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| KDA announces hunger strike despite Buddhist appeal for calm during Dalai Lama’s visit | | |  Sanjay pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 7:Differences have surfaced among Ladakh’s agitating groups after the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) announced a three-day hunger strike in Kargil starting August 9, even as several Buddhist organisations urged a pause in protests until the Dalai Lama’s ongoing visit concludes.
Senior Congress leader and KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai said the hunger strike, beginning Saturday at 10 a.m., is aimed at pressuring the Union Government to resume talks on Ladakh’s key demands—restoration of statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule. The protest will culminate on August 11 with a massive public rally. “We want to give a message to the Union Government that the residents of Ladakh will not remain silent on their demands,” Karbalai stated, adding that Buddhist leaders from Leh have also been requested to join the protest to present a united front.
Though the Leh Apex Body (LAB) has not officially responded to the KDA’s protest call, both LAB and KDA have jointly pushed for a four-point agenda and demanded talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) by July 15. The MHA had proposed a meeting on July 28, which was rejected. A later suggestion for July 20 also failed to materialize, leaving the dialogue stalled.
The delay has frustrated activists like Sonam Wangchuk, who had announced a 35-day hunger strike starting July 15 but deferred it following the Centre’s assurance of talks by July 20. With no meeting held, the KDA is now proceeding independently with its protest.
Meanwhile, Buddhist religious heads have appealed for restraint. Rev. Kushok Thiksey Rinpoche, Head Lama of Thiksey and Diskit Monasteries and a former Rajya Sabha MP, issued a formal appeal urging all protest actions, including Wangchuk’s fast, be postponed until after the Dalai Lama’s visit, expected to conclude by August 15 or 16.
“His Holiness’s presence brings immense spiritual grace—a moment for peace, reflection, and unity,” Rinpoche wrote in a letter to the LAB. “Agitat ion during this period could detract from the Dalai Lama’s message of compassion and non-violence.”
While both LAB and KDA maintain that they are committed to peaceful advocacy, the KDA’s decision to proceed with its protest signals growing impatience with the Centre’s delay in addressing Ladakh’s demands. |
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