Mohmad Haneefa was detained when he went to meet protestors from Kargil at Delhi’s Singhu border; Sonam Wangchuk and others detained on Monday begin indefinite hunger strike; Congress backs protests; LAB vows that agitation will intensify
Ladakh’s Member of Parliament Mohmad Haneefa was detained by Delhi police on Tuesday (October 1, 2024), a day after more than a hundred protestors from Ladakh, including climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, were detained by police at the Delhi-Haryana border.
Mr. Wangchuk and others in police detention began an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi on Tuesday, even as Ladakh erupted in protest. The entire region shut down in outrage over the “illegal and unconstitutional” detention of the delegation which started its march to Delhi from Leh on September 1 to demand constitutional safeguards for the region. The march was to culminate at Rajghat on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, co-convenor of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), an influential civil society organisation, told The Hindu that he was “shocked” by the treatment meted out to peaceful protestors, including 80-year old men and women, who have been walking since September 1, traversing rocky and hilly terrain.
‘Protests will intensify’
“Our people are not used to walking in such heat, they have blisters on their feet. As they approached Delhi on Monday, they were detained and taken to a police station and made to sleep on the floor,” said Mr. Lakruk, a former member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said that the Ladakhis would intensify their protests and demanded that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) resume dialogue with the high-powered committee that was set up in 2023 to address their grievances.
Mr. Haneefa, the Ladakh MP, said that he was detained by the police when he went to meet a group of protestors from Kargil who were stopped at the Singhu border on Tuesday morning. His phone could not be reached through much of the day. When The Hindu spoke with Mr. Haneefa at noon, he said, “We don’t know where the police are taking us.”
Widespread support
“Not even a single complaint of violence has been reported since the march started. Instead, it received huge support from people in other States,” Mr. Lakruk said. “The government may have been concerned with the huge support that we may get in Delhi and that people would come and join us in large numbers leading to the possibility of a law and order situation, that is why they curtailed the padyatra like this. The whole of Ladakh is out on the streets today, they are angry,” he added.
The Congress backed the protests, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi stating that the detention of Mr. Wangchuk and hundreds of Ladakhis peacefully marching for environmental and constitutional rights was unacceptable.
“Why are elderly citizens being detained at Delhi’s border for standing up for Ladakh’s future? Modi ji, like with the farmers, this ‘Chakravyuh’ will be broken, and so will your arrogance. You will have to listen to Ladakh’s voice,” he said in a post on X.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi was not allowed to meet Mr. Wanghchuk, who has been detained at Bawana police station. A heavy police force was deployed outside the station and its entrance was barricaded.
Demanding Statehood
Since 2020, the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) have been demanding Statehood for Ladakh, and its inclusion under the sixth schedule of the Constitution, which protects tribal areas. They are also seeking job reservations for local residents, and better electoral representation, in the form of two Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha seat for the region.
Ladakh became a Union Territory without a Legislative Assembly in August 2019, when the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) under Article 370 of the Constitution was struck down and the former State was split into into the two UTs of J&K and Ladakh.
‘Illegal and unconstitutional’
“This is a slap on the face of democracy… We are hurt that after reaching here [Delhi], they detained our people. This is illegal and unconstitutional. The police have cited the DUSU election results, Waqf Amendment Act. Haryana elections, etc to issue prohibitory orders, but we can see that there is peace in Delhi. They have detained our people on the basis of baseless reports. Even our MP was detained, we are shocked that such things can happen in a democracy like India,” said LAB member Ashraf Ali while addressing a press conference in Delhi.
An aide of Mr. Wangchuk said that he was denied legal assistance. Civil society members have filed two petitions in the Delhi High Court challenging the prohibitory orders issued by the Delhi Police from September 30 to October 5. The case will come up for hearing on October 3.
‘Frontline warriors’
Former Army man Mohammad Hussain is among the 200 people detained since Monday, according to his wife Zahida Bano. “He was detained with Sonam Wangchuk on Monday. After retiring from Ladakh Scouts in 2017, he dedicated his life to social work and joined the movement to demand a better future for our children. We thought that after he reaches Delhi, he will get medical care as he sustained injuries on his foot. It is heart-breaking,” Ms. Bano said.
Sajjad Kargili of the KDA, who has been detained along with 30 others at the Arya Samaj Mandir in Narela, said that they “have now decided to go on a hunger strike”.
“I urge the government not to push the people of #Ladakh to the wall. We are frontline warriors, not traitors. We are simply demanding the rights you have taken from us — our statehood, safeguards, and employment. Now, even our right to protest is being stripped away,” he posted on X.