Denied permission to protest at Jantar Mantar, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk undertakes indefinite fast

A letter from the Delhi Police said the request had been made at ‘very short notice’, and inputs received through social and electronic media indicated that the event would continue and its conclusion would be conditional to the meeting of certain terms

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike along with others at the Ladakh Bhavan here on Sunday after the Delhi Police denied them permission to protest at Jantar Mantar, the designated location for protests in Delhi.

Mr. Wangchuk, who set out on a foot march from Leh on September 1 along with 150 supporters, was detained by the police as the contingent reached the Delhi border on September 30. After remaining in detention for five days, he was released on September 6.

Other than raising concerns over environmental degradation in the Himalayan region, Mr. Wangchuk has been demanding constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, including Statehood; Ladakh’s inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution (protection of tribal areas); employment opportunities for locals; and a meeting with either the Prime Minister, the Home Minister or the President of India.

Also read: What special status is Ladakh seeking? | Explained

“We deferred our congregation at Jantar Mantar (last week) and ended our fast at Rajghat on October 2 as we were promised an appointment with the top leaders of the country. Since no date has been conveyed to us till now, we have decided to proceed on an indefinite hunger fast,” Mr. Wangchuk said.

“So after trying everything possible to find a legitimate place for our anshan fast in New Delhi, we have finally decided to start our fast here at Ladakh Bhavan New Delhi where I was virtually detained for the last 4 days. Among us we have 75 year olds, women n men who walked for 32 days from Leh to Delhi... roughly 1,000 km,” Mr. Wangchuk had earlier posted on social media platform X.

The organisers, the ‘People’s Movement For Sixth Schedule For Ladakh’, applied for permission on September 24 to march in Delhi and also hold a jan sabha (congregation) at Jantar Mantar, which was neither agreed to nor denied by the Delhi Police.

On September 30, when the protestors were to enter Delhi, Delhi Police issued prohibitory orders and detained them. Under police protection, Mr. Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike in detention, was taken to Raj Ghat on October 2, where he handed over a memorandum to the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, and broke his fast.

The organisers applied again for a two-day demonstration (October 5-6) at Jantar Mantar, which was denied by the New Delhi district police on Sunday, stating that it was not in consonance with the Supreme Court’s guidelines, following which Mr. Wangchuk proceeded on a fast at the Ladakh Bhavan.

A letter from the Delhi Police said the request had been made at “a very short notice”. “....your request letters to hold demonstration/ Anshan at Jantar Mantar have been received in this office at a very short notice. Further, in your letter, no specific time of start and conclusion of the event or expected gathering has been mentioned. The (SC) guidelines require that applications for holding any demonstration at Jantar Mantar shall be moved at least 10 days prior to the planned event. The guidelines also require that the duration of the planned event shall be between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. of planned event’s date,” the letter stated.

The Delhi Police added that the application mentioned the demonstration had been planned as the expected meeting with the top leadership had not materialised, and inputs received through social and electronic media indicated that the event would continue and its conclusion would be conditional to the meeting of certain terms. “It is quite clear that this proposed anshan is going to be a prolonged one. There is no provision under the extant laws, rules and guidelines under which permission can be granted for any kind of ‘anshan’, let alone an open ended, without timeframe, mass event, as is discernible from the application. Therefore, keeping in view the above said facts and circumstances, your request for grant of permission for the proposed anshans have been considered in this office, but could not be acceded to,” the Delhi Police said.

Mr. Wangchuk posted a response on X. “ANOTHER REJECTION ANOTHER FRUSTRATION. Finally this morning we got this rejection letter for the officially designated place for protests. If Jantar Mantar is not allowed then please tell us which place is allowed. We want to abide by all laws and still express our grievance in a peaceful way. Why is it so difficult to follow the path of Gandhi in his own country. There must be a way...” he said.

Ladakh became a Union Territory without a Legislative Assembly on August 5, 2019, after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution was read down by the Parliament. For the past four years, people in Ladakh, under the banner of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, have been demanding Statehood, inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, job reservation for locals, and two Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha seat for the region.

Published - October 06, 2024 03:14 pm IST