New Delhi: Assamese civil society forum, Assam Nagarik Sanmilan, condemned activist Sonam Wangchuk’s detention and demanded his immediate release in a statement issued on Wednesday (October 1).

Calling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s actions “high-handed”, the forum said they “reveal a troubling disregard for the aspirations of people in India’s peripheral regions”.

The forum highlighted Wangchuk’s commitment to non-violence in his advocacy for statehood for Ladakh and said that the demands made by the activist legitimately represented the aspirations of the Ladakhi people and were in line with the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

“Despite his commitment to non-violence, the government arrested Wangchuk under the National Security Act and levelled baseless charges against him. Sonam Wangchuk is a national treasure, leading a peaceful movement to secure autonomy, cultural preservation, and environmental protection for Ladakh,” the statement said.

The forum said that the BJP government had fuelled the hopes of the people by promising to include Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule in its 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto and the reiteration of this promise during the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council elections the following year.

“However, these promises remain unfulfilled. In response, the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance jointly demanded the Sixth Schedule and statehood for Ladakh. Representing these organisations, Sonam Wangchuk has undertaken several hunger strikes to press for these demands,” statement said.

The statement also noted that the violence on September 24 was regrettable and that Wangchuk promptly withdrew from the protest and condemned the actions of those who caused the unrest.

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