Unfortunately, Sonam Wangchuk, the man with the mission to save Ladakh was put under house arrest

Sonam Wangchuk, the 57-year-old engineer who inspired the Bollywood blockbuster ‘three idiots’ was on a five-day fast in Ladakh. He began his fast on January 26 to demand that the Government needs to wake up and stop activities going on in the region and implement the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution as promised. Wangchuk is a man with a mission to save Ladakh from corporate greed.  He also sent a message to the Prime Minister saying “all is not well in Ladakh”. However, the administration took his hunger strike as a threat and put him under house arrest. What Wangchuk is saying makes a lot of sense as we are seeing catastrophe after catastrophe in the Himalayas and if the mindless construction in the name of development does not stop we may be heading for a calamity sooner than later. Wangchuk contends that the Himalayan environment is fragile and meddling with it would cause the melting of glaciers which might have devastating long-term effects for the country.

Wangchuk is yet another whistle-blower the Government chooses to ignore. Not heading to sane advice has its perils. One of the key solutions which are also his major demand is extending the Sixth Schedule of the constitution to Ladakh which was promised by the government but has not been kept. The sixth schedule allows for forming autonomous administrative areas where the tribal population is more than 50 percent. It permits the creation of independent administrative entities which can enact laws that defend the tribal population's interests and preserve their cultural identity. The Govt's approach to ignoring Wangchuk's concerns and silencing his voice is not good for the Government or the people of Ladakh. Besides the movement is building up in Ladakh which can snowball into major unrest. Former MP Thupstan Chhewang organized a grand rally against the "failure of the government to protect the identity and culture of Ladakh". So now it is becoming a matter of Ladakhi identity and existential issues that the Government must address. Wangchuk is going to repeat his hunger strike soon. Given the support he is getting it would become a major issue. The safeguards Ladakh enjoyed earlier have been left invalid after the abrogation of Article 370. The government must keep its word and fulfill its promise. What Wangchuk and other protesters are demanding is in the interest of the country at large.