Why Sonam Wangchuk protest?

The Educationist and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk living in Ladakh have claimed that she has been put under house arrest. What happened when Wangchuk and the government came face to face?

Sonam Wangchuk is on a hunger strike since 2nd January. Wangchuk, who lives in Khardung La at an altitude of 18,380 feet, released a video on YouTube two days after announcing his hunger strike, saying that the administration has put him under house arrest. However, the administration has denied this allegation.

Wangchuk shared a document in a tweet in which there are some conditions placed before him by the administration. He wrote, “Attention lawyers of the world. While prayers and fasting are going on, the Ladakh UT administration wants me to sign this band. How is this right? Should I shut up? I am not afraid of arrest.”

According to the bond given with this tweet tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a condition has been placed before Wangchuk that he will not make any statement. Will not make comments. Will not give a speech. Will not participate in any event in Leh district.

He later said in a YouTube video that he had been placed under house arrest, which was actually “worse than house arrest.” However, Leh’s Senior Superintendent of Police PD Nitya clarified this and told the media, “They were not allowed to fast for five days at the Khardung La Pass because the temperature there drops to minus 40 degrees. It would have been extremely dangerous for him and his supporters to go there and hence he was requested to fast at the premises of his Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL) itself.”

What is Wangchuk’s demand?

Born in Ulaytokpo near Alchi in Leh district, 56-year-old Wangchuk is known worldwide for his model of community education. Wangchuk, who has received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, is fighting for the demand for special rights and environmental protection in the Ladakh region. He wants that Ladakh needs special status to save the Himalayan region.

He said that the protection of the Himalayas and its glaciers should be more important than pleasing some corporates as it is affecting the lives of the people of the entire subcontinent. He said, “The government will have to make a future-oriented plan to protect the environment in the Himalayas. The inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution is also a part of it.”

 

Under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, autonomous district councils and regional councils in ethnic and tribal areas have been empowered to make laws for their respective areas. Presently ten districts of four Indian states Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura are part of this schedule. Wangchuk demands that Ladakh should also be given privileges under this schedule.

Wangchuk’s demands have received support during the last five days of fasting. Except for Bharatiya Jana Party, all other parties have supported their demands. On Monday, he said that if his demands were not met, he would intensify his agitation.

He said, “It was a symbolic fast. If there is no response from the government, I will go on a hunger strike for ten days. Then for 15 days and after that till my last breath.”

The people of Ladakh have been demanding inclusion in the Sixth Schedule for a long time. Tupstan Chewang, the main body of the People’s Movement for Sixth Schedule, an organization working for this demand, has also announced a movement against the government for failing to protect the culture and identity of Ladakh.