intensify a peaceful movement in Ladakh over the region’s constitutional demands and the violence of 24 September 2025. He made the comments after joining a candle march in Leh held ahead of the anniversary of the incident, in which four people were confirmed dead and many others were injured.
Wangchuk said the period from 24 August to 24 September would be used to remember those affected by last year’s events. He described the candle march as a symbolic beginning and said a larger mobilisation would take place after the Dalai Lama leaves Ladakh. The initial programme was kept small because the Dalai Lama was in the region, he said.
Why the inquiry report is central
The activist has also renewed demands for justice and accountability over the September violence. A judicial inquiry commission was created to investigate the circumstances behind the incident, the police response and the deaths that followed. Wangchuk said the absence of a report after a year had weakened public confidence in the process.
The commission began its proceedings on 27 October 2025 under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge Justice B S Chauhan. Ladakh administration said in March 2026 that the commission had examined 22 administrative witnesses before its work resumed, followed by the examination of 18 more administrative witnesses. It had also received 45 public affidavits.
Wangchuk and people associated with the movement are calling for the report to be made public without further delay. Their stated concern is whether the inquiry will establish the truth of the events or leave key questions unresolved.
What happened on 24 September 2025
Ladakh’s current political movement developed after the region became a separate Union territory under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act in 2019. Jammu and Kashmir received a legislative assembly, while Ladakh did not. This increased concern among local people about protections for land, employment, natural resources and cultural identity.
The main demands raised over the following years have included full statehood for Ladakh, inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, separate Lok Sabha representation for Leh and Kargil, and stronger safeguards for local employment and other rights. The Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance have continued discussions with the central government on these issues.
Wangchuk began a hunger strike on 10 September 2025 after saying that talks had failed to produce a decisive outcome. On 24 September, the fifteenth day of the strike, two participants became seriously unwell and were taken to hospital. Anger rose in Leh, and large numbers of young people came onto the streets.
The protest then turned violent. Demonstrators targeted government property and a BJP office, and a police vehicle was set on fire. Security forces used tear gas and force to control the crowd, followed by police firing. Four deaths were confirmed, while many people were injured. The government said security personnel had also been attacked and that more than 30 police and CRPF personnel were hurt.
Wangchuk ended his hunger strike on the same day and appealed to young people to stop the violence. He said violent action would weaken Ladakh’s cause.
Competing accounts of the violence
The government and the movement have presented different accounts of how the confrontation developed. The Union home ministry said protesters initiated the violence by attacking government offices and a BJP office, setting property on fire and targeting security personnel. It described the police firing as an act of self-defence.
People linked to the movement have questioned the circumstances in which the firing took place. They have also asked whether the force used was necessary and proportionate, and what caused the situation to escalate. These competing claims form the central subject of the judicial inquiry.
The demands behind the movement
The campaign extends beyond the demand for statehood. Ladakh currently remains under the Union government’s administrative framework and has no legislative assembly. Supporters of statehood say the region should have a fuller elected structure.
Another major demand is inclusion in the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule. The provision currently applies to certain tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. It provides autonomous district councils with special powers over local administration, land and some other matters.
Employment and protection of local interests in the region’s resources are also important parts of the campaign. The central government has said that progress has been made on some issues during the talks. In September 2025, the home ministry said reservation for Scheduled Tribes in Ladakh had been increased from 45% to 84%. It also cited one-third reservation for women in hill councils and official-language status for Bhoti and Purigi.
Talks and the next phase
A meeting between the central government and local representatives was held on 22 May 2026 to restart discussions on Ladakh’s demands. Statehood and Sixth Schedule status were among the issues on the agenda.
People associated with the movement say progress after the meeting has not met expectations. Wangchuk is now hoping for a decisive meeting in the first week of September. He has said that if the expected progress does not come, people in Ladakh will raise their voices again, while keeping the movement peaceful.
Wangchuk has been involved for several years in campaigns concerning Ladakh’s environmental and political concerns. His September 2025 hunger strike made him one of the most prominent faces of the movement. Two days after the 24 September violence, he was detained under the National Security Act and remained in jail for several days. The central government cancelled his detention in March 2026.
His current campaign is focused on two linked demands: publication of the inquiry commission’s findings on the September violence and a decisive response to Ladakh’s constitutional demands.
