New Delhi accuses Wangchuk of promoting unrests by provocative speeches
\n ladakh
\nIndian police on Friday detained prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk over violent protests in the Himalayan territory of occupied Ladakh that left at least five people dead, a lawyer said.
\nDemonstrations demanding greater political autonomy for the sparsely populated, high-altitude region bordering China and Pakistan turned deadly on Wednesday when security forces opened fire. New Delhi blamed the unrests on \u201cprovocative speeches\u201d by Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike demanding either full federal statehood for occupied Ladakh or constitutional protections for its tribal communities, land and fragile environment.
\nMustafa Haji, a lawyer for the Apex Body Leh \u2014 which is spearheading the protests \u2014 told AFP that Wangchuk was \u201cpicked up\u201d by the police from his village of Uley Tokpo on Friday.
\n\u201cCharges against him are not known yet,\u201d Haji said.
\nAn engineer by training, Wangchuk, 59, is best known for pioneering water conservation projects in the Himalayas.
\nHe received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018 for his environmental work and contributions to reforming local schooling in occupied Ladakh.
\nHis life and work are said to have inspired a character played by Bollywood star Aamir Khan in the hugely popular movie \u201cThree Idiots\u201d.
\nWangchuk, who is a vocal advocate for occupied Ladakh\u2019s environmental protection and tribal rights, was briefly detained by Delhi Police last year during a protest march.
\nIndian authorities on Thursday cancelled his non-profit\u2019s foreign funding licence.
\nModi\u2019s government split occupied Ladakh off from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, imposing direct rule on both.
\nNew Delhi has yet to fulfil its promise to include Ladakh in the \u201cSixth Schedule\u201d of India\u2019s constitution, which allows people to make their own laws and policies.
\nIndia\u2019s army maintains a large presence in occupied Ladakh, which includes disputed border areas with China.
\nTroops from the two countries clashed there in 2020, killing at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi accuses Wangchuk of promoting unrests by provocative speeches ladakh Indian police on Friday detained prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk over violent protests in the Himalayan territory of occupied Ladakh that left at least five people dead, a lawyer said. Demonstrations demanding greater political autonomy for the sparsely populated, high-altitude region bordering China and Pakistan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-505241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n