Sonam Wangchuk Protest: Under the leadership of environmentalist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk, many groups in Ladakh are demanding constitutional measures to protect their land, culture and environment. Wangchuk alleged in a webinar on Sunday (March 24) that Ladakh is being treated like a colony, where outside bureaucrats are controlling all the policies related to the sensitive region.
Wangchuk is currently on a 21-day fast in Ladakh for his demands. More than 350 people, including National Alliance of People’s Movements leader Medha Patkar and environmentalist Ashish Kothari, participated in this webinar organized to express solidarity on the issue of Ladakh.
‘People expected protection’
Wangchuk said, “When Ladakh was separated from Jammu and Kashmir, the local people expected protection of its unique environment and climate. The government had promised this in various meetings. These promises were made by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Tribal and Law Ministries. Are confined to meetings.”
‘Government is not fulfilling its promises’
He said that reminding the government about its promises has now become a crime. Boys are being picked up and detained for protesting. It is no longer just an environmental movement. This is a matter of truth and justice. The government is not fulfilling its promises.
‘Outsiders are making policies’
Wangchuk said, “Ladakh has become like a colony. Some remote commissioners who have no connection with the local people or the ecology are trying to run this place. Ladakh is really like Mars. Mann Take someone from Lucknow, who is trying to make policies for this region. They will not understand the ecology here and will make big mistakes and harm our valleys and mountains.”
‘It is important for the country to save Ladakh’
Wangchuk said that we are seeing what is happening in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. We just want to stop the ecological disaster. He said that he is fasting for 21 days. After that a group will fast. Wangchuk said, “Women will fast for 10 days, then youth, then monks (Buddhist monks), nomads. It is important for the country to save Ladakh. On one side is Pakistan and on the other side is China. This is a sensitive area.”
Their main demand is to include Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which has provisions regarding the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. This allows local communities to play an important role in the administration of these areas.
