Act now or Ladakh could become a barren land of disasters: Sonam Wangchuk

Wangchuk, who inspired 3 Idiots character, to go on fast; says Joshimath should be lesson for Ladakh

It has been over three years since Ladakh was declared a Union Territory. The people of Ladakh, including its leaders, have been asking the government to protect its land and culture by including the region in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

Braving the biting cold of Leh and Kargil, the residents have launched fresh protests on this issue. Environmentalist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, too, has joined the protests by announcing a five-day fast starting January 26. Wangchuk tells Nazia Iqbal he hopes to draw attention to the region's fragility through his appeal to the Prime Minister and the people at large. Edited excerpts.

Ladakh was declared a Union Territory over three years ago, but the demand for safeguarding its land and culture continues. You, too, have announced a climate fast for five days…

Yes, the people of Ladakh wanted a UT status and they’re truly grateful to the government for granting it, but it is not complete. People want a UT with its safeguards and that was supposed to come on the basis of 95 per cent of Ladakh’s dwellers being indigenous tribal people. Our Constitution is so evolved that it protects such sensitive, fragile people and their regions through Article 244 Schedule 6 and Schedule 5. So people were always sure that if the region gets UT status, it will also get those safeguards. Even the Indian government, I think, was aware of that. That is the reason why initially, soon after the declaration, it was everywhere in the news that the law ministry, tribal ministry, home ministry, all were considering the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh. And suddenly, it went all quiet and that's why people are concerned now. This was also twice on the top agenda of the election manifestos of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

For example, there was always a demand for UT with a legislature, where people's representatives would decide their fate through an assembly, like in Puducherry. But we found that the UT status to Ladakh is without a legislature, which means democracy-wise, we are a little regressed now. We used to have four members of legislative assembly (MLAs) and two members of legislative council (MLCs).

So, the legislature part of the UT was missing. And as time went by and there was no response [to this demand], people have started demanding statehood, although that was not the initial desire.

Watch: Saving Ladakh 

So, Ladakh is in need of this safeguard because of the people and the economy, but also because of the climate, because of how Ladakh is environmentally positioned, right?

Ladakh is almost a different planet altogether. If I look out of my window, here it's more like Mars or Moon than planet Earth. So just square kilometres of land doesn't mean anything. It has to be liveable and what makes this desert liveable is water, and that comes from the glaciers, not from rains. But our glaciers are melting very fast because of global warming and local pollution and emission. So land is meaningless if you don't have water. Due to shortage of water, already some people are abandoning their villages and becoming climate refugees.

At this rate, in 30-40 years, the people of Ladakh may have to move. If industries are allowed a free hand here, these glaciers will be gone. The industries will make their money in the next one or two decades, but the people who have to live here will become helpless refugees.

I think leaders look at their next five years, so they can call it development. But if you look at the next 30 or 50 years, then it will be like the situation you're seeing in Joshimath and other places.

So, short-term development and revenue, but long-term disaster is what we should avoid, and that's what is called wisdom. We should not use just our intelligence for short-term gains but our wisdom for long-term harmony and sustenance of the place and the people. 

You’ve mentioned Joshimath, which environmentalists had for years said would end up this way. In Ladakh, too, people are having to leave their homes because of water shortage due to all the development and tourism, which is one of the biggest drivers of the economy here. What needs to be done then? 

Just the other day I was looking at the Prime Minister's 10-point agenda on disaster management and I was so impressed that the ninth point there says from each disaster we should learn lessons. Now that's a very wise thing to say and we definitely should learn from each disaster like Joshimath and not exploit a place for short-term gains like raising the GDP or for more revenues, and then later pay five times more…

You have been in Ladakh for over 50 years. Tell us how Ladakh has changed.

Oh, in every way. With tourism alone, we see so much exploitation of resources like water, moving of population from rural areas to urban areas, increasing the pressure on urban areas. Leh was a 5,000 people town or village. Today, it has roughly 50,000 and in summers, it goes up to 150,000. The valley of Leh is not designed to take that kind of load.

Add to that all kinds of industries, like mining, for which people will come from everywhere. This region can hardly support its 300,000 people. There is hardly any water, and as I said, without water this land is meaningless. So Ladakh will be left for no one – not for the Ladakhis, not for the people who come here. It will become a barren land of disasters. 

You are going on a hunger strike from January 26. What do you hope to achieve from it?

First of all, I wouldn't call it a hunger strike. I would call it a fast in solidarity with our glaciers and to convey a message to the government, the people of India and the world to be sensitive to this fragile land.

As enshrined in our Constitution, we'll be doing a peaceful, silent climate fast for five days on Khardung La, (about 18,000 feet), which is home to many glaciers.

I'm just inflicting some pain on myself, and on nobody else, to draw attention to Ladakh. I am hoping the government pays attention to this case and listens to the agenda of the leaders of Ladakh, which is about the Sixth Schedule and the safeguards for the tribal population.

The government had itself promised it in various ways, including in its election manifesto. So, [we are asking for] nothing earth shattering here, just for them to keep their promise.

Secondly, it's not just the government, you know. It’s also people in the big cities in India and abroad who are causing our fragile nature to crumble. So I'm also expecting on January 26 pledges from the people to change their lifestyle – to change from climate unfriendliness, to going about as though there is no tomorrow, to living sensibly on this planet. Choosing to walk when you don't have to take a car; choosing to take bicycles; choosing to take trains instead of airplanes; planting trees…

Mind you, the Himalayan glaciers feed two billion people: one billion in the Indian subcontinent and one billion on the Chinese side. That's one-fourth of the population of the world. If these glaciers melt fast, it could be suicidal. First we'll go, but the next one billion people in India would also be directly affected. So, they should also be concerned.

Anything else that you want to add?

This is not just some demand from the government; it is more from the people. The Prime Minister himself launched this movement for lifestyle change called “LiFE: Lifestyle For Environment” at COP27. I would want the people to support that and change their lifestyles for climate-friendly actions. We have this platform called ilivesimply.org, where people can pledge to change their lifestyles for the planet.

I truly want this to be a people's movement and not just a few Ladakhis asking for something from the government.

So my message to people is: Please live simply in the big cities so we in the mountains may simply live.