‘What kind of Ram Rajya are we talking about?’ Sonam Wangchuk slams Centre after Ladakh talks fail

A day after talks between the Union Home Ministry and Ladakh’s leaders ended without a breakthrough, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk accused the Centre of reneging on its promises to the people of Ladakh.

Wangchuk said the people of Ladakh were saddened, surprised and angry, questioning where the ideal of Ram Rajya had gone — a principle that upholds the belief that one may sacrifice one’s life, but must never break a promise.

“Yesterday, we were shocked. We thought we would have some minor differences. But we saw the differences were huge. They (Centre) reneged again,” Wangchuk said in a video statement. “They said the assembly would be small and the chief secretary would not be under it. They even went back on the promises made about Article 371”.

Wangchuk, who has been at the centre of the agitation and was jailed for six months under the National Security Act (NSA), said they had agreed to the Centre’s promise of special safeguards under Article 371 instead of the Sixth Schedule.

“In May (this year), there was a major dialogue between the leaders of Ladakh and the Home Ministry and promises were made that we will give you democracy by giving a special assembly, under which the entire bureaucracy will come, even the Chief Secretary. It was also said that instead of the Sixth Schedule, the safeguards would be given under Article 371. So for us, yesterday’s meeting was very important after that conversation in May,” Wangchuk said.

The people of Ladakh are “very sad, angry and surprised”, he said.

“What kind of Ram Rajya are we talking about, where is the ideal of ‘let a life be lost but not a promise’. We will fight against the enemy countries, we have fought in every war, but when the government of our own country treats us like this, what should we say? Where should we go?”

Story continues below this ad

On Wednesday, talks between the Centre and representatives of Ladakh ended without any significant breakthrough. Ladakh’s leaders said there were “significant gaps” between the positions of the two sides, with the powers of the proposed elected legislature emerging as the principal sticking point.

Saying that the people had condemned China’s comments on Ladakh, Wangchuk said what happened hours later was surprising.

“I have always said, and I will say again, that China has no right to comment on Ladakh. In fact, we will say that we do not give them credibility. Our neighboring country is Tibet, not China. Tell me, when are they vacating Tibet and handing it over to our Tibetan brothers and sisters? On this point, all the leaders of Ladakh’s Leh Apex Body held a special press conference and said that they condemn China for this statement. And the people of Ladakh will always be happy in India and will continue to be. It is not surprising, we have always said,” he said. What happened after that is surprising, he said.

“Exactly three hours later, with the officials of our own country’s Home Ministry, there was a conversation of the leaders of Ladakh, the talks that are going on in Ladakh. China was an enemy country, but what did our own country do in that meeting?”

Story continues below this ad

Wangchuk said that after Ladakh was made a Union Territory in 2019, the Centre promised its democracy and safeguards under the Sixth Schedule. “Two elections were also won (by BJP) on this promise,” he said. “And then, after two years, they completely reneged on that promise. When we started to remind them of their promises through peaceful protests, by fasting, by padyatra, on September 24, they opened indiscriminate fire and massacred our people and people like me were sent to jail by the NSA”.