TNI Digital: Sonam Wangchuk, Ladakh’s most well-known innovator and activist, is now at the centre of the Union Territory’s biggest unrest in decades. Once celebrated for his pioneering educational reforms and environmental innovations, he now faces detention under the National Security Act (NSA) following violent protests in Leh that left four people dead and nearly 100 injured.
Wangchuk, often associated with Aamir Khan’s character in the 2009 film 3 Idiots, co-founded the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) in 1988, which brought sweeping changes to Ladakhi education. His projects, from solar-powered schools to the Ice Stupa initiative, won him global recognition, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018. But his long campaign for Ladakh’s statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards has increasingly placed him at odds with the government.
His father Sonam Wangyal was part of the Ladakh movement. He had gone on a hunger strike when Indira Gandhi was the PM. In 1984, Indira visited Leh to end his fast personally with a Statehood promise for Ladakh.
The current crisis began with a hunger strike he launched earlier this month to press for dialogue with the Centre. On September 24, violence erupted in Leh when protestors clashed with security forces, stormed the BJP office and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council secretariat, and set parts of it ablaze. The Ministry of Home Affairs blamed Wangchuk’s “provocative” speeches for inciting the unrest. He, however, rejected the charge, calling it a “scapegoat tactic” and warning that jailing him could deepen public anger.
In the aftermath, the government cancelled SECMOL’s licence under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Separately, the CBI is investigating alleged financial irregularities at the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL), another organisation linked to him. Authorities had earlier cancelled land allotted to HIAL, claiming it was not used for its stated purpose.
His arrest has triggered political criticism. Ladakh MP Haji Hanifa demanded an inquiry into the deaths, while former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal called the action oppressive. Wangchuk’s wife accused authorities of ransacking their home and treating him “like a criminal.”
Wangchuk’s legacy as a reformer and innovator remains deeply tied to Ladakh’s aspirations, now overshadowed by violence and uncertainty.