Preparations underway for two-week long foot march to demand statehood for Ladakh
Leh: Preparations are underway for a two-week long foot march to demand statehood for the Ladakh region of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and constitutional guarantees under the Sixth Schedule.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the march will be held on the occasion of the completion of one year, which started in September 2025. Several lives were lost due to violence during last year’s protest.
The foot march, which has been named ‘Ladakh Peace and Justice March’, led by the Socialist Party, will start from Kargil district on September 10. The march will pass through the Leh highway and conclude in Leh city, the capital of Ladakh, on September 24.
September 24 will mark the first anniversary of the protests demanding statehood and the Sixth Schedule.
Violence erupted on September 24 last year after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk went on a hunger strike in support of these demands, in which four people were killed and dozens were injured.
Wangchuk was booked under the infamous National Security Act (NSA) and sent to jail, while cases were registered against about 87 people after the violence in the region.
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which are negotiating with the Indian Home Ministry on these demands, have been demanding unconditional withdrawal of all the cases. However, Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra has announced the withdrawal of FIRs registered against 25 people and has submitted closure reports in the court.
He said the Director General of Police will be asked to re-examine the remaining cases and see what action can be taken against them.
The Ladakh leadership has expressed fears of a conspiracy to create division in the region through this move. So far, various organizations in Ladakh have remained united on their demands despite ideological and religious differences.
