New Delhi, Feb 5: Congress leader Vivek Tankha on Thursday asked Home Minister Amit Shah to review the detention of jailed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and release him.
The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner “prejudicial to the defence of India”. The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier.
“He breathes India, thinks India, and lives for India,” Tankha said in a letter to the home minister seeking Wangchuk’s release.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26 last year, two days after violent protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead in the Union Territory (UT). The government accused him of inciting the violence.
Wangchuk is currently detained at the Jodhpur Central Jail.
“Nobody in India believes that Wangchuk deserves incarceration under NSA. He is a champion of climate change and melting glaciers.
“Ladakh is a border state. People of Ladakh are the greatest asset of the Indian Army,” Tankha said.
In the letter, he said the jailed activist is a widely respected and influential figure in Ladakhi society and across the nation.
“Hon’ble Home Minister, it is respectfully submitted that the time has come for the government of India to review his detention under the National Security Act. A misunderstanding should not be stretched to a point where it causes deep hurt to the ‘soul’ of an entire region,” said Tankha, the Congress party’s Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh.
Wangchuk’s life and work, famously depicted in the popular film “3 Idiots”, caught the imagination of the people, the parliamentarian said.
Wangchuk represents honesty, innovation and selfless service, he said, adding that the climate activist is not only deeply revered in Ladakh but is also respected nationally and internationally.
Tankha said Kashmir and Ladakh are invaluable to the strategic defence of our country.
The people of Ladakh, including the Ladakhi Scouts, have been brave and steadfast partners of the country’s defence forces in protecting the Himalayan terrain bordering China, he said.
Wangchuk’s contributions through the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL), his work in the field of education and his pioneering efforts on climate change are widely recognised and have brought credit to the nation, Tankha said.
Also, in view of his present health condition, which has also drawn the attention of the Supreme Court, it would be in the larger interest of the country to review his detention and order his release, read the letter.
Sharing the letter in a post on X, Tankha asked the home minister to “end the prolonged detention” of Wangchuk in the public interest at the earliest. (Agencies)
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