NEW DELHI: Ladakh-based climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk and over 170 people, who were on way to the national capital as part of their Delhi Chalo Padyatra demanding sixth schedule status for the UT, were detained by Delhi Police at the Singhu border on Monday night for allegedly “violating prohibitory orders”.
Wangchuk and 173 detainees, who are housed in police stations in Bawana, Narela and Kanjhawala, began an indefinite hunger strike in protest against their detention.
Delhi CM Atishi was not allowed to meet Wangchuk when she visited Bawana police station.
‘We are on a peaceful march, yet being held like criminals’
I am sure the LG called the police officers and ordered them not to let me meet Wangchuk,” CM Atishi said. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi criticised the detentions. The police action led to a wave of protests.
The climate activist started his march from Leh on Sept 1 to advocate for the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to secure special protection for tribal regions. “I am being detained, along with 150 padyatris, at the Delhi border by a police force of hundreds, some say a thousand. Many elderly men and women in their 80s and a few dozen Army veterans. Our fate is unknown. We were on a most peaceful march to Bapu’s samadhi in the largest democracy in the world, the mother of democracy. Hai Ram!” Wangchuk had posted on Monday.
Delhi Police will take a call on releasing Wangchuk and his supporters. They are being requested not to enter Delhi in large numbers as section 163 BNS (formerly section 144) is in place in the city.
One of the detainees at Arya Samaj Ashram in Narela, where 23 women and seven men have been lodged, said they are on a peaceful march and yet they are being held like criminals. “I joined this march from Solang Valley. We did not face any problems anywhere as such. We even kept in mind that we should not disturb Haryana during this election time and bypassed it. But look what is happening. This is dictatorship. Our people have been divided. Some have been kept here, while we don’t know where the others are. We won’t eat now. We didn’t come this far to eat,” she said.
Dr Jyoti, a doctor who visited the Bawana police station, said, “All of them, including Wangchuk, are not eating anything. They were facing some issues for which I prescribed medicines.”
Another detainee, Sajjad Kargili, a political activist, said, “We, including some elected members of Ladakh, were detained around 9.30pm on Monday. This is extremely shameful and undemocratic. It is deeply unfortunate that while people like Ram Rahim are granted parole, the peaceful people of Ladakh are denied entry into Delhi.”
Ladakh MP Haji Hanifa Jan said he was only allowed to meet Wangchuk for 5 minutes at 3 am. “There are so many problems in Ladakh after it became a Union territory. There is no cultural identity left and youth is troubled. They have been sitting on a fast for years now. Wangchuk was supporting these issues and leading the padyatra. They completed over 700 km to reach the Delhi border. But the action taken is a way to silence these voices,” he said.
While the atmosphere inside the police stations was tense, the situation outside was equally grim. A crowd of supporters gathered, awaiting news of Wangchuk’s release. Among them was a 50-year-old woman from Gurgaon, a former student of Wangchuk who had participated in a ‘Sun and Earth’ festival he organised in Ladakh. “He always made an effort to connect with each student during the programme. We stand by the truth. We tried to meet him, but access has been denied. Wangchuk’s demands are entirely justified. Granting Ladakh the Sixth Schedule will not only benefit the region but the entire nation. The Himalayas are crucial for all of India,” she said.
AAP workers rallied outside the Bawana police station, calling the LG “a dictator”. National Alliance of People’s Movements also condemned the detentions during a press conference attended by environmentalist Prafulla Samantara, climate expert Soumya Dutta, Suniti SR, and social activist Medha Patkar. A demonstration took place in Leh. Kargil Democratic Alliance announced a protest rally in Kargil for Wednesday in response to the detention of padyatris.