How India’s Himalayan Frontier Lost Faith in Modi’s Rule

Tarushi Aswani

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LEH, LADAKH: Prayer flags flutter under clear skies, in the winter breeze that wraps Ladakh – India’s northernmost frontier. Instead of loud laughter and trailing tourists, an ominous silence lurks around the lanes of Leh, the capital of Ladakh.

Over a month ago, the unimaginable happened in Leh; since then, the cold desert region barely speaks and shrinks at the thought of asking questions and demanding rights.

On September 24, police opened fire on protesters demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards, killing four people and injuring more than 90. The demonstration had begun peacefully, led by activists, students, and other locals, but ended in chaos, as the crowd scattered under gunfire. A curfew and internet bans followed.

Ladakh’s location, wedged between India, China, and Pakistan, makes it one of the world’s most strategic yet fragile frontiers. Local feels that the September 24 incident in Leh has transformed their struggle for constitutional rights into a flashpoint between the people and the state, unsettling a border zone already shadowed by militarization and mistrust.

Demanding Democracy

Six years ago, in 2019, the Modi government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy. It also bifurcated the erstwhile state into two new Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and a newly separate Ladakh. In Leh, many residents rejoiced, imagining liberation from Kashmir’s neglect. But soon they realized that though they had gained a separate administration under the Union Territory mechanism, they had lost even the limited self-governance once enjoyed by their local councils.

Chhering Dorje Lakrook, former minister and president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), recounted how the last six years of unemployment, false promises, and robbed rights hardened into resistance. On September 24, when two elderly locals had to be hospitalized after 10 days of hunger strikes, the local youth intensified protests outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Leh. Then, stone pelting began, with security forces lobbing tear gas bombs on protesters. After this, vehicles were set on fire and security forces allegedly fired rounds of bullets to dispel the protesters.