SHILLONG, Jan 31: Magsaysay Award winner from Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk is in town to meet with opinion makers and politicians especially the members of District Councils to better understand the working of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution which the people of Ladakh hope will be a protective mechanism for them after the revocation of Article 370 and 35A in August 2019. An engineer by training Sonam then became an innovator and educational reformist who inspired the movie 3 Idiots.
Last year Sonam sent a team of journalists and activists to Shillong to meet up with some Members of the District Council (MDCs) to find out whether the Sixth Schedule is a strong enough mechanism to protect the fragile environment and the people of Ladakh from being exploited by business sharks those with an eye on its mineral resources.
Speaking to this correspondent Sonam said, “Ladakh has a population of only three lakhs and much of our land in uncultivable. Our strength is tourism but that is for a very short season. Ladakh is the bulwark against China and our people are deeply patriotic. They help soldiers cart their weapons through snow covered mountains. However, after the revocation of Article 370 and repeal of Article 35A which had allowed the state to define permanents residents of the state and certain special rights and privileges attached to such residency we feel the need to have some protective mechanisms in place such as are granted to tribal minorities of the Northeastern states.”
Stating that Ladakh has a population of three lakhs of which 96% are indigenous Ladakhis, Sonam said, “We want to protect our land and natural resources from over-exploitation. Ladakh has gold, copper and semi-precious stones. It also has granite and uranium. With Article 370 and 35A gone, Ladakh will be open to those with an eye on its natural resources. Before such events overcome us we need to have strong mechanisms in place to protect our fragile ecology. After all we Ladakhis are virtually the guardians of this northern frontier adjoining China.”
Sonam has also met Promod Boro the new chief of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) who was recently elected and leads the United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL), to engage with him on how the Sixth Schedule is empowering the people of Bodoland and what are the drawbacks of the Schedule that need to be strengthened or revisited.
During his visit to Shillong, Soman also met Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to discuss with him the role and function of the district councils in Meghalaya and whether they are able to provide the safeguards for the tribal people of Meghalaya and how.
Sonam Wangchuk is director of the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) founded in 1988 by a group of students who had been in his own words, the ‘victims’ of an alien education system foisted on Ladakh. Many people visit the SECMOL campus and are inspired by it. Sonam designed the campus to runs on solar energy and uses no fossil fuels for cooking, lighting or heating.
In 1994 Sonam launched Operation New Hope a collaboration of government, village communities and civil society to bring reforms in the government school system. He invented the Ice Stupa technique that creates artificial glaciers used for storing winter water in the form of conical shaped ice heap.
Sonam’s endeavour is to educate those who have dropped out of the formal education system which he says is a misfit for the needs of Ladakh. He provides these young people the skills needed and inspires them by example to build a Ladakh that is economically strong and with a model education system in place.