Sonam Wangchuk in Ladakh, who has just started his languishing phase in life in Jodhpur, where he has been incarcerated in jail and might see the light of day in maybe a year, two or three, perhaps in even a decade.

Yeah, Sonam Wangchuk, activist and "even more dangerous than Yogendra Yadav", according to one BJP sympathizer, has been detained under the National Security Act (NSA). He is accused of instigating protests while demanding statehood for Ladakh as if demanding statehood to Ladakh amounts to overthrowing the Modi regime at the Centre.

First thought that comes to mind is how much more can the Modi government paint itself insecure? Ants in anthills feel more secure from coming underfoot military boots. Anyway, Wangchuk instigated protests and the protests turned violent and four people were killed in police firing in Leh.

NSA is stringent, very, very. In fact, NSA is being imposed left, right and centre in Uttar Pradesh by the Yogi Adityanath government so one against Sonam Wangchuk in Ladakh is nothing but icing on the NSA cake. What's more somebody like Wangchuk under the NSA adds weight to the belief that there are dark forces fanning "Gen Zee" unrest.

September 24 was dark day in Ladakh, the day of the police firing. The NSA empowers governments to act preemptively against people perceived as threat to public order or national security, under which Sonam Wangchuk qualified preeminently. That day of September 24, but not always.

From what we and from newspapers, Sonam Wangchuk was not always the blackguard he has now transformed to. Apparently, for years, Wangchuk was the government's man for all seasons, the government's open sesame man in matters concerning Ladakh, Leh and Jammu & Kashmir, too.

To quote the newspaper again, "And yet, as recently as last year, key offices of the Government were reaching out to the acclaimed education reformer, climate activist and technology innovator for guidance — from topics as diverse as water conservation, clean energy, tourism and even pashmina."

They say Wanghuk was "Centre’s go-to man" for events in Ladakh, such as "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" and World Heritage Week. In April 2022, BJP's national general secretary Vinod Tawde, who was the then Education minister of Maharashtra, thanked Wangchuk for “working together towards betterment of our Nation, specially welfare of our students”.

People still remember Wangchuk was in the Maharashtra International Education Board from 2018, appointed by none other than Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Wangchuk now scapegoat? Among many others, the mountain goats of Leh-Ladakh are legendary for their abilities to climb mountains, ask the shepherds of Drass-Kargil.

Back to 'now' and Wangchuk is in the doghouse. He shouldn't have gone to Islamabad, Pakistan. The visit is being cited as a reason to call for "denting and painting "by Ladakh DGP Dr SD Singh Jamwal, who has a conscience, apparently, and wants to justify the arrest of Wangchuk under the NSA.

Wangchuk was the unofficial Indian expert at the "Breathe Pakistan" climate event, organised by the Dawn newspaper group in February this year. Wangchuk's supporters have already let it be known that there will be non talks on Ladakh with the Modi government unless Wangchuk is released and set free to roam the streets of Leh.

That's an ultimatum. Like "Breathe Pakistan" in the free air of Islamabad and Lahore, "Breathe Wangchuk" in the free air of Ladakh has also become the call of the day.

The question doing the rounds is if Wangchuk has been arrested, why are other "climate experts" like Harjeet Singh, Valerie Hickey, Aban Marker Kabraji and Rakshya R Thapa not even named? They too were in Islamabad. Two Indian journalists as well.

Wangchuk's wife, now in great demand to speak on behalf of Sonam, swears Wangchuk is no traitor, on the contrary, "He praised Modi's mission in Pak conference." Wangchuk's wife is now a bitter woman and she's all daggers drawn as she takes on the Modi government for targeting her husband for no reason at all.

Wangchuk is accused of “sabotaging and vitiating the process” of granting Schedule VI status for Ladakh. But in December 2019, then Union Tribal Affairs minister Arjun Munda had okayed Wangchuk’s fight for Ladakh’s Scheduled Area status. What has happened since then? Here's Munda saying, “I appreciate your concerns on the need to preserve the identity and culture of the people residing in the UT, including the grant of Scheduled Area status. I would like to inform you that my Ministry… has already communicated a proposal to the Ministry of Home Affairs to consider (the) declaration of the UT of Ladakh as a Schedule VI area.”

Wangchuk thanked the minister for restoring Ladakh’s trust in Prime Minister Modi, particularly the part about Union Home Minister Amit Shah would “never let down the interests of Ladakh, the crown of India, inhabited by extremely patriotic people.

Is Wangchuk no longer "patriotic" along with the rest of the people of Ladakh? Has Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi forgotten that Wangchuk also wrote, “The biggest security asset that India has in these mountains… is not its guns and rockets… but the people of Ladakh… something that neither China nor Pakistan can claim about their local people in the border areas."

Today, Wangchuk is an agent provocateur and his ties with the Centre have changed. Today he is instigating protests and demanding statehood for Ladakh. In 2019, he led from the front for UT status for Ladakh, why? What happened, what and who made him change? There are some questions Wangchuk won't be able to escape from answering, but to call Sonam Wangchuk anything but "Indian" is unthinkable, like they keep hammering "Ladakh is also an integral part of India" and everyone in Ladakh is also Indian, Wangchuk included. (IPA Service)