{"id":356915,"date":"2025-10-03T13:23:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T07:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=356915"},"modified":"2025-10-03T13:29:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T07:59:04","slug":"sonam-wanghuks-wife-gitanjali-moves-sc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/sonam-wanghuks-wife-gitanjali-moves-sc\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonam Wanghuk’s wife moves SC, seeks his release"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

 \u2018Is India really free\u2019, Wangchuk\u2019s wife Gitanjali had questioned yesterday, slamming the BJP-led Centre<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Gitanjali J. Angmo social media account<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After reaching out to President Droupadi Murmu to seek her intervention for the release of her husband\u2014climate activist Sonam Wangchuk\u2014lodged in Jodhpur jail after being taken into custody following the September 24 violent clashes in Ladakh, his wife Gitanjali J Angmo on Friday moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking his release. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is understood to have  granted Wangchuk’s family permission to meet him in jail in Jodhpur. \u201cHis wife, brother, and Leh Apex Body (LAB) legal adviser are in Delhi and are on their way to meet Wangchuk in jail,\u201d Tsering Dorjey, Co-Chairman of LAB, was quoted as saying<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LAB and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) represent political, religious, and social bodies of Leh and Kargil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wangchuk emerged as the face of the campaign for statehood and the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh after the region was granted Union Territory status after its separation from Jammu and Kashmir under the Article 370. The noted climate activist and educator was accused by police of inciting violence,  referring to his statements, especially reference to the \u201cArab Spring and Gez Z\u201d protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u2018Is India really free\u2019, questioned Wangchuk\u2019s wife Gitanjali<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gitanjali J Angmo, who is also the CEO of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, on Thursday sharply criticised the BJP-led Centre, drawing parallels to colonial-era oppression and accused the Union Home Ministry of misusing the Ladakh Police to suppress public dissent. \u201cIs India really free?\u201d she questioned in a post on X, alleging that 2,400 Ladakhi police officers were deployed to control just 3 lakh civilians under the MHA\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wangchuk is currently detained under the National Security Act (NSA) at Jodhpur Central Jail. He is accused of inciting protests that led to four deaths in Leh. However, supporters claim his arrest is politically motivated, linked to his advocacy for the implementation of the 6th Schedule in Ladakh and his broader environmental and social activism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angmo strongly refuted allegations linking Wangchuk to Pakistani intelligence, calling them \u201cbaseless\u201d and \u201cagenda-driven.\u201d Highlighting his stand against Chinese imports, she said, \u201cWhen the UT government bought Chinese tablets, he urged people to fight China with our wallets, not bullets. How can such a man be anti-national?\u201d She also defended their presence at a UN climate conference, arguing, \u201cIf India can play cricket with China, are the players anti-national? Attending a glacier conference doesn\u2019t make someone an ISI agent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ladakh\u2019s Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta stated that the Centre remains committed to resolving the region\u2019s concerns through dialogue. \u201cTalks with local leaders are ongoing, and dialogue will resume in a peaceful atmosphere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wangchuk\u2019s arrest has sparked widespread backlash, with civil society and opposition leaders accusing the government of cracking down on dissent. Activists argue that invoking the NSA in this case is legally and morally flawed. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan noted that the NSA allows detention only if there is a real apprehension of harm to peace or national security. \u201cIn Wangchuk\u2019s case, it\u2019s the detention itself that is disturbing peace. The arrest is malafide, unfair, and without justification,\u201d Bhushan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activist and political commentator Yogendra Yadav called the move \u201cpetty,\u201d likening Wangchuk to \u201cthe Gandhi of Ladakh.\u201d He emphasized that detaining such a figure only strengthens his message and national support. \u201cIf the government thinks it can diminish him by jail, they\u2019re mistaken,\u201d Yadav asserted. He noted that civil society groups nationwide are ready to stand with Wangchuk, even traveling to Ladakh if needed. \u201cThis is the man who led calls to boycott Chinese goods. Now, even ex-soldiers protesting are being labeled anti-national,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, dialogue between the Centre and Ladakh representatives has stalled. Both the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) suspended talks, citing an untenable atmosphere. LAB chairman Thupstan Chhewang and co-chairman Chering Dorjay said a \u201cconducive environment\u201d is essential for dialogue. KDA further demanded Wangchuk\u2019s release and a judicial inquiry into the police firing in Leh as preconditions to resume negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Union Home Ministry reiterated, \u201cthe government has always been open for dialogues on Ladakh matters with the Apex Body Leh (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) at any time. We would continue to welcome discussions with ABL and KDA through the HPC on Ladakh or any other suitable platform\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 \u2018Is India really free\u2019, Wangchuk\u2019s wife Gitanjali had questioned yesterday, slamming the BJP-led Centre After reaching out to President Droupadi Murmu to seek her intervention for the release of her husband\u2014climate activist Sonam Wangchuk\u2014lodged in Jodhpur jail after being taken into custody following the September 24 violent clashes in Ladakh, his wife Gitanjali J Angmo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":356916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14886],"tags":[17731,18060],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356915"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356915"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":356919,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356915\/revisions\/356919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/356916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}