The continued detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk is uncalled for and unwarranted.
While the court continues to hear pleas filed by his wife, Wangchuk remains in jail under the National Security Act (NSA), under which anyone deemed to be acting against the state can be placed under preventive detention. Arrested on 26 September, two days after violent protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh – which left four people dead and 90 injured in the union territory – it is likely that he will remain in jail for an unforeseeable period.
The government accuses him of inciting the violence of 24 September, an allegation that has been vociferously denied by his wife, who is seeking his release.
The state’s unwillingness to listen to voices of opposition and its targeting of anyone it deems uncomfortable to deal with has become a norm under the BJP government. Quelling opposition voices with jail terms is not democracy. Such unchecked and blatant displays of power are dangerous.