'Voice Of Ladakh Tribals': Sonam Wangchuk's Wife Appeals To President Murmu's Roots, Seeks His Release

Gitanjali Angmo, the wife of jailed Ladakhi activist Sonam Wangchuk, has written to President Droupadi Murmu urging her to intervene for his "unconditional release." In her letter, also addressed to Prime

Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, Angmo described Wangchuk as a "peaceful Gandhian protester" who has been campaigning for climate action and the upliftment of Ladakh's tribal communities."A full-scale witch hunt has been unleashed for the past one month in particular, and for the past four years covertly, to kill the spirit of my husband and all the causes he stands for and espouses," Angmo wrote."Is it a crime to speak about climate change, melting glaciers, educational reforms and grassroot innovation? To raise one's voice for the upliftment of a backward tribal belt, which is ecologically fragile, in a peaceful Gandhian manner for the last four years? It certainly cannot be termed as a threat to national security," she further said.

Appealing to President Murmu's own tribal background, Angmo wrote that the people of Ladakh are struggling to be heard. "Ladakh is known for its nationalism and support for the Indian Army," she said, adding that it was "shabby to treat the son of the soil of Ladakh his way.""My husband Shri Sonam Wangchuk has always stood for the solidarity of India and the strengthening of our borders and the integration of its peripheral regions through a strong democratic mechanism - Statehood/UT with legislation and 6th Schedule," Angmo wrote."Your Excellency, you being from a tribal community/background, would understand the feelings of the people of Leh Ladakh better than anyone else," Wangchuk's wife said, calling for his unconditional release.

Why was Sonam Wangchuk arrested?

Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) on Friday, two days after protests demanding Sixth Schedule status and statehood for Ladakh turned violent in Leh. The unrest left four people dead and nearly 90 injured. He was later moved out of Ladakh and is currently lodged in a prison in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.The Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), Ladakh, said Wangchuk's detention was necessary to restore normalcy in the "peace-loving" region."Today, on September 26, Wangchuk of Uley Tokpo village of Leh has been detained under NSA. Time and again it has been observed that Wangchuk has been indulging in activities prejudicial to the security of the state and detrimental to maintenance of peace and public order and services essential to the community," the statement said.Wangchuk's series of speeches and videos, including references to the Nepal agitation and the Arab Spring, misled people and triggered the September 24 violence, it said.