Ladakhi activist Sonam Wangchuk’s political journey drips with irony.
The Right wing, which once extolled the avowed Narendra Modi fan for cheering on the dismemberment of Jammu and Kashmir, is now vilifying him as an “anti-national” and “terrorist” while Delhi has accused him of inciting Ladakh’s violent statehood agitators.
An attempt to besmirch and intimidate Wangchuk appears to be taking shape with the Centre on Thursday night cancelling the foreign funds licence of an NGO founded by him and the CBI launching a probe into alleged foreign exchange violations by another outfit linked to him.
A tenuous calm prevailed on Thursday in curfew-bound Ladakh, a day after Leh town witnessed its worst anti-government violence in decades.
Four people died and dozens were injured as protesters, seeking statehood and special status for Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule, clashed with security forces.
The government has arrested more than 50 people and the noose is tightening around Wangchuk, the agitation spearhead, amid growing calls to arrest him.
The Union home ministry has accused Wangchuk of inciting the mob with “provocative statements” and misleading the people by making “provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal”.
“Sonam Wangchuk should be declared a Terrorist,” Right-wing portal Jaipur Dialogues wrote on X.
“Reality of Anti National Chinese Agent Fraud Sonam Wangchuk — He had claimed that the morale of the Indian Army was low and falsely linked it to the Agniveer programme and farmer protests,” wrote Rozy, a lawyer according to her X account, uploading an old video.
The attacks have been relentless despite Wangchuk’s public displays of patriotism and praise for Prime Minister Modi and the army in the past.
Many social media handles posted a picture showing Wangchuk hugging the head of the Bangladesh interim government, Muhammad Yunus, to suggest he has links with the neighbouring country’s new rulers.
A social media campaign has begun seeking the arrest of Wangchuk, a 59-year-old engineer, innovator, education reformist and climate and political activist.
“Sonam Wangchuk needs to be handled like Sharjeel Imam was,” wrote Tushar Gupta, a netizen, referring to an activist arrested on conspiracy charges over the 2020 Delhi riots.
Tashi Tundup, an Opposition councillor from Leh, said some outsiders may be casting Wangchuk as an anti-national, but he remained a hero to his people.
“Outsiders know nothing. Ladakhis (including Wangchuk) have always stood by the nation,” he said.
The Right-wing criticism contrasts sharply with the praise Wangchuk had received for supporting the August 5, 2019, constitutional changes that resulted in Ladakh being carved out of Jammu and Kashmir as a separate Union Territory.
“Thank you Prime Minister… for fulfilling Ladakh’s longstanding dream,” Wangchuk had written on social media the day Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated.
“It was exactly 30 years ago in August 1989 that Ladakhi leaders launched a movement for UT status. Thank you all who helped in this democratic decentralisation.”
Last year, while fasting for greater rights and privileges for Ladakh, Wangchuk had admitted that he had been a “very big fan” of Modi.
He had recalled how Ladakhis had voted for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but also referred to the BJP poll manifesto that had promised Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh.
Several old videos show him taking part in Tricolour-waving rallies where slogans like “Ladakhis will defend India” were chanted.
However, the activist had ruffled the Right wing’s feathers within months of Ladakh becoming a Union Territory, when he started championing special status and statehood.
Last year, he filed a defamation suit against Delhi-based journalist Pankaj Prasoon who had called him an “anti-national, deep state asset, Chinese and ISI agent”. Prasoon later travelled to Leh and apologised to Wangchuk.
Those who died in Wednesday’s violence have been identified as Jigmet Dorjay, 25, Stanzin Namgyal, 23, Dadul, 20, and Tharchin, 46. A BJP office, a hill development council office and several vehicles were torched.
Charred remains of a vehicle lies in the aftermath of violent clashes between demonstrators and police during a protest demanding statehood for Ladakh, outside BJP headquarters building, in Leh, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. PTI
Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag has been booked after the BJP accused him of taking part in the violent protests. His party has denied the allegations.
The last time Ladakh witnessed such major violence was in 1989, when three people died in police firing during an agitation seeking Union Territory status.
The Ladakh Buddhist Association had enforced a boycott against Muslims that spoiled the relations between the two communities.
But the Buddhists and Muslims of Ladakh have joined hands in recent years, fearing they would be swamped by outsiders in the absence of constitutional safeguards. Muslim-majority Kargil observed a shutdown on Thursday against the Leh killings.