Denied Jantar Mantar, Wangchuk finds a way

This story was first published at 1:56 p.m. and updated with new information at 5:08 p.m. on October 6

UPDATE: On Sunday, 6 October, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and 17 others finally commenced their protest fast at Ladakh Bhawan, where he is staying, after the protesters were denied permission to stage the stir for Ladakh's Sixth Schedule status at Jantar Mantar.

The letter of rejection of stated Wangchuk letter came at a short notice, with no mention of a specific date, time, expected gathering or conclusion of the event. Wangchuk's request in not consonance with the guidelines framed Supreme Court order's dating 23.07.18

A month ago, Wangchuk began leading a 'Delhi chalo' padayatra from Leh organised by the Leh Apex Body (LAB), which along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) has been spearheading an agitation for the last four years for statehood for the Union Territory of Ladakh, and decentralisation of power.

On Monday, Wangchuk accused Delhi Police of unlawful detention of the 'padayatris.' They were detained at the Singhu border point near Delhi late Monday night. In accordance with their wishes, they were taken to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat on 2 October and released afterwards.

In his latest X post, Wangchuk wrote, "We want to abide by all laws and still express our grievance in a peaceful way. Why is it so difficult to follow the path of Gandhi in his own country?"

At a press conference in Delhi on Friday, Wangchuk and his fellow activists said they had written to the offices of the President, prime minister and home minister seeking an appointment, and were assured that they would be informed about the meeting by 5.00 pm on Friday.

Calling the Delhi Police's reply as "another rejection another frustration", Wangchuk criticised the delay of the reply. Incidentally, he and fellow protestors had held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in 2023 too.

Wangchuk is spearheading an agitation that demands Schedule Six Status to Laddak, and decentralization of power in the Union Teritorry. In 2019, Wangchuk wrote to then Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda asking for Scheduled Area status to Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for the formation of autonomous administrative regions called Autonomous District Councils (ADCs).