Is Sonam Wangchuk the next Umar Khalid?

Today, on 10 November, a Monday evening, working my shift on the news desk sifting through emerging updates on various newsfeeds, I was tasked with getting latest inputs on the status of Sonam Wangchuk — the Ladakhi climate and political activist who has been under arrest in a Jodhpur jail for well over a month now.

The latest news update on him mentions that Wangchuk, arrested under the draconian NSA (National Security Act, 1980), has been named as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025’ by TIME magazine. 

The news of his inclusion in the list was first posted on X by his wife Gitanjali J. Angmo on 31 October, picked up by news platforms days later, and the usual chain reaction of other news organisations following suit began.

Upon checking with the major news platforms in the country for factual updates on his case, the need to write this piece was conceived, which led to a question: Is Sonam Wangchuk the next Umar Khalid in making? 

Wangchuk was detained on 24 September, hours after the BJP office was burned down in Ladakh's capital Leh. Next, he was charged under the NSA and sent to Jodhpur jail on 26 September.

Criminalisation and invisibilisation of dissent

The news flow on Wangchuk’s status began getting erratic in late October and is now down to zero unless, of course, the TIME magazine features him on its distinguished list — when it becomes necessary to report on him.

While the law takes its course and the country awaits a just trial for Wangchuk, the lack of interest from mainstream media in his case seems to follow the same script as in the case of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa-ur-Rehman, all booked for a ‘larger conspiracy’ behind the Delhi riots of 2020. 

We have seen what lack of news reporting on an issue does to public opinion. For example, the state of air pollution in the national capital. There has been a marked lack of scrutiny of Delhi’s air pollution crisis this year, with some news outlets even sounding celebratory in their report on the legalisation of ‘green crackers’ in the NCR. 

Public anger against the inhospitably hazardous air quality in Delhi-NCR manifested itself at India Gate yesterday, 9 November, with children accompanying their parents to a protest despite prohibitory orders.

Even with citizens assembled to protest an environmental issue of massive public importance, despite the absence of political leanings, the administration chose to stick to its favourite toolkit of detaining the protesters (children and all) to disperse the crowd and defuse the poor optics for the ruling establishment. 

Why is reporting on Wangchuk vital?

It is evident that the government is in no mood to release Wangchuk. In a previously published piece, it was mentioned that with Union home minister Amit Shah having ruled out his release — passing the buck to the judiciary to determine if he is a threat to national security — the prospect of a positive outcome appears dim.

In such a situation, if the press fails to deliver its duty of taking stock of Wangchuk’s status, chances are that it’s going to be a long trial for him — provided it begins within any reasonable time frame. Remember, Umar Khalid’s trial is yet to begin despite five years of detention under the similarly draconian UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act).

In a joint statement released on the fifth anniversary of Khalid’s detention, Amnesty International and six other human rights organisations criticised his “continued unjust detention without trial”. 

“...Starved of justice, Khalid’s prolonged persecution exemplifies the derailment of justice in India as it makes a mockery of international human rights principles. The repeated bail denials combined with persistent delays, and the continued absence of trial proceedings, amount to a violation of Khalid’s right to a fair and speedy trial, guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which India is a state party, as well as under the Constitution of India,” the joint statement mentioned on 12 September. 

If Khalid can be booked for charges endangering national security and remain detained for five years without trial, the question of whether Wangchuk is the new Khalid becomes a very pertinent one.