Fasting doesn't make him Patriot; detained under NSA, FCRA misappropriations, Pakistan links; exposing the real Sonam Wangchuk

NewsBharati    17-Jul-2026 18:08:53 PM
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The social media is suddenly singing the praises of the CJP protest again, which is 'falsely fighting for the cause of students'. Under the guise of the students' protest, several communist and Islamist organizations like the Students Federation of India (SFI), the AISF, and even the LGBTQ+ protest actors are leading the protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.

Among these is Ladaki activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on hunger strike for the past 19-20 days and is demanding the resignation of Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak scam. Everything was fine until now; the social media and the Gen Z users are sympathizing with Wangchuk just because he is not choosing to eat or drink anything. This clearly isn't the first time that Wangchuk has done a hunger strike. However, odd as it sounds, he has a habit of 'gaining sympathy' by choosing to quit food.
 
No, I am not heartless, but just speaking the truth. He did the same in Leh in September 2025 while demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule, after which he was notably arrested for allegedly having Pakistan connections and inciting violence against the state, as exposed by the Ladakh Director General of Police, S D Singh Jamwal.

I know it's hard to believe. But truth has always been a bitter pill to swallow.
  
Sonam Wangchuk

Many individuals who are expressing support for Sonam Wangchuk and also for organisations such as AISF and SFI should take a closer look at the facts before taking a position. On 28 June, Sonam Wangchuk joined a protest at Jantar Mantar organised by CJP, where he announced an indefinite hunger strike.

Meanwhile, some social media posts continue to portray Wangchuk as an innovator with nearly 400 patents and draw parallels between his life and the fictional character Rancho (Phunsukh Wangdu) from 3 Idiots, often claiming that he came from an impoverished background. These narratives have contributed significantly to his public image.

Several Bollywood personalities, including Anurag Kashyap, Swara Bhasker, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Zeenat Aman, Abhay Deol, Swanand Kirkire, Soni Razdan, Shabana Azmi, Ratna Pathak Shah, and Naseeruddin Shah, have publicly expressed support for Wangchuk and appealed to him to end his hunger strike. However, here's how much of this support is driven more by a carefully cultivated public narrative than by a complete understanding of the facts surrounding his activism.

Congress exposed Sonam Wangchuk of misapproriation of foreign funds in 2007

In September 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled the FCRA licence of Sonam Wangchuk’s NGO, Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, after the Central Bureau of Investigation had initiated an inquiry into the institution. After the MHA action, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya had pointed to alleged violations by Wangchuk dating back to 2007, emphasising that the irregularities were flagged long before the BJP came to power at the Centre or in Jammu and Kashmir.
 
 

Sharing a copy of the 2007 official notice, he said, “Sonam Wangchuk’s NGO has finally had its FCRA licence cancelled, a step that should have been taken long ago. Even back in 2007, when the BJP was not in power at the Centre or in J&K, the government had flagged several violations by him and made sharp observations. The record speaks for itself.”

The 2007 notice, allegedly issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Leh under the UPA government and shared by Malviya, listed serious allegations against Wangchuk and his NGO. These included misappropriation of foreign funds under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), illegal occupation of 200 Kanals of land without paying government dues, maintaining anti-national connections in China and other places, and destabilising the harmony of Ladakh through remarks, actions, and threats to the Council and District Administration.

The document also accused Wangchuk of attempting to influence Ladakh’s political stability, reinforcing the government’s longstanding concerns about his operations.

Ladakh Police arrested a Pakistan intelligence operative directly linked to him in 2025

In September 2025, Ladakh Director General of Police S D Singh Jamwal said that Sonam Wangchuk was being probed for allegedly having links with Pakistan after he was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA), days after protests demanding statehood for the Union Territory resulted in violence. The DGP said Wangchuk was being probed in the context of the arrest of a Pakistani Intelligence Operative who sent videos of his protests across the border.
 
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The police chief accused Wangchuk of being the key person behind violence in 2025 that resulted in the killing of four people when police opened fire at youth protesting in support of long-standing demands of statehood for Ladakh and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule. Two days after the violence, which also left more than 80 injured, Leh police detained Wangchuk near his residence under the NSA, 1980.
 
He claimed our brave Gorakha soldiers are now joining the Chinese Army?

In 2024, Wangchuk was at the centre of controversy when he questioned the Indian Army personnel against the Chinese Army. During his “fast unto death” amid freezing temperatures in Ladakh to press for the region’s special status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and statehood, he said that the worst part of the Gorkha controversy was that they were joining the Chinese army.

He claimed that the morale of Indian soldiers facing China and Pakistan in the Union Territory was at its weakest because of the alleged discontent among its three most battle-hardened components — Ladakhis, Sikhs and Gorkhas. “The soldiers who were our strength, against whom it is said that if a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is lying or is a Gurkha, you have the same Gorkhas today who will fight us on behalf of China,” he said, quoting former army chief Sam Manekshaw.

Wangchuk joined 'Dawn' group event in Pakistan

In February 2025, Wangchuk attended Breathe Pakistan 2025, organised by Dawn Media, the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations. The event, conducted from February 6-7, 2025, was held in Islamabad, Pakistan. BOOM accessed the event agenda and found Wangchuk listed as a speaker on Day 1 for the topic “Glacial Melt: A Sustainable Strategy for the Water Towers of South Asia”. Facilitated by Indrika Ratwatte, UN Resident Coordinator in Afghanistan, the panel included UNEP’s Dechen Tsering, Pakistan climate official Romina Khurshid Alam, and civil society leader Aisha Khan and was chaired by Kanak Mani Dixit, founder of the magazine Himal Nepal.
 
 

The issue became complex after Wangchuk was arrested under the NSA in September 2025. Ladakh Director General of Police (DGP) SD Sinah Jamwal, who was investigating Wangchuk's links with Pakistan and Bangladesh, said back then, “We arrested a Pakistani PIO in the recent past who was reporting back across. We have a record of this. Sonam Wangchuk had attended a Dawn event in Pakistan. He also visited Bangladesh. So, there is a big question mark on him... an investigation is being done."

He further accused Wangchuk of instigating the 24 September, 2025 violence in Leh. “Sonam Wangchuk has had a history of instigating. He has referred to the Arab Spring, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The investigation into his funding is going on for FRA violation,” Jamwal said.

He is the son of a Congress MLA

Sonam Wangchuk is the son of Sonam Wangyal, a well-known Congress leader from Ladakh. Wangyal was elected MLA from Leh around 1972 and subsequently served as a minister in the Jammu and Kashmir government starting in 1975, a period during which the family relocated to Srinagar. It appears Wangchuk may have drawn inspiration from his father's activism, as Wangyal himself undertook a hunger strike in 1984 to press for Scheduled Tribe status for Ladakh. He was later expelled from the Congress party in 1987 over allegations of anti-party activity.
 
 
Source: Tshering Wangdi Lepcha’s Facebook post 

Given this background, the popular portrayal of Wangchuk as a humble, grassroots figure appears incomplete; his family had both financial stability and considerable political standing.

Sonam praised Pakistan for Autonomy in Skardu Balistan

Sonam Wangchuk, in one of his videos, was seen praising Pakistan for giving autonomy to Skardu, Baltistan. He praised China for giving autonomy to its 5 provinces, one of which is Tibet. He notably forgot that both are illegally occupied Indian territories


He said Ram put Sita on sale in the open market

In March 2024, Wangchuk stirred a controversy after making highly objectionable remarks about Goddess Sita during an interview. The activist who has been observing the ‘fast unto death’ protest for the last 13 days said that “The Modi government has turned out to be such a Ram who rescued Sita from Ravan but sold her on the open market after that.”

In a conversation with NDTV, Sonam Wangchuk attacked the Bhartiya Janata Party while accusing it of not fulfilling the poll promise to include Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and give statehood to the region. However, during the interview, Wangchuk made an outrageous remark about Lord Ram and Goddess Sita and said, “In 2019 I never saw people of Ladakh so thankful when the Centre declared Ladakh a Centre-administered Union Territory. But they saved us from one problem but landed us in another (Unhone ne hamein aasmaan se bachaya par khajoor mein atkaya).
 
 

“I see it in the way that they [Central government] turned out to be such a Ram who freed Sita from Raavan but didn’t take her home; rather, they put her on sale in an open market. So like this, they have left Ladakh open for industrialists and mining lobbies without any protection [from the government],” Wangchuk continued.

Sonam Wangchuk is not Phungsuk Wangdu

In the midst of the so-called hunger strike by Sonam Wangchuk against the alleged NEET protests, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has put to rest a persistent rumour surrounding his beloved on-screen character Phunsukh Wangdu, aka Rancho, from the 2009 hit 3 Idiots, dismissing claims that the character was inspired by Ladakhi innovator and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk.

Speaking at a public appearance, Khan made clear that neither he nor the film's writing team had any awareness of Wangchuk's existence at the time the movie was being developed. Even as he corrected this piece of cinematic lore, the actor took the opportunity to voice his solidarity with Wangchuk, who is currently several days into an indefinite hunger strike, and expressed worry over the toll it's taking on his health.
 
 

During a Q&A following a screening at the London Indian Film Festival, Khan explained that the idea of 3 Idiots being modelled on Wangchuk's life is a misconception. At the time the script was written, he had no personal knowledge of Wangchuk, and the two weren't acquainted. He added that, regardless of this, he fully supports the cause Wangchuk is fighting for and echoed the growing concern that Wangchuk should call off his fast given his worsening health.
 
Wake up, Gen Z, potential 2029 voters, before it's too late 

Social media and its users are becoming too sensitive over the issue and framing opinions without even seeing the other side of the protests. It has been reported several times in the past that the Cockroach Janata Party has done every other anti-national, anti-Hindu thing except raising a voice for NEET students. Slogans like 'Mera Ling, Meri Marzi' have been raised by LGBTQ+ 'student protesters' who later compared India to a 'gutter'.

Islamist slogans like 'Naam Rahega Allah Ka' were recently raised by retired Delhi University Professor Nandita Narain, who probably attempted to copy the character of Pallavi from the movie 'Kashmir Files', but miserably failed, standing exposed.
 
 

'Comedian' Kunal Kamra, who is known for his anti-Hindu, anti-India comments, joined the protest and made derogatory remarks against Lord Rama. Actor-turned-politician Prakash Raj said he would choose to say 'Jai Samvidhan' instead of 'Jai Shree Ram'. What are these slogans to do with NEET students here?
 
 

Earlier, NewsBharati has, with proof, exposed the real anti-Hindu, leftist agenda of the CJP, which is eyeing to create unnecessary ruckus in the country. In its Delhi protest, separatist slogans of 'Azadi' were raised. The "Azadi" cry has a clear documented genealogy, from Pakistan-backed separatism in 1989-90, amplified by Benazir Bhutto during the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits, institutionalised as a separatist war cry in the Valley, and then transplanted into Indian university campuses, first at JNU in 2016, then more widely during anti-CAA protests in 2019-20. Also, after the so-called protest in Pune, the 'student protesters' could be seen celebrating the gathering by consuming alcohol.
 

Dipke also had supported separatists in Jammu and Kashmir during the abrogation of Article 370. It was also reported that the leftist mass movement attracted more than 49% of Pakistani supporters.
 
 
Now, again, tell me, how is the matter of students or the NEET paper leak linked here? Doesn't it look like the entire leftist, Islamist ecosystem is ganging up against the government with some malicious intention under the guise of student protests? If not, where are the parents of the NEET-affected students? Why do students themselves have no hope and faith in the protest? What do LGBTQ+ members have to do with the protests? 

Cockroach Party has potentially just given a platform to all those who are against the government to further their anti-Hindu, anti-India, anti-BJP agendas and allegedly brainwash the thoughts of Gen Z ahead of the 2029 elections, when these Gen Zs could potentially stand as new voters. Hoping that the Gen Z turns intelligent, if possible, and chooses to learn the truth before it's too late.
Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike Cockroach Janata Party CJP