 "Geetanjali Angmo has moved the Supreme Court to seek the release of her husband, Sonam Wangchuk, from detention. Image Courtesy: Instagram/gitanjalijangmo")
Dr Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, has moved the Supreme Court seeking her husband’s unconditional release. Wangchuk was arrested on September 26 under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, days after violence erupted during protests in Ladakh.
Angmo has filed a habeas corpus petition asking the apex court to direct authorities to clarify the whereabouts of Wangchuk and order his immediate release from detention. The climate activist is reportedly lodged in a Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan.
Let’s take a closer look.
Who is Gitanjali J Angmo?
Gitanjali J Angmo is the co-founder and chief executive officer of the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL).
A social entrepreneur and educationist, she is helping transform education in the Union Territory. Angmo, who is Punjabi by birth, left her entrepreneurial career and moved to Ladakh in 2017, as per a PTI report.
HIAL was established in 2018 as an alternative university for mountain development, with a focus on responsible tourism, sustainable architecture and applied ecology, reported ThePrint.
The buildings at HIAL in Phyang village are passive solar-heated, which maintains a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius even as severe cold envelops the outside.
In just five years of HIAL, Angmo has led the creation of 150,000 square feet of sustainable infrastructure and developed over 12 cutting-edge courses.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe institute runs groundbreaking projects like artificial glaciers that store 500 million litres of water, an innovative solution to address water scarcity.
Angmo, a Chevening Scholar, has been honoured with the Women Transforming India Award by the Indian government. She has several other achievements under her belt, including a
black belt in karate. She is also an accomplished Odissi and Russian Bolshoi ballet dancer, as per her LinkedIn.
Angmo has established a K-12 school called Desert Flower to promote creativity, higher-order thinking and spiritual living from early childhood.
Gitanjali J Angmo’s efforts for her husband’s release
Gitanjali J Angmo has been using her voice to demand her husband Sonam Wangchuk ’s release from jail.
On Wednesday (October 1), she wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking her intervention for the release of the climate activist. In the three-page letter, she alleged a “witch hunt” against her husband for taking up the cause of the people over the past four years.
Angmo said Wangchuk has been detained “without cause” and questioned why she was not allowed to speak to Wangchuk over the phone or in person.
“We request for an unconditional release of Wangchuk, a person who can never be a threat to anyone, leave alone his Nation. He has dedicated his life to serve the brave sons of soil of Ladakh and stands in solidarity with the Indian Army in defence of our great nation,” Angmo said in the representation forwarded through the deputy commissioner, Leh.
She called Wangchuk’s detention “illegal” and said she got to know of this through a station house officer.
“I was also told the officer would explain to me my legal rights. Even that has not been done till today. I am shocked and devastated,” she said, adding that her husband was not even allowed to take his clothes while being taken away.
“I am not aware whether he has been given fresh clothes and basic amenities including medicines that he needs on a daily basis, especially after his fast of 15 days in September that has weakened him physically.”
Alleging a “full scale witch hunt” against the climate activist, Angmo said in her representation that “people of this country are reaching out in solidarity and support, ‘shocked’ by the Government action against a peaceful Gandhian protestor with an impeccable track record of service to the nation.”
Highlighting her husband’s efforts to build effective shelters for the Indian Army and the “nationalism” of the Ladakhi people, Angmo stated that “to treat the son of the soil of Ladakh so shabbily is not just a sin but a strategic error for building strong borders with solidarity and peaceful coexistence”.
Angmo also sent copies of the representation to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Law Ministry and the office of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Ladakh.
Her letter came after Wangchuk was arrested in Leh on September 26 under the stringent NSA, two days after violent protests in the town.
Angmo has now moved the Supreme Court, seeking her husband’s release. She said in her petition that there was no information on the grounds of his detention or his health. She claimed she had not received a copy of the detention order, describing it as a violation of established rules, despite several attempts.
Angmo also rejected the charge that Wangchuk was in touch with a Pakistani intelligence operative, and accused the Ladakh police of working with an agenda.
“Whatever the DGP is saying, he has an agenda. They don’t want to implement the 6th Schedule under any circumstances and want to make someone a scapegoat,” she alleged.
Why Sonam Wangchuk was arrested
On September 24, thousands of protesters gathered in Leh , mostly in the 18-24 age group. Clashes between the police and demonstrators erupted, leading to the death of four people and the injury of over 70 others.
The protesters were demanding statehood for Ladakh and Sixth Schedule protections for the UT.
Wangchuk, who had been on a 35-day hunger strike to press the government over these demands, had condemned the violence and ended his strike.
However, he was arrested two days later for alleged provocative speeches that led to violent protests.
Following Wangchuk ’s arrest, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance, the two organisations spearheading talks with the government on Ladakh matters, pulled out of the negotiations, claimimg political motives behind the arrest.
The Ladakh administration has, however, dismissed allegations of political vendetta.
The Centre said in a statement, “The Government has always been open for dialogues on Ladakh matters with Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) at any time. We would continue to welcome the discussion with ABL and KDA through the HPC on Ladakh or any such platform.”
Defending her husband, Angmo told ThePrint in an interview, “They have picked everything out of context and are trying to defame Sonam Wangchuk. The whole world has seen that he is a Gandhian, he isn’t a threat to the public but is a celebrated hero.”
She also said that the video where Wangchuk is heard speaking in Ladakhi about protests in Nepal, Sri Lanka and other countries “was taken out of context”.
“All he is saying is that if the government isn’t responsive to the needs of the people, then the natural reaction is revolution, which we can see is happening in other countries, He is urging the government to be responsive and then also says that if a person’s life is needed for it, then let it be his life,” she told ThePrint.
“All Sonam wanted was for them (government) to honour the commitment they had made regarding the Sixth Schedule. His hunger strikes were simply a way to remind them of that promise,” she added.
With inputs from agencies