Two senior Leh leaders express concern over ‘protest marches’; ask Kargil and Leh bodies to follow May 2025 agreement
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A protester from Ladakh holds a placard demanding Statehood and other democratic rights for their region during a protest in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: AP
Two senior regional leaders from Ladakh’s Leh, Tsering Samphel and Rigzin Spalbar, have expressed concern over protest marches proposed to demand Statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. They are instead pushing for elections to local hill councils in newly created districts.
“We are strongly against holding any padyatra (walk) or protest in Leh while formal talks are proceeding as a follow-up to the agreement consensually signed by ourselves. Such actions at this juncture will only weaken our collective negotiating strength. The satisfactory sixth meeting with the MHA (Union Ministry of Home Affairs) at New Delhi must be followed up with sincerity to take it to its logical conclusion,” Mr. Spalbar, former chairperson of the Ladakh Hill Development Council-Leh, and Mr. Samphel, former president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, said.
The move comes against the backdrop of the ongoing ‘Martyrs Month’ being observed in Ladakh to remember the four civilians who died during protests in Leh in September 2025. Both the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance support the first death anniversary remembrance meetings. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has also backed the agitational route to pressurise New Delhi in meeting promises made during the May 22 and September 9, 2025 talks between the Union government and the representatives from Ladakh.
However, they were “deeply concerned to see the recent misunderstandings and erosion of trust amongst the top leadership of the Buddhist community at a time when Ladakh stands at a historic crossroads”, Mr. Spalbar and Mr. Samphel said in their open letter.
They urged both the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance leadership “to strictly follow the agreement reached on 22nd May [2025] and thereafter signed at Leh, to achieve the agreed points”.
“We appeal not to deviate from the said agreement and the path already agreed upon. Ladakh’s struggle has always been guided by non-violence, wisdom and unity. Let us not lose this at the final hour,” they added.
Supporting the “historic consensus” arrived at by all parties at Leh, and signed consensually with the Centre, they appealed that “no statement or action is made which may vitiate the atmosphere and derail the talks”. “The objective already agreed upon and signed must not be allowed to fail due to any confusion,” they added.
Mr. Spalbar and Mr. Samphel also called for “immediate groundwork for holding elections for all seven hill councils”, recently announced by the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor's administration, urging, “holding these elections at the earliest to fulfil the just, legitimate and democratic aspirations of the people”.
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