Innovator to ‘provocateur’, Wangchuk’s equation with Delhi changed over 3 decades

Born in 1966 in a far-off village of Leh, Wangchuk’s childhood experiences of education shaped his outlook. From a mechanical engineer, he transformed himself into an education reformer to set up the first alternative school — Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL).

Wangchuk focused his energies on Ladakh and its education. In 1994, he helped the government launch ‘Operation New Hope’, a collaborative effort to bring reforms in the governmental education system. The movement brought him closer to the administration in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and he was appointed as an adviser for multiple educational projects. In 2005, he was appointed a member of the National governing Council for elementary education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

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Wangchuk’s innovative mind focused on the real-life solutions to the problems of Ladakh’s fragile ecology. In 2013, he developed the ice stupas, the artificial glaciers to store water, a solution for Ladakh’s summer water woes, especially for the farmers.

Wangchuk developed a deep interest in Ladakh’s ecology that turned him into a climate activist. His SECMOL was the first green campus that ran completely on solar energy. His activism earned him the Ramon Magsaysay award in 2018.

On August 5, 2019, when the Centre abrogated Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and divided the state into two Union Territories — Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh — Wangchuk, like most people from Leh, welcomed it.

“THANK YOU PRIME MINISTER. Ladakh thanks PM Narendra Modi for fulfilling Ladakh’s longstanding dream. It was exactly 30 years ago in August 1989 that Ladakhi leaders launched a movement for UT status. Thank you all who helped in this democratic decentralization,” he posted on Twitter (now X).

In 2020, when India and China clashed at Galwan, Wangchuk urged people to use their “wallet power” and boycott Chinese products. A year later, he developed solar tents for soldiers living in inhospitable conditions.

Wangchuk, who had continued to stay away from active politics, in 2023 announced a climate fast at Khardung La — one of the highest passes in the world — to highlight the effects of climate change on the fragile ecosystem of Ladakh and to demand protection for the people of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule. The government didn’t allow the fast and put him under house detention. He also made a political statement saying Ladakh was better off with Jammu and Kashmir than a Union Territory.

A year later, he announced a fast until death for his demand of constitutional safeguards for Ladakh. But this time he added that Ladakh needs protection from the industrial mining lobby. This put him in direct confrontation with the Centre.

Though the Centre started to tighten the noose around him — first canceling the land allotment to his Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh and then launching a CBI inquiry against him — Wangchuk did not bend. He started another fast, this time to advance the talks between the Centre and Ladakh’s core committee that were scheduled for October 6. It was on the 15th day of this fast that a group of youths broke away and resorted to violence, leading to the death of four protesters in police firing. The Centre accused Wangchuk of instigating the youths with his “provocative statement” and revoked the FCRA licence of his institute. The three-day drama finally culminated with Wangchuk’s arrest.

Apprehending his arrest, Wangchuk said he is ready to go to jail but a Wangchuk in jail “may cause more problems than a free Sonam Wangchuk”.