India: Sonam Wangchuk says he’s under house arrest in Ladakh

Indian activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk has claimed that he has been put under a house arrest with “dozens of armed guards” stationed outside his home in Ladakh, the country’s remote Himalayan territory.

“I am under house arrest,” the 60-year-old wrote on X late Thursday night, alongside a video message. 

“There are 20 to 25 police and paramilitary personnel outside the house,” Wangchuk said, adding that armed personnel were standing guard outside his house, “in all directions.”  He shared visuals purporting to show the restrictions. 

Wangchuk also said his X and YouTube reach had been “drastically suppressed” as he called on supporters to share his message. 

Ladakh’s hill council election row

Wangchuk’s allegation followed a day after police removed him from a protest site ahead of a planned sit-in demonstration about the timing of hill council elections, slated for December 4. 

The climate crusader, along with Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), Ladakh’s main civil society groups, have raised concerns about holding the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council elections, covering eight districts, at a time of the year when the high-altitude desert region sees a harsh winter and a large seasonal migration.

Ladakh activists say the sub-zero temperatures and winter migration could result in a low voter turnout.

“December and January are the coldest and snowiest months with temperature dipping below -30 degrees Celsius in many places and close to half the population migrates out of Ladakh for education, vacation, pilgrimage etc,” Wangchuk said on X in a public appeal with LAB and KDA, calling for the elections to be deferred.

Ladakh police have said that Wangchuk was “advised to stay his residence” in accordance with prohibitory orders issued by Ladakh’s Chief Electoral Officer and the Leh District Magistrate ahead of the elections.

Ladakh was split from Indian-administered Kashmir after New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s statehood and semi-autonomy in 2019.

Ladakh was categorized as a “Union Territory” with Leh and Kargil being its two main districts.

The LAB and KDA have been demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian constitution, which allows indigenous tribal people to make their own laws and policies on land.

Wangchuk said people of Ladakh were protesting the manner in which the hill council elections were being conducted and also the type of councils.

In his Thursday night message, Wangchuk described the council elections as “phoney” and the councils as “disempowered.”

On Wednesday, Wangchuk had also raised questions over the delay in a report of a judicial inquiry commission looking into the deadly 2025 Leh protests over statehood demands.

Wangchuk linked the Thursday restrictions against him to the “uncomfortable questions” he had asked. 

Meanwhile, Ladakh authorities have urged people to “participate enthusiastically” in the upcoming elections and have deemed the councils as “an important milestone in strengthening democratic institutions” in the region.