SRINAGAR, (India): Residents in India's Ladakh staged a virtual shutdown of the main city on Thursday (Sept 24) to mark a year since four people were killed during a protest for greater regional autonomy.
On Sept 24, 2025, security forces opened fire as demonstrations turned violent in the sparsely populated, high-altitude Himalayan region.
The discontent stems from a decision by the Indian government in 2019 to cancel Ladakh's partial automony and impose direct rule.
Shops and businesses in the city of Leh remained shut and streets were deserted on Thursday, witnesses said, in response to calls for their closure by a Buddhist group.
"The shutdown is to commemorate those who laid down their lives for Ladakh and express solidarity with their families, and... to highlight our demands for autonomy," a member of the Ladakh Buddhist Association told AFP, declining to be named.
Residents organised special Buddhist prayers to commemorate what they called the "martyrs" of the protests.
Ladakh is strategically important for India as it borders regional rivals China and Pakistan.
The vast desert region is sparsely populated by some 300,000 people, half of them Muslim and about 40 percent Buddhist.
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government split Ladakh from Indian-administered Kashmir in 2019, residents have said the end of semi-autonomy has stripped them of protections over land, jobs, resources and cultural identity.
New Delhi now makes most decisions on development, and officials from outside Ladakh tend to impelement them, sidelining the local elected council.
On Wednesday, the New Delhi-appointed top administrator of Ladakh said some of the 89 people charged after last year's protests would no longer face criminal prosections.
"In the larger interest of peace, public tranquility, and social harmony in Ladakh, I have approved the withdrawal of criminal cases against 20 individuals, related to the unfortunate violence that erupted in Leh on September 24 last year," Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said.
"The decision aims at fostering a more peaceful, united, and harmonious society in Ladakh."
Negotiations with the federal home ministry have been going on since the protests, but local people have only secured some small gains so far.
The government has reserved 85 percent of jobs for locals and said Indians from outside Ladakh will not be able to acquire domicile status in the region until 2036.
But residents are demanding comprehensive autonomy under the "Sixth Schedule" of India's constitution, which would allow a local legislature to make laws on land use, jobs and traditional livelihoods. - AFP
