Why did Sonam Wangchuk go on a hunger strike?

Sonam Wangchuk, the Ladakhi engineer and activist, went on a hunger strike in March 2024 to demand statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which would grant constitutional safeguards to protect the region's land, jobs, and cultural identity. After Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory in 2019 following the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, residents felt politically marginalized with no elected legislature. Wangchuk argued that without these protections, Ladakh's indigenous communities faced threats from outside settlers and environmental degradation. He undertook a 21-day fast to pressure the Indian government into addressing these demands.