India’s remote high-altitude desert region of Ladakh has been in turmoil since four people were killed in violent protests demanding greater political autonomy for the Himalayan territory.Growing resentment with New Delhi’s direct rule over the territory, and fears of losing livelihoods boiled over on Wednesday as crowds took to the streets in the main city Leh, torching a police vehicle and the offices of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The sparsely populated region, home to some 300,000 people, borders both China and Pakistan and is a strategic enclave for India. Around half of Ladakh’s residents are Muslim and about 40 per cent are Buddhist.Modi’s government split Ladakh off from Indian-occupied Kashmir in 2019, imposing direct rule on both after cancelling the region’s partial autonomy. Since then, resentment has been growing in Ladakh over Delhi’s rule, with concerns about losing traditional livelihoods, land rights, and cultural identity. 

Decisions on development are made in Delhi and implemented by officials sent from outside, leaving the local elected council sidelined. “All the protections we had within held Jammu and Kashmir were all gone,” lawyer Mustafa Haji said.The Apex Body Leh, led by veteran leader Chering Dorjay, has become the main voice of the protesters. “We have been used like slaves,” Dorjay, 77, said, vowing to continue the struggle in the days to come.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)