Sonam Wangchuk to launch march to highlight reality in Ladakh

Sonam Wangchuk said: “We are fighting for our future and our children” (file photo)

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Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Wednesday announced that the agitation for statehood in Ladakh will intensify and a “border march” will be held on April 7 in the eastern part of the union territory to highlight the realities, including China’s alleged violations.

Sonam Wangchuk is a member of Leh-based Apex Institution, which consists of social, religious and political organizations. He said they adopted a Gandhian approach in their agitation, which was crucial to protect the region’s fragile environment and its indigenous identity. population.

“We are followers of (Mahatma) Gandhi’s satyagraha. We demand fulfillment of the promises made to us by this (BJP) government through its manifestoes that led to its candidates winning the assembly polls (2019 year) and the Leh Hills Assembly polls (2020),” he said at a gathering here.

The activist ended his 21-day hunger strike on Tuesday night in support of Ladakh’s demand for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

“After the first phase of the hunger strike, women, youth, religious leaders and the elderly will go on a chain hunger strike. On April 7, we will launch a march to Changthang (Leh’s eastern border with China) like Gandhi under the civil disobedience movement Dandi parade,” said Sonam Wangchuk.

He said the Leh-based Apex agency will lead the march to highlight the reality in Ladakh. Sonam Wangchuk claimed that nomads were losing prime grazing land to large industrial factories in the south and Chinese encroachment in the north.

“Herders of Changtang, famous for producing Pashmina wool, are forced to sell their livestock as industrialists take over 20,000 acres of pasture to set up their factories… We do not want solar power at the expense of the livelihoods of our people and dislocation,” he claimed.

“They are taking away our land because there are no safeguards available…” claimed Sonam Wangchuck.

He said if the government has nothing to hide, “we will be allowed to go ahead but if they stop us from marching, we will launch a ‘Baro Andolan Jail’ followed by a non-cooperation movement.” Sonam Accusing the BJP of betraying its promise to the people of Ladakh, Wangchuck said they were shocked when the Union Home Ministry on March 4 directly rejected the demands of the apex body and representatives of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) .

“We are seeking our rights and fulfilling our promises. The assembly polls have been announced and the BJP has once again given various assurances to the people, but this time who will buy these promises,” he said, expressing hope that the government would reconsider its decision and The establishment of Ladakh was declared.

Sonam Wangchuck added that he was ready to go on hunger strike again if the demands of the people of Ladakh were not met because “we are fighting for our future and our children.”

He also questioned claims that large amounts of money were injected and called for an investigation into where the money went.

A disparate group of various political, social and religious organizations – the apex body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) are jointly spearheading the agitation for statehood and inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule and held a meeting with Ladakh Five rounds of talks.

The Sixth Schedule contains provisions for the administration of tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram through autonomous district councils.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)