Holding security forces responsible for the statehood protests turning violent in Leh, jailed activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, has hit back at allegations that he has “links” with Pakistan or embezzled money through his organisations.
She said Sonam Wangchuk has been protesting for years in the "most Gandhian way possible" but the "situation escalated" on September 24 “due to the actions of the CRPF”, the Central Reserve Police Force, resulting in four deaths.
The police have said they acted in self-defence after mobs turned violent and even set fire to the local office of the ruling BJP.
Angmo, co-founder of the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL), said she has not been able to communicate with her husband since his detention. She said she has not been shown the detention orders ever since Wangchuk was picked up on Friday under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), two days after protests demanding Sixth Schedule status and statehood for Ladakh turned violent.
Wangchuk, the most prominent figure in the Ladakh agitation, is now in the Jodhpur prison in Rajasthan.
‘We went to Pakistan for climate meet’
{{/usCountry}}Wangchuk, the most prominent figure in the Ladakh agitation, is now in the Jodhpur prison in Rajasthan.
‘We went to Pakistan for climate meet’
{{/usCountry}}In a conversation over the phone with news agency PTI, his wife reacted pointedly to Ladakh UT police chief SD Singh Jamwal's statements that Wangchuk is being investigated over his Pakistan “links”, including a visit to the neighbouring country for an event organised by the media group Dawn.
Angmo said that visit to Pakistan was purely professional and climate-focused. All of Wangchuk's overseas visits were made on the invitation of reputed universities and institutions, she added.
"We attended a conference organised by the United Nations, and it was on climate change. The glacier on the top of the Himalayas is not going to see whether it's flowing into Pakistan or India," she told PTI.
“I was also there to present a paper on women's role in climate change... In fact, he (Wangchuk) praised Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on stage at the event.
She shared a video clip in which Wangchuk can be seen praising PM Modi's initiatives on lifestyle and climate.
Wangchuk, primarily an innovator and climate activist, has been adopting ‘satyagraha’ or hunger strike as a means of protest ever since Ladakh lost its special status — affecting protections for land rights and tribal areas — after it was carved out of J&K, and the state divided into two UTs.
The DGP had also mentioned that a Pakistani intelligence operative (PIO) caught recently had sent videos of Wangchuk's protests across the border.
What was event in Pakistan about? Wangchuk's wife says this
Angmo said the ‘Breathe Pakistan’ conference held in February was organised by United Nations Pakistan chapter and Dawn Media, and involved multinational cooperation.
“There are organisations like the ICIMOD, which bring together all the eight Hindu Kush countries and work on different issues. We are part of the ICIMOD’s Himalayan University Consortium," Angmo said.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a Nepal-based organisation founded in 1983 comprising eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region: India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
She questioned the attempts to negatively portray Wangchuk, saying, “How can you portray a person as anti-national who has been talking about making shelters for the Indian Army, and boycotting Chinese goods?”
She challenged the slapping of the stringent NSA on Wangchuk, which allows detention without trial for up to 12 months. “I think it is a very wrong charge. Sonam certainly is not a threat to any public order,” Angmo said.
On Nepal, Bangladesh references
She also spoke about government statements that Wangchuk made “provocative” statements referring to the recent “Gen Z” protests in Nepal and Bangladesh. “The reference being bandied around is actually an example Sonam gave, that, ‘when governments are not responsive, it leads to a revolution’. We should avoid the interpretations,” she said.
Angmo said his Ladakhi words were mistranslated. “He just said that ‘when change has to happen, it can start with one individual, or with the death of one individual and that individual could be me; I'm happy to give my life for it’," she said.
She said Wangchuk was only reminding the BJP-led NDA government of its promises to Ladakhis, and all through maintaining that the protest organised by the Leh Apex Body was peaceful.
Wangchuk had slammed the violence on September 24 and abandoned his hunger strike in disgust.
'CRPF firing of tear gas shells triggered violence'
"We have videos to show that the students and the youth were just there for a peaceful protest. Sonam did not even know about (a non-peaceful plan)," she claimed, adding, "He only knew about a peaceful protest. But when the CRPF personnel fired tear gas shells, the youth reacted by pelting stones, and the whole situation escalated.”
Angmo also criticised the response by the security forces, saying, “My question is, who gave the CRPF the right to open fire? Why should you open fire on your own people, on your own youth?”
Refutes charges of financial misdeeds
On the charges of financial irregularities involving their institutions, Angmo denied that HIAL took donations from abroad without Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) clearance, claiming the funds were payments for their technologies.
“We have the service agreements, which say this is a consulting assignment that we're giving to HIAL for which we will be paying them,” she said.
She also said that HIAL does not charge its 400 students any fees and raises its running costs through innovations such as ice stupas and passive solar buildings, noting they do not patent their technologies, leaving them free for public use.
Angmo said HIAL applied for UGC registration in 2022 and paid a deposit amount of ₹15 lakh, but “if at all the registration has not happened, it's because they are stalling it”. She also claimed that the lease for HIAL's land is held up because the UT administration did not have a category for such institutions.
Angmo stressed that Wangchuk is not against development, but is advocating for the Sixth Schedule to give locals a say in "mindful development".
After the September 4 violence, the Union home ministry cancelled the FCRA licence granted to the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), an organisation founded by Wangchuk, citing alleged financial discrepancies.