Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk speaks during his 35-day fast over the demand for Ladakh’s inclusion under the Constitution’s sixth schedule and Statehood, in Leh, on September 10, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Activist Sonam Wangchuk has announced that he will lead a 20-km symbolic march in Leh on September 23, 2026, to safeguard Ladakh’s culture, environment, and democracy.
The march was originally scheduled to be held from September 19 to 23 but has been postponed due to inclement weather and the current political atmosphere, Mr. Wangchuk said in a video posted on Twitter on September 17. Now, a symbolic march will be held on September 23, followed by a martyrs’ day event on September 24, which marks the first anniversary of the violence in Leh in which four protesters were killed.
One year since violent Leh protests
Four civilians were killed and around 90 injured after security personnel allegedly opened fire on protesters in Leh on September 24, 2025, as locals were agitating over the demands of Statehood and the Sixth Schedule. The protesters, mostly youth, torched the BJP office and vandalised the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) premises. Following the protests, Mr. Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA), and lodged in Jodhpur jail for 170 days.
‘Martyrs Month’ is being observed in Ladakh to remember the civilians who died during protests in Leh last year.
After Ladakh lost its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution as part of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, it was turned into a Union Territory without a Legislative Assembly in 2019. Since then, Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) have been demanding Statehood and tribal status for Ladakh and seeking a larger role for local residents in decisions relating to land and infrastructure projects.
Ladakhi civil society groups, including Leh Apex Body and the KDA, held talks with the Centre on September 9, 2026.
Senior regional leaders from Leh, Tsering Samphel and Rigzin Spalbar, had earlier expressed concern over the proposed protest marches. “We are strongly against holding any padyatra [walk] or protest in Leh while formal talks are proceeding as a follow-up to the agreement consensually signed by ourselves,” they said.
But both the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance support the first death anniversary remembrance meetings. Mr. Wangchuk has also backed the agitational route to pressurise New Delhi in meeting promises made during the May 22 and September 9 talks between the Union government and the representatives from Ladakh.
Published – September 19, 2026 12:27 pm IST
