TNI Bureau: Noted environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, who inspired Bollywood hit Amir Khan starrer ‘3 Idiots’ has started his mission to ‘Save Ladakh.’
As part of his mission to safeguard Ladakh under the sixth schedule of the Constitution and to draw the attention of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire world, the 56 year old environmentalist observed a five-day ‘climate fast.’
A former staunch admirer of PM Modi and strong advocate of the 2019 abrogation of Art 370 in the then Jammu and Kashmir state, the engineer and innovator-turned-climate activist, started his fast on Republic Day and ended on Monday.
Wangchuk, who is also the founding Director of Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SEMCOL), was originally scheduled to hold the fast in the open at Khardung La — where temperatures drop to -40°C — he wasn’t allowed, and eventually organised the fast at his institute, where night temperatures go as low as -20°C.
The main objective of his fast was to safeguards the “glaciers, mountains, land and people” of Ladakh by demanding the region’s inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Wangchuk organised a solar exhibition on the last day of his fast. Over 200 people including Buddhist spiritual leader Thupstan Chhewang and several religious leaders from Leh and Kargil joined Wangchuk in his climate fast.
In the evening yesterday, Chhewang offered some food to Wangchuk to end his five-day fast in sub-zero temperature of Ladakh.
“I have been asked to sign a bond… Three innocent teachers of my school have been taken to police station, so that they force me to sign the bond. These tactics are being employed by the L-G sahib. On this occasion, I would say that L-G sahib, you are working hard to sow the seeds of militancy in peaceful Ladakh. The way youth have been kept unemployed and are being oppressed, this can happen. But remember, we will not let this happen,” Wangchuk said in one of his video statements.
“I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I am saying that we were better-off with Jammu and Kashmir than today’s UT [Union Territory]. I would also tell that our tomorrow’s UT would be better and golden,” he added.