Leh: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested Friday and slapped with the stringent National Security Act (NSA), two days after violent protests over statehood and constitutional protection left four persons dead and 90 injured in the Union Territory of Ladakh, officials said.
Police have shifted Wangchuk out of Ladakh, while the Ladakh administration has snapped all mobile internet connections within the jurisdiction of Leh district as a precautionary measure, they said.
In a day of fast-paced developments, the arrest of Wangchuk was sudden. He was scheduled to address a press conference in Leh at 2:30 pm but when he failed to arrive, the organisers became concerned.
They soon found the reason — the climate activist had been arrested from his village Ulyaktopo by a strong team of Ladakh Police, led by Director General S D Singh Jamwal.
Wangchuk was immediately shifted out of Ladakh.
The organisers went ahead with the scheduled press conference in which they admitted that the recent violence was caused by youth who went “out of control”, but dismissed the involvement of any foreign hand behind it.
Leh Apex Body co-chairman Chering Dorjay rejected the involvement of “foreign hand” in the violence and demanded a judicial probe into Wednesday’s incident that claimed four lives.
He alleged that police and CRPF personnel fired indiscriminately on the protesters without making any attempt to control the unruly mob using other means, such as use of water cannons or firing warning shots.
“We have made it clear that if the home ministry does not call us on time for talks, we will intensify our agitation. We also said that our movement will be peaceful and non-violent.
“The 35-day long hunger strike led by Sonam Wangchuk started with a joint prayer meeting on September 10, and accordingly, the Centre extended an invitation for October 6,” Dorjay told reporters.
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm continued to prevail in the Himalayan region as curfew remained in force for the third consecutive day in Leh with no untoward incident being reported from anywhere in the UT.
The curfew was clamped on Wednesday evening after widespread violence resulted in the deaths of protesters demanding advancing talks with the Centre on their demand for statehood and extension of the Sixth Schedule of Constitution to Ladakh.
“The overall security situation remained peaceful across Ladakh. The restrictions are likely to be relaxed later in the day to allow people to buy essential commodities,” a police officer said.
More than 50 persons were detained following the clashes, while strict restrictions under prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more persons also remained in force in other major towns of the UT, including Kargil.
A high-level team from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has arrived in Leh to review the situation.
Wangchuk’s arrest came a day after the MHA revoked the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence issued to the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), an organisation Wangchuk founded, citing alleged financial irregularities.
The arrest of Wangchuk, a key figure in the five-year-long agitation for Ladakh’s rights, has drawn strong reactions from the opposition leaders, who blamed the Central government’s handling of the situation.
In a fiery reaction to the arrest, Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, accused the government of spreading a “false narrative” aimed at tarnishing his image.
“He was treated like a criminal without any reason,” Angmo said, alleging that their house was ransacked by police.
She also criticised the government for “stooping to this level” to damage the reputation of a respected innovator.
“Let them not spread false narratives as they are doing,” she said, referring to the BJP, as she questioned the saffron party’s principles, stating, “They are not Hindus in any way. The BJP is not Hindu because its foundation is falsehood.”
“The government should not stoop to this level to tarnish somebody’s image who has been peacefully protesting for the past five years, who has contributed to national glory more than anybody else, be it through Rolex Awards or, you know, the work that he has been doing in agriculture and environment, to UNDP and everywhere,” she said.
“If this is how intellectuals and innovators are treated, then God save this country from becoming anything but a Vishwaguru,” she said.
Angmo also slammed the ruling BJP at the Centre, saying “please tell them not to call themselves Hindu… because the basis of Hinduism is all truth”.
Identifying herself as a practising Hindu, Wangchuk’s wife questioned the BJP’s principles, saying, “They are not Hindus in any way. The BJP is not Hindu because its foundation is falsehood.”
“I am somebody who teaches the Vedas, Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita in the light of Sri Aurobindo. I am a teacher and student of the Vedas and Vedanta and this is not the India Sri Aurobindo dreamt about and this is not the Hinduism that Vedas and Vedanta talk about,” she said.
Angmo reiterated her protest and challenged anyone from the Centre to a live, prime-time television debate on the allegations levelled against her husband, including issues related to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and CBI inquiries.
“I challenge them to come on Prime Time TV to have a one-on-one debate with me about all the allegations,” she said.
Meanwhile, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said the arrest of climate activist Soman Wangchuk was unfortunate, and accused the BJP-led NDA government of backtracking on its promises.
“This (Wangchuk’ arrest) is unfortunate. The way the Central government was after him since yesterday, it seemed they would do something like this,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony of the third Junior Asian Pencak Silat championship here.
“Promises were made with the people there…I don’t understand what compulsions does the Central government have to backtrack after making promises,” he said.
The home ministry had blamed Wangchuk, a senior member of Leh Apex Body (LAB), which, along with Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), is spearheading the agitation in support of the demands — statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution — for the past over five years, for provocation leading to the violence.
The J&K chief minister said before the Hill council elections in Leh in 2020, a Union minister went there as the people there had decided to boycott the elections.
“Promises were made to make people contest and participate in the elections. Not only did the people then participate in the elections in huge numbers, but they made BJP win. But the promises were not kept, same as with us,” he said.
Referring to the promise of the restoration of J&K’s statehood after the completion of assembly elections, Abdullah said the people in the Union territory participated in the elections, and then the government was formed here based on those promises.
He asked whether the people of J&K are being kept away from statehood because they didn’t elect the BJP to power.
“If that is the case, then they should tell the court that till BJP doesn’t form the government in JK, statehood will not be restored,” he said.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk is “deeply disturbing”, terming the climate activist as a lifelong advocate of peace.
“Sonam Wangchuk’s arrest is deeply disturbing. A lifelong advocate of peace, sustainability and truth is being punished merely for demanding that promises be kept,” Mufti said in a post on X.
The former chief minister said the situation in Leh, following Wednesday’s violence, was a grim echo of what Kashmir has endured.
“Today, Leh is under curfew with the internet shut down, a grim echo of what Kashmir has long endured. In today’s India, speaking truth to power comes at a heavy cost or how else could a man who stood for peace and non violence his entire life end up behind bars?” she asked.
Commenting on the cancellation of FCRA licence of Wangchuk’s SEMCOL organisation, Mufti said, “The Home Ministry’s cancellation of Sonam Wangchuk’s FCRA license is not governance, it’s frustration disguised as punishment,” she said.
Mufti said the man who built ice stupas, solar schools and lit up Ladakh “with innovation and hope is now being targeted in darkness”.
Some opposition parties alleged that the arrest “clearly exposes the government’s witch-hunting agenda” and a “policy of repression against dissent”.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, “The Indian National Congress condemns the arrest of noted environmentalist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act.”
This has been done to divert attention and responsibility from the BJP’s “abysmal failure” to maintain law and order and ensure security of life and property in the Union Territory of Ladakh, Ramesh claimed.
“The crux of the issue is that the BJP has deceived the people of Ladakh for years. It promised the region Sixth Schedule status in the 2020 Leh Hill Council elections but has gone back on that promise with a vengeance,” Ramesh said.
Trinamool Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, Sagarika Ghose, said, “Whether in sensitive places like Kashmir or Manipur or Ladakh, the Modi government has no policy, no reach out, no reconciliation, no trust building.”
She also alleged that the “incompetent Modi regime can only treat any dissent as ‘anti-national’ and arrest under draconian laws. Shameful.”
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas termed the happenings in Ladakh “brutality unleashed” and warned that “such repressive actions will only aggravate the situation and further fuel unrest”.
Legal advisor to the Leh Apex Body (LAB), Haji Ghulam Mustafa, called Wangchuk’s arrest an “unwise decision” that could “complicate the situation”.
He said the arrest “can hurt the people of Ladakh emotionally”, with a potential of derailing the ongoing talks with the Centre.
