On a hunger strike: A climate activist fights for future

An Indian activist and his cause to bring attention to one of India’s furthermost corners, Ladakh is gathering momentum. Sonam Wangchuk and his supporters set out on foot as part of a peaceful yatra, march to India’s capital for a meeting with top national leaders. However, in a repeat of events from the past where only the central figure has changed, he was restrained at the border by the police and disallowed from entering Delhi.

Singhu border has made quite a name for itself, this is also where farmers predominantly from the northern state of Punjab were barred from entering the capital in 2021 and remained in a standoff at the border for more than a year. Wangchuk and activists alongside him were detained and released later. Perhaps, if the non-violent march was allowed its natural course, it may not have received the interest it has.

Wangchuk says his protest is for rights and constitutional safeguards for the people of Ladakh. He is seeking inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution which relates to the administration of certain tribal areas in the Northeast as ‘autonomous districts and autonomous regions.’ This the climate activist says will allow the locals to protect their ecology, culture and identity.

Freedom to peaceful expression

He is also spearheading a call for reinstating statehood for Ladakh accusing the centre of reneging on its promises and treating the region like a ‘colony.’ Supporting him are groups like Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance all of whom are demanding greater autonomy in the administration of the region. Until 2019, Ladakh was a part of the border state of Jammu and Kashmir.

After the special powers were withdrawn it was bifurcated into two union territories, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. At the time many in Leh supported the move anticipating separate governance but things have not panned out as they had hoped. Ladakh does not have legislative rights any longer and a centre-appointed lieutenant governor runs the region leaving local communities with no say.

Denied permission for the planned protests, Wangchuk is now on a hunger strike. A noted engineer and a winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, Sonam Wangchuk’s protest was headed to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, an iconic site designated for peaceful demonstrations in the country.

At a glance, the area is an innocuous stretch of road in the capital, but for more than two decades it has stood as an assurance for citizens with or without a cause. This is where the known, the ordinary and the anonymous congregate to use their democratic right of freedom to (peaceful) expression. Incidents of external interference have on occasion disrupted the passive demonstrations.

Popular movements in the past, whether it was Gandhi’s satyagraha against the British rule in India, hunger strikes by freedom fighters in the colonial era or Ireland where fasting as a means of protest has been integral historically to its political crusades captured the public imagination. They are looked at as a means of self-sacrifice, redressal and mobilisation. Mahatma’s practice of peaceful dissent through fasting is still widely followed globally.

And so, many Indians from its hinterlands, remote corners and big cities make their way to Jantar Mantar hoping for a change — a subjective cause. Others have promised hope while a few have unsuccessfully wished the aura of the venue would itself grant them greatness.

Fundamental right in a democracy

Among the top 10 news stories of 2011 by Time magazine was the anticorruption movement that began at Jantar Mantar. Anna Hazare’s fast against corruption shook the Congress government at the centre and was the genesis of the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party that now governs Delhi. But Hazare’s frequent strikes and dithering loyalty ultimately showed that there could be too much of a good thing!

After Nirbhaya’s rape, a nation shaken and distressed congregated at Jantar Mantar as have retired army men fighting for equitable pensions. In recent years the most prominent demonstration has been by champion Indian wrestlers who camped here for the removal of their federation chief politician over allegations of sexual abuse.

One of them, Vinesh Phogat has taken the fight head-on by recently winning an election herself. But in a pattern, the wrestlers were stonewalled for days by the leaders just as they refused to meet Wangchuk.

The capital belongs to all. Questions must be asked as to why a man leading a non-violent march was denied entry to voice his concerns. ‘We want to abide by all laws and still express our grievance peacefully. Why is it so difficult to follow the path of Gandhi in his own country?’

Their right to protest, a fundamental right in a democracy is now a court matter. The police’s claim that there are no provisions to do the march at Jantar Mantar is a blatant mockery of history and antecedents.

Wangchuk — on whom a Bollywood blockbuster movie is reportedly based — is not new to hunger strikes. In March this year, he had lived on salt and water for 21 days pressing for the same demands. He ended the fast by saying he would be back. As promised, he is. Now it is the turn of the government to keep its part of the bargain and listen to its people.