When Sonam Wangchuk shot to fame as the inspiration behind Aamir Khan’s “Phunsuk Wangdu" in 3 Idiots, he was hailed as a visionary innovator and educator. Over the years, he carefully cultivated an image of a selfless reformer and an eco-warrior fighting for Ladakh’s fragile environment. But over the years, mounting evidence, official documents, and eyewitness accounts now reveal this mask of activism conceals a far more troubling reality.

From land-grab allegations in Phyang, financial defaults on government land, and issuing unrecognised degrees at his Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), to environmental damage from his Ice Stupa project, Wangchuk’s track record paints a picture not of a saviour but of a manipulator. And now, with his recent visit to Pakistan and immediate return to protests in India, the foreign hand behind his activism is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

The Land Scam Behind the Mask

At the heart of the controversy is HIAL, Wangchuk’s so-called “Alternate University." In 2018, his institute was allotted nearly 1,200 kanals (approximately 54 hectares) of prime government land in Phyang village, conditional on completing construction within two years and paying a premium of Rs 14 crore. Neither condition was met.

Instead, HIAL repeatedly petitioned for a waiver of the premium, a demand rejected by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC). By 2023, with unpaid dues and arrears, the liability ballooned to nearly Rs 30 crore, leading to official notices and eventual cancellation of the allotment.

In 2020, the villagers betrayed by Wangchuk’s broken promises, wrote to the LAHDC demanding cancellation. Their letter accused him of “playing negatively with the sentiments of innocent........

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