NEW DELHI: After a grueling month-long journey on foot across the harsh terrain of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, Ladakh’s activists led by renowned innovator and climate activist, Sonam Wangchuk, who were bringing their plea for the Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh to the heart of India’s power corridors, were detained at the gates of Delhi.
Barred from entering the city they had walked so far to reach, the determined group had weary bodies but unbroken spirits.
Wangchuk and his fellow activists launched an indefinite hunger strike at the very police stations where they were being held, a spokesperson of the group told the Kashmir Times.
Wangchuk is detained at Bawana Police Station along with a score of other activists and 19 people are detained at Rohini station, the spokesperson said.
However, some news reports suggest that approximately 120 Ladakhi protesters, including Wangchuk, had been stopped at Delhi’s borders. The activists were distributed among different police stations, including Bawana, Narela Industrial Area, and Alipur.
A spokesperson of Ladakh Apex Body (LAB) said that 150 of their activists including 50 women were detained by the police on the Delhi border at a police station.
A report from Leh said that “Angered by the detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, hundreds of people in Leh took to the streets on Tuesday, their voices rising in unison as they chanted ‘Delhi Police, shame shame’ in protest against the action.”
A petition has been moved before the Delhi High Court seeking the release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and others, who were detained at Delhi’s Singhu border on Monday night, a report in the Bar and Bench said.
Their journey, known as the ‘Delhi Chalo Padyatra’, began in Leh a month ago to demand Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh, and an end to the alleged ecological vandalism in Ladakh since the abrogation of Article 370, cleaving the region from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir and converting both into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.
While Jammu and Kashmir’s Union Territory is witnessing its first-ever legislative assembly elections and votes will be counted on October 8, Ladakh will not have an elected assembly.
The march was organized by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) in cooperation with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). These groups have been at the forefront of a four-year campaign seeking statehood for Ladakh, its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, expedited recruitment processes, the establishment of a public service commission for Ladakh, and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
Wangchuk and other Ladakhis marching on foot were detained on September 30, as they attempted to enter the capital.
Shortly before being detained, Wangchuk shared visuals from the Delhi border on Instagram, where police stopped their buses. “As we are approaching Delhi, it appears we are not being escorted, we are being detained,” Wangchuk said.
Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa reported that about 30 women were among those detained, raising concerns about their accommodation alongside male detainees, a PTI report said quoting him.
An additional 60-70 people from Kargil, who had intended to join the march at the Singhu border on Tuesday morning, were also prevented from proceeding by Delhi Police.
Delhi Police cited the violation of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which prohibits gatherings of five or more people, as the reason for detaining the marchers, according to The Hindu.
However, the activists allege an order imposing Section 163 was issued just ahead of the culmination of the march in Delhi’s Rajghat, in an attempt to foil it.
On September 30, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora issued a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) for key districts in the national capital.
The order, effective from September 30 to October 5, 2024, bans gatherings of five or more unauthorized persons and prohibits carrying potential weapons in public areas. Violations of this order will be punishable under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.
The order covers New Delhi, North, and Central districts, as well as areas bordering neighboring states.
The order states that the decision comes in response to multiple security concerns including “prevailing communal atmosphere in view of the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill controversy and issue of Shahi Idgah”.
It also mentions “VVIP movements for Gandhi Jayanti on October 2”, and ongoing elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana.
The order also adds, “the pockets inhabited by migrants from the states may become particularly vulnerable on account of infiltration and instigations at the behest of anti-social and elements having vested interests in creating public order disturbances in the national capital.”
A spokesperson of the group, however, stated that the prohibitory order was brought into force ahead of the marchers’ entry into Delhi to stall it. All permissions had been sought, the protestors said, adding that the applications had been sent to all the departments concerned.
A spokesperson shared copies of letters sent to the different police officers of Delhi. The activists reportedly sought official permission for their march and had even contacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah via email.
It was also alleged that Wangchuk, detained at Bawana police station, has been denied access to his lawyers.
Opposition leaders criticised the Modi-government’s handling of the situation. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, called the detention of Wangchuk and the Ladakhi protesters ‘unacceptable.’
In a post on X, Gandhi wrote: “The detention of Sonam Wangchuk ji and hundreds of Ladakhis peacefully marching for environmental and constitutional rights is unacceptable.”
He also questioned why elderly citizens were being detained at the Delhi border. “Modi ji, like with the farmers, this ‘Chakravyuh’ will be broken, and so will your arrogance. You will have to listen to Ladakh’s voice.”
Meanwhile, Wangchuk and several other detainees have launched an indefinite hunger strike on the condition that they be allowed to visit Rajghat on Gandhi Jayanti and also be allowed to meet the prime minister.
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