Govt showing colonial mindset in Leh: Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav

The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is treating the people of Ladakh with a “colonial mindset” and weakening the security of India’s border states, alleged civil society members and activists at a press conference in Delhi’s Press Club.

Political activist Yogendra Yadav said the people of Ladakh are demanding dignity and democracy, but the Modi government is only “counting money”.
“This is a colonial mindset,” he remarked, warning that the Centre should be grateful Ladakh has not gone the way of Manipur.

Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan also lashed out at the government, terming the arrest of climate activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA) “illegal and unjust”.

“Even after five days, the detention order has not been served. This is against the law and principles of justice,” Bhushan said, adding that Wangchuk’s wife has not even been formally informed of his arrest.

Bhushan described Wangchuk’s arrest as arbitrary: “There is no evidence against him. Under the NSA, the government doesn’t need evidence — mere suspicion is enough. That is why he was arrested under the NSA”

Yadav further accused the Modi government of destabilising sensitive frontier regions. “Be it Manipur, Assam, or Ladakh — every border state has become unstable under Modi’s reign,” he said, rejecting the BJP’s claim that Wangchuk was responsible for the recent violence in Leh. “In fact, the opposite is true. Wangchuk helped stop the violence. He showed courage by immediately calling off the protest after the violence,” Yadav added.

Asked by National Herald if the government fears the rise of a mass movement against it, Yadav said there was “no doubt” about it. Quoting revolutionary poet Gorakh Pandey, he added, “The government’s real fear is that people will stop being afraid of it.”

The speakers demanded Wangchuk’s immediate release and pressed the government to meet Ladakh’s long-standing aspirations, including statehood and an Assembly. “These are not Wangchuk’s personal demands; they reflect the collective voice of the people of Leh and Ladakh,” they stressed.

Meanwhile, Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali Angmo accused authorities of creating a “fabricated narrative” to dodge Ladakh's demand for Sixth Schedule status and make her husband a scapegoat.

She condemned Ladakh DGP S.D. Singh Jamwal’s allegations linking Wangchuk to Pakistan, calling them baseless and widely rejected in Ladakh.

Questioning the handling of the 24 September violent protests, she asked, “Who ordered the CRPF to open fire on their own people — especially in a region that has never witnessed violent protests?”

She said the harassment and "witch hunt" started four years ago when her husband began reminding the government about having a legislature in the Union Territory, and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule.