‘He’s being treated like a criminal’: Gitanjali Angmo slams Modi govt for targeting Wangchuk
New Delhi: Gitanjali Angmo, social entrepreneur and wife of incarcerated Ladakh-based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, has strongly refuted allegations of foreign links and financial irregularities leveled by the BJP-led Indian government against her husband, calling it a shameful attempt to criminalize activism.
According to Kashmir Media Service, addressing a press conference at the Press Club of India, Angmo—Director of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL) founded by Wangchuk—said, “The government is trying to frame him for standing up for Ladakh. He’s being shamefully treated like a criminal.” She said that the Indian was carrying out a politically motivated witch-hunt, targeting Wangchuk for his vocal advocacy for Ladakh’s constitutional rights, Sixth Schedule status, and environmental protection.
Wangchuk was arrested under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) without formal notice and later shifted to Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan on September 27. Angmo confirmed that no official detention order has been provided yet. “We will fight this case through the legal system and won’t rest until the truth is exposed,” she said.
“We were being monitored in Leh. I wasn’t allowed to speak to the media or clarify my side of the story,” she said. “At the HIAL, CRPF personnel have been deployed, preventing outsiders from entering”. “Even where I go is being monitored,” Gitanjali said.
Rejecting accusations of foreign funding and links to Pakistan, Angmo clarified that Wangchuk had attended a UN-backed climate conference in Pakistan earlier this year, co-hosted by the Dawn Media Group. “What’s wrong with attending a UN event?” she questioned.
She highlighted Wangchuk’s internationally acclaimed work on sustainable architecture and climate innovation in Ladakh, noting that HIAL’s passive solar structures save over 4,000 tonnes of carbon per month, some even used by the Indian Army. “If we treat the person behind this good work like a criminal and create an atmosphere of fear with curfew, then how will India become ‘Vishwa Guru’ and how will others get motivated?” she asked.
Angmo also issued a public challenge to the authorities: “We have facts, records, and documents to prove every allegation wrong. Let anyone come forward if they find any wrongdoing in our work.”
