Leh and Ladakh regions in Jammu and Kashmir have  observed complete Bandh to protest against the forcible conversion of Buddhists by the Muslims in Zanaskar.
All business establishments in Leh remained completely shut for the whole day. The Bandh call was given by the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) and the Ladakh Gonpa Association (LGA) to condemn the prevailing situation in Zanskar.
Twenty-six Buddhists of Zanskar tehsil in Kargil district allegedly converted to Islam last month.
VHP state president Rama Kant Dubey said: “Forcible conversions of these Buddhists in Zanskar area of Kargil were done at behest of the Muslim community, against the wishes of Buddhists. There is criminal silence of the administration against the people who compelled the Buddhists to embrace Islam. It shows the connivance of the administration.”
Dubey questioned why no action was taken against officials despite a protest lodged by the VHP and the Buddhists of those areas.
According to Muslim community leaders, “a few Buddhist families in Zanskar in Kargil district converted to Islam of their own free will without any force or coercion last month”.
This led to communal tension in Zanskar. Both communities clashed last week resulting in damage to property and injury to protestors. The administration had to impose a curfew Oct 24.
Meanwhile, Students of Zanskar town of district Kargil, today held protests against alleged use of force during curfew.
Over 200 students under the banner of Zanskar Buddhist Association (ZBA) held protests against the Government for its alleged failure to handle the situation in the Buddhist-dominated town, where clashes between two communities had resulted in injuries to three persons including a senior official.Raising slogans for peace, the students threatened to launch agitation to support their relatives in Zanskar.
“We don’t know about our families as they are being threatened and force has been used on them and we protest over it“, one of the students hailing from Zanskar said. He demanded deployment of Army at Zanskar town, as police there seems to be hand in glove with the Muslim community, who always try to dominate Buddhist community.