Sonam Wangchuk threatens fresh agitation from Sept 19 to 24 over Ladakh issues

Educationalist and social activist Sonam Wangchuk has threatened fresh agitation from September 19 to 24 if the government doesn’t give an assurance in one week on all the issues related to Ladakh. This comes hours after Wangchuk expressed disappointment over the progress of the talks held between key Ladakh groups and the MHA sub-committee in New Delhi on Thursday.

Wangchuk spent six months in Jodhpur jail after he was booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) in September last year following violence in Ladakh.

He was held on September 26 last year, two days after protests demanding greater autonomy for Ladakh turned violent, claiming four lives and injuring dozens. The Union government had blamed Wangchuk, a 2018 Magsaysay Award winner and a leading figure in the Ladakh statehood movement, for provoking the clashes.

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Months after his release in March 2026, Wangchuk threw his weight behind the students protesting against irregularities in NEET exam and sat on an indefinite hunger strike for 26 days from June 28.

Wangchuk disappointed over talks with MHA panel

Earlier on Thursday, Wangchuk said he was disappointed with how talks between Ladakh's key leaders and the MHA sub-committee in New Delhi. Taking a dig at the meeting, Wangchuk shared an old clip from popular comedian Jaspal Bhatti's show and said that hardly anything new happened during the talks.

Wangchuk, in a post on X on Thursday, said leaders of the Apex Body of Leh (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) would hold a press conference at 4 pm at Ladakh Bhavan in New Delhi. He said the leaders were “rather disappointed” by the sub-committee-level meeting held in New Delhi on September 9.

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The meeting was convened by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Wednesday over Ladakh’s demands for statehood and constitutional safeguards.

Wangchuk's warning if talks fail

While the Leh Apex Body is observing September as a "Martyrs' Month" in memory of those killed, injured and jailed last year, the group had planned a a padyatra from Kargil to Leh on September 10. It was postponed in view of the MHA talks a day earlier.

"We have collectively decided to postpone the padyatra for the time being," Wangchuk was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The march could be revived if the September 9 talks fail to produce a satisfactory outcome, he said. The march would be organised around five days before September 24, if things to come such a pass.

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"We will once again appeal to people from across India to come forward in support of Ladakh, in support of the environment, and in support of the people of Ladakh who remain steadfast on the country's borders," Wangchuk said.

He said the Apex Body expects the government to bring a detailed draft on the proposed Ladakh Assembly, including its powers and rights, to the September 9 meeting.

"If there is progress on these issues, we will consider the talks successful," he said.

Wangchuk said the circumstances surrounding September 24 were "not normal" and indicated that the LAB could disclose what it knows about the violence and incidents of arson if necessary.

"If Ladakh is not treated in the same manner... and a stepmotherly treatment is meted out to Ladakh and the people living along the borders, then we will be compelled to launch a very large-scale agitation after September 9," the activist said.