[NEWS] All is not well in Ladakh,"I'll sit on a 5-day fast in the cold: Sonam Wangchuk to PM

[TreY]

Education reformist Sonam Wangchuk has appealed to PM Narendra Modi to intervene and safeguard the environmentally sensitive region of Ladakh under the sixth schedule of the Indian constitution. Wangchuk, who's often called the inspiration behind Phunsukh Wangdu's charactor in 3 idiots, said 'All is not well in Ladakh' Wangchuk will sit on a 3 specific 5 day fast at Khardung La pass where temperature goes down to -40 degrees.

 

 

In the clip, titled after the popular Bollywood song - "All is Well" from the movie 3 idiots, where the protagonist's character was based on Wangchuk's life, the innovator can be heard praising the Prime Minister for banning "single use plastic" while many other world leaders - including Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump among others - have been criticised for their decisions hurting environment and have been viewed as "environmental criminals".

Ladakh, also known as the world's "third pole", is facing dire concerns, he is heard elaborating in the clip as he refers to the 6th Schedule and protests linked to it. Locals have been demanding the inclusion of Ladakh under the 6th Schedule to ensure overall economic development and autonomy in decisions and the issue has also been previously raised in Parliament. “Ladakh has nearly 95 per cent of tribal population while the Constitution seeks 50 per cent of tribal population in an area for applicability of 6th Schedule. Anticipations were being made that Ladakh would soon be included. Minister Arjun Munda had also given assurances,” Wangchuk says in the clip where he shares “Ladakh ke Mann ki Baat (What's on Ladakh's mind)” with the title being inspired from PM Modi's radio programme “Mann Ki Baat".

In the 13 minute long video, Wangchuk can also be heard talking about the 2020 Ladakh Hill Council polls that were won by the BJP and the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019, which led to the formation of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir as two separate union territories. "People of Ladakh are stunned that why the government that answered its 70-year old demand for a union territory has not been heeding this demand," he is further heard saying in the clip, as he raises concerns about the likelihood of businesses expanding in the union territory which is set to further increase burden on limited resources, including water. "Mining and such activities could melt glaciers. Moreover, Ladakh is strategically important for military and has played a role in Kargil and other wars."