Sonam Wangchuk's Fast Unto Death Enters Day 5, BJP Appeals To End His Anshan
Spalzes, a woman from Ladakh participating in the hunger strike, shared how women of Ladakh helped soldiers during one of the wars.
Sonam Wangchuk’s Fast Unto Death Enters Day 5, BJP Appeals To End His Anshan Latest News: Climate activist and the face of Ladakh’s demand for the Sixth Schedule for the Union Territory, Sonam Wangchuk, along with 15 others, began their fast unto death on Wednesday, which has now entered its 5th day.
He has announced that he will continue the fast for 35 days. “We will stay on an indefinite hunger strike for 5 weeks, or die—whichever happens first,” Sonam Wangchuk said in a video statement.
Seven out of the fifteen fasting are former soldiers of the Indian Army.
This fast unto death comes one year after the Leh-Delhi Padyatra and a 16-day fast, following another round of talks between Ladakh and the Centre that, according to Wangchuk, “failed miserably again.”
Sonam Wangchuk has been holding similar fasts over the past few years, demanding the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, as over 95% of people living in Ladakh are indigenous tribals.
On the third day of the fast, this year, Sonam Wangchuk said in a statement, “Ladakhi soldiers and even civilians have sacrificed their lives in all the wars fought here to defend the country, and yet today they are being let down by the government in order to defend some companies that are taking away prime pasturelands in this fragile ecology. For this, we need the Sixth Schedule and statehood so that such decisions are not left in the hands of just one LG.”
Meanwhile, BJP Ladakh has appealed to Sonam Wangchuk and others to end the fast, stating, “Dialogue is the only way out.”
Ladakh has been continuously demanding inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution for the past five years, ever since the region became a Union Territory without legislative power.
Sonam Wangcuk's Video Statement:
On the third day, this year, in a video issued on his Instagram account, Wangchuk said, “Since this morning, hundreds of people have gathered here for a one-day hunger strike. Right now, 15 people are on an extended fast. Seven of them are veteran soldiers of the Indian Army. With us here is Subedar Stanba ji, who participated in many wars.”
Subedar Stanba stated that he joined the cause after serving 30 years in the Indian Army and protecting the country. “During my 30 years of service, I had the opportunity to take part in the 1999 operation, and I was also present during the 2019 operation in the Galwan Valley,” Stanba said in the video.
Spalzes, a woman from Ladakh participating in the hunger strike, shared how women of Ladakh helped soldiers during one of the wars.
“In the 1999 war, we women also did a lot of work. For example, we made rotis at home, collected supplies, and sent them to our soldier brothers. From my household, two people even went as porters — my father, who was 80 years old then, and my husband,” Spalzes said.
Sonam Wangchuk stated, “Ordinary citizens from Ladakh reached the battlefield to help. The people of Ladakh have always played a very big role. But today those same Ladakhis’ hearts are deeply shaken.”
Sonam Wangchuk said their long-pending demands remain unmet. “Continuously ignoring the demands of the people of Ladakh is not good for Ladakh, and it is not good for India’s security either, because such things create doubt in people’s minds about whether the country cares for those for whom they have made sacrifices.”
He clarified, “I am not saying that the patriotism of Ladakh’s people will turn against the country, but understand this — Ladakhis go to the battlefield whenever the need arises. How many of you have gone to such battlefields? I fear that the patriotism of Ladakh’s people may be reduced to that of the rest of the Indians.”
“For five years, a demand has been pending — to include a provision in the Constitution, the Sixth Schedule — which the current government itself had promised in its election manifesto as one of the first points,” Wangchuk concluded.
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