Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) co-chairman Tsering Dorjay, on Thursday, said the violent protest on September 24, in which four people were killed in police firing, was a result of the pent-up anger of educated but unemployed youth belonging to poor families.
Addressing a press conference in Leh along with other members of LAB, including Ashraf Ali, Muhammad Ramzan and Sonam Parvez, leader of Christian community of Leh, Dorjey rejected allegations that the agitation in Ladakh was “anti-national” or being backed by a “foreign hand.”
He said the movement had been peaceful until excessive force was used by the police.
“We had made it clear our movement would remain peaceful and non-violent,” he said, adding, “the hunger strike that began with inter-faith prayers was an example of that commitment.”
Talking about the September 24 protest that turned violent, he said after one participant of the hunger strike led by Sonam Wangchuk was hospitalised, thousands, especially youth, joined the bandh called by LAB’s youth wing.
Sonam Wangchuk, Ladakh activist is arrested by police two days after violent protests in Leh. The protests, calling for tribal rights under the Sixth Schedule, turned deadly, leaving four people dead and over 80 injured.#sonamwangchuk #ladakhprotest #lehviolence #genzprotests pic.twitter.com/ZG2trXL1kk
— THE WEEK (@TheWeekLive) September 26, 2025
He said normally only about 500 people attended the hunger strike, but that day nearly 7,000 turned up, most of them youngsters. “They were educated, unemployed and angry,” he said. “They lost control and tried to march out despite our repeated appeals to stay inside.”
He said while some protesters vandalised the BJP office and other government buildings, they showed respect for national symbols.
“At the BJP office, they removed photographs of Dr Ambedkar and others before setting fire, but they did not touch the national flag. Many were carrying the tricolour themselves,” he said. Dorjay accused certain “YouTube channels” of deliberately trying to misrepresent the incident as anti-national.
He also dismissed claims of foreign involvement. “Some injured included Tibetans, Nepalis and Biharis, but they were bystanders,” he said. “In Leh, many outsiders live and work. When the police opened indiscriminate fire without warning — no tear gas, no water cannons — they too were hit.”
He said 95 per cent of the injuries are bullet or pellet wounds.
The LAB co-chairman alleged that the police action was pre-planned to suppress the movement.
He said such excessive force has never been seen in Ladakh. “The government mishandled the situation. Instead of listening to the genuine demands of our youth, it opened fire on them,” he said.
LAB leaders said while some collateral damage was caused by angry youth, it was the indiscriminate firing that turned the protest deadly. “This should never have happened in a peaceful place like Ladakh.”
