Himachal Civil Groups Stand in Solidarity with Ladakh’s Peaceful Movement, Condemn Police Firing and Resource Exploitation. 

Shimla:

In a strongly worded joint statement, civil society organizations and public movements from Himachal Pradesh have extended their full support to the ongoing peaceful democratic movement in Ladakh, while sharply criticizing the Central Government’s repressive response, including recent police firing that resulted in civilian deaths.

The statement comes in the aftermath of violent suppression of a peaceful protest on September 24, 2025, when locals took to the streets following the deteriorating health of hunger strikers in Ladakh. Police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators, killing four civilians and injuring over 50 others. Himachali groups have labeled this act as “brutal, unjustified, and a direct attack on democracy.”

Call for Justice and Dialogue, Not Suppression

The statement praises Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known environmentalist and leader of the Ladakh movement, for consistently urging protestors to maintain non-violence, despite the state’s provocation. It also strongly condemns the government’s retaliatory actions against Wangchuk, including the use of central investigative agencies and the revocation of land allotted to his educational institution.

“The Central Government has failed to engage in democratic dialogue and instead is using repression as a tool to silence Ladakh’s genuine and constitutional demands,” the statement said.

Four Core Demands of the Ladakh Movement

The movement’s demands, described as “constitutionally valid and environmentally essential,” are:

1. Grant full statehood to Ladakh.
2. Include Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to protect indigenous rights and natural resources.
3. Allocate two seats in the Lok Sabha for Ladakh to ensure fair parliamentary representation.
4. Give employment priority to locals in all public sector jobs.

These demands stem from the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, when Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory. Despite early support from locals for UT status, the absence of a legislative assembly and constitutional safeguards led to growing disillusionment. The Sixth Schedule was promised both by Home Minister and the Minister of Tribal Affairs, and also featured in the BJP’s 2020 local election manifesto, but remains unfulfilled to date.

Himachal Groups: Ladakh is Being Looted in the Name of Development

The joint statement asserts that the government’s true intention lies in the exploitation of Ladakh’s vast natural resources, rather than empowering its indigenous population. It warns that large-scale construction, mining, and energy projects are threatening the fragile Himalayan ecology.

Major Resource and Infrastructure Projects in Ladakh Highlighted:

1. 13 GW Solar and Wind Energy Project covering over 48,000 acres in Pang and nearby regions, with future plans to expand to 250 sq. km.
2. 7 Hydropower Projects generating 2,070.2 MW of electricity.
3. A proposed transmission line from Pang (Ladakh) to Kaithal (Haryana), cutting across key districts in Himachal like Lahaul, Manali, Mandi, Bilaspur, and Nalagarh, with significant land acquisition already underway.
4. A 490 km rail line from Bilaspur to Leh; dozens of new roads, 750 sq. km of road expansions, 39 helipads, and 29 new bridges planned under the pretext of promoting tourism.
5. Mining boom in the pipeline for rare and strategic minerals such as lithium, gold, borax, thorium, and copper.
   More than 100 mining leases have already been issued.
6. Extensive plans for granite, marble, and limestone extraction with associated infrastructure like tunnels and all-weather roads being accelerated.

“These massive projects will alter the climate cycle, melt glaciers faster, and bring ecological devastation not just to Ladakh but the entire Himalayas,” warned the statement.

Environment Before Profit: A Call for Sustainable Himalayan Policy

The groups stress that the ongoing “development” in Ladakh and the greater Himalayas is ecologically suicidal. With increasing climate disasters in the region — from flash floods to glacial lake bursts — the need to pause and rethink policy is more urgent than ever.

They called for a Himalaya-specific development policy that prioritizes ecology, local livelihoods, and indigenous rights over industrial expansion and profit motives.

Four Urgent Demands to the Central Government:

1. Immediate removal of NSA charges on Sonam Wangchuk and unconditional release of all arrested protestors. Judicial inquiry into the September 24 police firing and compensation to victims’ families.
2. Open, time-bound dialogue with Ladakh’s representatives on all constitutional, ecological, and employment-related issues.
3. Impose a moratorium on all mega construction, hydropower, mining, and industrial activities in fragile Himalayan zones.
4. Adopt a national Himalayan Policy based on regional topography, ecology, and socio-cultural realities.

Signatories to the Statement:

• Guman Singh, Convener, Himalaya Niti Abhiyan.
• Joginder Walia, President, Four-lane Joint Struggle Committee (Kiratpur–Manali).
• Advocate Desh Raj, Former President, War Council.
• Amar Singh Raghwa, State Advisor, Sarvajan Protection Committee.
• Sant Ram & Ajit Rathore, MGNREGA and All Workers’ Organization.
• Narendra Sain, President, Devbhoomi Environment Protection Forum.

As Ladakh stands at a crossroad between ecological disaster and democratic aspiration, the solidarity shown by Himachal Pradesh’s people’s movements signals that the battle for sustainable and just development in the Himalayas is not a local issue—it’s a national imperative.