Key keywords: Sonam Wangchuk, Indian National Congress, Ladakh hunger strike, Sixth Schedule of Indian Constitution, Ladakh autonomy demand, Indian opposition parties alliance, Himalayan environmental protection, Leh local rights protest The Indian National Congress on Wednesday formally issued a public appeal to renowned education reformist and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his ongoing indefinite hunger strike in Leh, asserting that all concerns raised by him are fully endorsed by the Congress party as well as all other major opposition parties across the country. Wangchuk, who is widely celebrated for his work on revamping public education in remote Himalayan regions, launched his hunger strike 12 days prior to the Congress’s announcement, demanding four key commitments from the central government: inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution to grant local tribal communities autonomous governance rights, protection of Ladakh’s fragile high-altitude ecosystem from unregulated commercial exploitation, job reservations for local Ladakhi residents in government and private sector posts in the union territory, and a formal freeze on land acquisition for non-local commercial or industrial projects. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, while addressing a press conference in New Delhi, stated that the party has held multiple rounds of consultations with other opposition parties including the Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Communist Party of India (Marxist), all of whom have agreed to raise Wangchuk’s demands as a priority agenda item in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Ramesh added that the opposition bloc will also stage a series of protests across state capitals to amplify Ladakh’s voice, which he said has been “systematically ignored by the ruling dispensation ever since Ladakh was carved out as a separate union territory in 2019.” Local health officials monitoring Wangchuk’s health confirmed earlier this week that the 57-year-old activist has experienced significant weight loss, drops in blood pressure, and early signs of ketosis, prompting widespread anxiety among Ladakhi residents who have been staging solidarity protests across Leh and Kargil for the past week. The Congress’s appeal came hours after a delegation of Ladakhi student leaders met with senior party leaders in New Delhi to request intervention to push the central government to enter negotiations with Wangchuk and other Ladakh representatives. As of press time, Wangchuk has not yet issued a formal response to the Congress’s appeal, but close aides shared that he will only consider ending his fast once he receives a written commitment from the central government addressing all four of his core demands. Local community leaders noted that the opposition’s unified backing for Wangchuk’s demands marks the first time Ladakh’s post-2019 grievances have received national-level political support, raising hopes for a resolution to the ongoing protest.