Republic Day and the Silence Around Sonam Wangchuk
India’s 77th Republic Day on January 26, 2026, unfolded with the customary grandeur: military parades, cultural displays, and speeches reaffirming constitutional values, democracy, and fundamental rights. Yet, amid the celebrations, a stark contrast emerged in the form of Ladakh’s prominent climate activist and educator, Sonam Wangchuk, who marked the occasion from inside Jodhpur Central Jail. Detained since September 26, 2025, under the National Security Act (NSA), Wangchuk had spent over 120 days in preventive custody without trial, prompting questions about the gap between national rhetoric and reality on the ground.
Wangchuk, a Ramon Magsaysay Award winner known for innovations like ice stupas to combat water scarcity and for inspiring the character in the film 3 Idiots, was arrested following violent protests in Leh on September 24, 2025. The demonstrations demanded full statehood for Ladakh (rather than its current Union Territory status) and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which offers special protections for tribal areas, including safeguards for land, culture, and local governance. Wangchuk had undertaken a 15-day hunger strike in Leh to press these demands, but the protests escalated, resulting in several deaths (reports cite four to five fatalities), numerous injuries, and clashes involving security forces.
Authorities accused Wangchuk of inciting the violence through provocative statements, though he publicly called for peace, ended his fast, and urged calm. Despite this, he was placed under NSA detention—a law allowing preventive custody for up to a year in the interest of public order or national security—without formal charges or trial.
The “silence” referenced in public commentary and editorials during Republic Day encompassed multiple dimensions. Mainstream national media coverage of Wangchuk’s case had diminished significantly since his initial arrest, overshadowed by other events despite his earlier national prominence in climate and education advocacy. Political figures, including AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, described the continued detention as casting a “shadow” over the constitutional celebrations. Ladakh leaders, including MP Mohammad Haneefa and representatives from the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, repeatedly sought permission to meet Wangchuk in jail but received no response, with one leader terming the authorities’ inaction as “complete silence” and “deliberate indifference.”
Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, co-founder of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), voiced profound disillusionment. In statements around Republic Day, she noted it was the first time she felt unmotivated to watch the parade, questioning the meaning of celebrating the Constitution when rights and safeguards were denied to regions like Ladakh. She described his detention as “unlawful and illegal,” pointing to procedural lapses, a lack of merit in the case, and repeated government requests for adjournments in court. Angmo emphasized that the issue extended beyond one individual, reflecting broader concerns about the use of power to silence dissent and the state of democracy.
The case reached the Supreme Court, where hearings resumed in January 2026. On January 29, Wangchuk appeared via video link and asserted his democratic right to criticize the government and protest peacefully, denying allegations that his actions threatened state security or aimed at an “Arab Spring”-style overthrow. His legal team, including senior advocate Kapil Sibal, argued that the detention order showed “non-application of mind,” relied on “copy-paste” elements, misrepresented facts (such as portraying his peace appeals as incitement), and cited unrelated past events. Wangchuk also raised health concerns, including stomach issues possibly linked to contaminated jail water, prompting the court to direct a specialist examination.
As Republic Day highlighted India’s constitutional ideals, Wangchuk’s prolonged detention underscored unresolved tensions in frontier regions like Ladakh—ecological vulnerabilities, economic challenges, and identity aspirations post-2019 reorganization. The episode raised pointed questions: How does a nation honor its founding document while a prominent advocate for its tribal protections remains behind bars? The silence, both institutional and societal, amplified the irony, leaving many to wonder whether dialogue and resolution would emerge in the new year or if deeper unrest awaited.
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