HOW LADAKH, ONCE PEACEFUL, IS NOW RESTIVE

Activist Sonam Wangchuk's arrest and broken promises fuel anger in India's northern frontier

- BY SWATI CHATURVEDI | Special to Gulf News

Ladakh is one of India’s most sensitive regions, bordering China. Ladakhis are a peaceful people, tolerant to a fault, and have endured years of state neglect while the glamorous and trouble-prone Kashmir Valley received most of the attention.

So what set this critical region on fire, and who are the actors behind it? According to the Indian government, which currently administers Ladakh from the Centre, it was newly labelled “anti-national” Sonam Wangchuk — 2018 Ramon Magsaysay awardee, climate activist and engineer, and local Ladakhi boy made good — who was also one of the inspirations for the Aamir Khan blockbuster Three Idiots.

Ironically, Wangchuk had welcomed the repeal of Article 370 by the Modi government in Jammu and Kashmir and the reading down of the state into three union territories, including Ladakh, in 2019. At the time, he reflected the hopes of his people, who rejoiced at the change, believing it would preserve their unique culture and fragile ecosystem. But that hope has since evaporated. For the first time in their history, Ladakhis have resorted to violence — burning offices — which led to a brutal crackdown by authorities and the killing of four locals in police firing.

Imprisoned under a draconian act