Why does Ladakh lack a legislature and what are the consequences?

Fringed by China and Pakistan, Ladakh is India’s high-altitude borderland.

For years now, locals led peaceful protests demanding statehood and constitutional protections for land, jobs, and identity. But last week, that peace broke. Violence erupted in Leh city in the Union Territory of Ladakh on Wednesday (September 24, 2025), several protesters were killed as security forces launched a heavy crackdown.

At the centre of it all is Sonam Wangchuk — an engineer, climate activist, and one of Ladakh’s most respected voices. He was arrested under the National Security Act, a law that allows detention without trial for up to 12 months.

What triggered this escalation? Why did peaceful protests turn deadly? And what does Wangchuk’s detention mean for the future of Ladakh’s struggle?

Guest: Peerzada Ashiq, Kashmir-based journalist with The Hindu

Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran

Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston

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