Sonam Wangchuk and Hardik Patel: A Story in Contrast
Sonam Wangchuk has publicly thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for their attention to Ladakh’s concerns many a time.
Wangchuk and Modi were mutual admirers.
When Ladakh was given five new districts, Wangchuk thanked Modi and Shah, calling it the fulfilment of an old demand. When he asked that Leh airport align with Ladakh’s goal of becoming carbon neutral, he was delighted when the PMO responded within days. He posted his gratitude and said he “could not imagine a more responsive government.” Even in recent years he praised Modi’s Mission LiFE campaign on the environment and urged the prime minister to lead from the front in protecting Himalayan glaciers. This suited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime and Modi’s instincts.
However, as soon as Wangchuk raised his voice for Ladakhis, asking why promises of statehood and Sixth Schedule protections remained unfulfilled, like hundreds of others, he was recast as a state enemy: an ‘anti-national’ working “for vested interests and accumulating foreign funds”.
Whenever anyone questions the Modi-led government on its policies — in Wangchuk’s case, its ecological safeguards — they become a foe. Because Wangchuk warned that Ladakh’s fragile mountains were being handed over to unchecked industrial and mining interests, he was labelled a traitor and arrested.
Modi’s playbook remains the same: stay in line, do not ask questions, remain a puppet and you will not be harassed. Otherwise, be prepared not only for an onslaught of agencies but for criminal action leading to arrests — and do not expect to be released on bail.
This is the tragedy of today’s India. Loyalty to power means nothing once you begin to challenge it. A man who once praised Modi to the skies is now behind bars simply for demanding that promises be honoured. If even Sonam Wangchuk can be criminalised for speaking up, what chance does the common citizen have?
This is not democracy. This is punishment for dissent.
Allegations that the BJP protects its friends and targets rivals through politically motivated investigations have been a recurring feature of India’s political discourse. The BJP and its supporters deny these accusations, saying investigative agencies are acting impartially.
Contrast the action taken against Sonam Wangchuk with that of Hardik Patel in Gujarat. Enemy number one not long ago, Hardik is a new person now. A day ago, according to news reports, he was not even named in a summary closure report filed in the infamous Patidar agitation case.
Hardik, the Patidar youth icon who was Narendra Modi’s chief tormentor in 2015, turned into an ally about three years ago. He went from being booked under sedition and spending nine months in jail to becoming a legislator for the very party he protested against. If Sonam has been ‘rewarded’ with an arrest, Hardik has been rewarded with something close to an acquittal.
Once an idealistic, justice-demanding youngster who once publicly denounced the prime minister and the home minister in strong, provocative language, Hardik has now turned right.
Ten years ago Hardik Patel motivated and led Gujarat’s first major public movement after the Navnirman Andolan, ensuring the removal of the BJP chief minister Anandiben Patel. It was a significant feat.
Hardik was imprisoned for leading the Patidar agitation. Key moments, such as a massive rally in Ahmedabad in August 2015 and his subsequent arrest, triggered widespread violence across the state, resulting in curfews and internet shutdowns. This aggressive posturing raised the movement’s national profile and cemented his image as a firebrand leader willing to confront the state.
He blazed a trail through rallies demanding quotas for Patidars. The BJP, led by Anandiben Patel, fumbled. Choosing a heavy-handed approach to end the unrest, the state government filed criminal cases against him, including three counts of sedition.
In October 2015 he was eventually arrested on a sedition charge.
He returned to the political battleground after nine months in jail when the high court granted him bail. The court barred him from returning to Gujarat for six months. He shifted base to Udaipur in Rajasthan, calling his stay a political exile.
However, this did not last long.
After turning right and joining the BJP, he was given a ticket. Today he is an MLA, and all the humiliation and barbs he received from the BJP seem bearable: in the summary filed by the Gujarat police, he stands acquitted of all allegations.
A senior Patidar leader who earlier patronised Hardik says he has been a disappointment for the community: “Hardik Patel stoked Patidar emotions and gained political advantage during the 2015 reservation agitation by exploiting a sense of economic and political marginalisation within our influential community.”
Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda said that the issue is a commentary on the BJP’s double standards. According to Chavda, this is a tactic by the BJP to create fear among protesters and to pressure them.
On the other hand, a BJP MLA, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is awaiting a ministerial berth in the upcoming cabinet expansion in Gujarat, said it is sad to see the ruling party entertain characters like Hardik Patel. “I hope he is not made a minister because he does not engage in any positive politics. He is good at blackmail.”
Former Gujarat Congress president Bharat Solanki, under whose leadership the Congress achieved a strong assembly performance in 2017, said, “We are glad that such a person is no longer with the Congress. He is perfect for the BJP.”
Gopi Maniar, founder of independent news platform Nirbhay News, believes this is precisely why Hardik joined the BJP – otherwise he would be facing decades of dealing with the roughly 90 cases filed by the BJP against him. There are still some cases dangling over his head.
So the lesson is clear for all: raise your voice and you become the enemy of the state. Surrender your ideology and the state might just let you survive.
Deepal Trivedi is the CEO and founder editor of www.vibesofindia.com.
This article went live on October third, two thousand twenty five, at forty-five minutes past seven in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
