What Ladakh makes of Sonam Wangchuk’s release from detention

On March 14, the Narendra Modi government announced that it had decided to end Ladakhi climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s detention under the National Security Act – nearly six months after his arrest.

The Union home ministry is not known to have made such a concession for any detainee held under the law in the past, The Hindu reported.

The 59-year-old activist was arrested in September last year, days after protesters demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution clashed with the police. Four civilians died in police firing and many were injured – a rare incident of violence in the cold desert region.

Out of Jodhpur jail, Wangchuk, who brought national attention to the demands of Ladakh’s population through his protests last year, struck a conciliatory note. “I never wanted to do agitations. I was forced to protest,” he said at a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday.

He denied that his release was an outcome of an understanding with the Centre. “Even if there was an offer, I would not have taken it. My agitation was not for myself but for the people of Ladakh,” he said.

In Ladakh, Wangchuk’s release is being seen as a sign of the Centre’s softening towards their demands and also the weak grounds of his arrest. “There is nothing against him and the Centre had to release him because they could not prove anything against him,” said Chering Dorjay, a senior Ladakhi leader and chairman of the Leh Apex Body, one of two organisations in negotiations with the Centre.

Several Ladakh leaders said Wangchuk’s release signalled hope but the road ahead remains unclear. “We think the Centre is softening towards us but at the same we wonder if it is trying to fool us by diluting our demands,” said another member of Leh Apex Body, requesting anonymity.

The Ladakhi leaders also emphasised that their protests will continue.

Two days after Wangchuk walked free, thousands of residents of Leh and Kargil marched to reiterate their demands and call for talks with the Centre. The protest was organised by the two leading civil society groups in the region – the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance. “Our main demands are still unmet,” said Dorjay.

According to Dorjay, the administration tried hard to quell the first public demonstration in the cold desert region following last year’s violence. “The police threatened many to not join the protest and put up barricades so that it’s not a big gathering. Despite that, more than 10,000 people participated in the march,” he added.

The birth of a movement

In August 2019, many residents of Ladakh had exulted over New Delhi’s decision to carve out Ladakh as a separate union territory without a legislature from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Wangchuk was one of them.

But in the next three years, the sentiment turned, as Ladakh’s people – like the residents of Jammu and Kashmir – lost their exclusive rights to own immovable property and get government jobs in the region through the scrapping of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution.

By 2022, the growing anxiety over outsiders being eligible to own land and apply for jobs in Ladakh had crystallised into a set of four demands from the Ladakh’s leadership: statehood to Ladakh; constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the constitution; separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts and the rollout of a recruitment process and a separate Public Service Commission for Ladakh.

The Sixth Schedule is a constitutional provision that grants greater autonomy to tribal regions in the country.

Wangchuk’s protests in 2023 in support of these demands brought national attention to the anxieties of the people of Ladakh. His hunger strikes forced the Centre to resume a frozen dialogue process. “Arguably, he is the most well-known Ladakhi face across India as well as the globe,” Mustafa Haji, a lawyer affiliated with the Leh Apex Body, told Scroll. “He single-handedly publicised the issue of Ladakh to the extent even the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance jointly were not able to do.”

As his protests continued, Wangchuk began feeling the heat. In August, the Ladakh administration cancelled the land allotment to the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning, the educational institute in Leh he had built. The institute was also accused of violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, which was followed by an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Wangchuk was also served a summons by the Income Tax department.

At the time of the violence in Leh, Wangchuk and his associates had been on the 15th day of a hunger strike to put pressure on the Centre to resume talks with the leadership of Ladakh over the question of granting Sixth Schedule status to the region.

As soon as violence broke out, Wangchuk called off his hunger strike and appealed for peace. But the Centre accused him of “indulging in activities prejudicial to national security” and detained Wangchuk under the NSA in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur jail, about 1500 km from his hometown.

Sajjad Kargili, the representative of Kargil Democratic Alliance, pointed out that Wangchuk was not the only leader from the region who has been dealt with harshly.

Two other leaders detained in the aftermath of September violence remain in prison. “One of them is Deldan Namgial, a former MLA. Another is Smanla Dorjey, an ex-councillor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council,” he informed. “We do not even know under which provisions they have been booked.”

In the Supreme Court, where Wangchuk’s detention was challenged in a habeas corpus petition by his wife Gitanjali Angmo, the Centre refused to back down.

The Modi government told the Supreme Court that Wangchuk was planning to “overthrow” the government through an Arab Spring-type uprising and accused him of instigating youth to create “riot-like” situations as seen in the Gen-Z protests in Nepal.

At the time of his detention, the Ladakh police had also alleged that Wangchuk, a recipient of the Magsaysay Award, had been in touch with a Pakistani intelligence operative. The authorities had also raised questions on Wangchuk’s visits to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Not only that, when the Supreme Court “urged” the Centre to review his detention as he was unwell, the government countered that Wangchuk was getting good treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur. “In Ladakh, there would have been nothing,” the Centre said.

A change of heart

The reasons behind Centre’s sudden decision to revoke Wangchuk’s detention remain unclear.

Barely five days before his release, his wife, Gitanjali Angmo had hinted that the renowned innovator and educator may change his strategy. “Instead of agitation and protests, once he is released, we will look for a solution through dialogue and collaboration,” Angmo had told The Hindu on March 9.

Those closer to Wangchuk, however, say he cannot distance himself from the movement. “I don’t think Wangchuk will remain silent. He won’t accept silence for his freedom,” said a senior Ladakhi leader who is in touch with Wangchuk.

In a rare statement after releasing a detainee, the government said its decision was part of its efforts in “fostering an environment of peace, stability, and mutual trust in Ladakh so as to facilitate constructive and meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders.”

Protests were not an answer to Ladakh’s problems, the government said. “…prevailing atmosphere of bandhs and protests has been detrimental to the peace-loving character of the society and has adversely affected various sections of the community, including students, job aspirants, businesses, tour operators and tourists and the overall economy.”

Within Ladakh, Wangchuk’s release is being viewed as the Centre taking a softer stand. “If you see the language of the press release announcing his release, the government is clearly trying to say that they want to engage with the leadership of Ladakh," said the second member of the Leh Apex Body, who declined to be identified.

The LAB member also said that Wangchuk’s release was inevitable. "The arguments in his petition had concluded and it had already become obvious through the conduct of judges that the judgement was going in his favour," he added.

A recalibration?

In his first media interaction after his release from detention, Wangchuk did not take an aggressive stand. He blamed his detention on “linguistic misunderstandings” and called for “both sides to be flexible and considerate” in future talks.

Significantly, Wangchuk said he is ready to be part of the high-powered committee representing Ladakh in negotiations with the Centre.

He also suggested that the Ladakhi leadership may be willing to recalibrate its agenda. “The two main issues are safeguards under the Sixth Schedule and statehood or restoration of democracy. Therefore, if not both, we would hope for one…,” he said.

If that is a climbdown from his earlier stand, the Ladakhi leaders have not objected. “When you negotiate, there has to be a give and take. If we say that this is our demand and don’t budge from it, that is not negotiation. Wangchuk didn’t say anything wrong,” Chering Dorjay, chairman of Leh Apex Body, told Scroll.

Asked if the Ladakhi leadership was ready to choose between statehood and Sixth Schedule, Dorjay said it would depend upon the Centre’s offer. “If the government is not ready to give us Sixth Schedule then what is it offering as an alternative? We have to see that,” Dorjay added.

But the trust deficit still persists. “The thrust of the Centre is on empowering the hill councils in Ladakh,” said the second member of the Leh Apex Body. “But that is not our core demand. They appear to avoid talking about those demands."