Sonam Wangchuk, the Ladakhi engineer and environmentalist whose innovative work inspired a character in the Bollywood film 3 Idiots, has found himself at the centre of controversy following his arrest last week. Detained under India’s National Security Act (NSA) for instigating riots during protests demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, Wangchuk’s case has raised questions about his motives and affiliations.

The Union government views him with suspicion, citing irregularities in foreign funding to his organisation, possible links to Pakistan and a pattern of activism that echoes broader anti-establishment movements. Exploring Wangchuk’s background, the reasons behind the government’s concerns and parallels with similar figures in India’s political landscape become evident.

Born in 1966 in a remote village in Ladakh, Wangchuk’s early life was marked by a lack of formal schooling until his late teens. He pursued a degree in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar, graduating in 1987. Self-funding his education, Wangchuk returned to Ladakh to address the region’s educational challenges. In 1988, he founded the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), an organisation aimed at reforming education for underprivileged youth and promoting sustainable development.

Wangchuk’s innovations, such as the “Ice Stupa" technique for water conservation in arid Ladakh, earned him the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018. This is an award that appears to be based on referrals: One bohemian receives it and refers the awarding authority to another nonconformist, who also receives it. Eventually, a chain is formed, and all such awardees come together to launch a rebellion!

His work extended to environmental activism, where he expressed concerns for Ladakh’s fragile ecosystem amid the challenges of climate change and development pressures.

His involvement in recent protests has altered the public perception of him.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled SECMOL’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence, citing repeated violations, including misreporting and misusing foreign funds. A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe unearthed that the organisation received overseas donations for sensitive activities, such as studies on national sovereignty, which officials argue contravene FCRA guidelines.

Further fuelling doubts are his links to Pakistan. Wangchuk attended a UN climate conference in Islamabad in February, and records show connections to a Pakistani intelligence operative arrested recently.

Wangchuk’s marriage to a US national in the 1990s coincided with an increase in foreign grants to SECMOL, including those from American foundations.

If one wondered how the Ladakh unrest mirrored Nepal’s so-called Gen Z uprising, that is precisely the kind of education Wangchuk provides to students who fail to graduate from mainstream schools by clearing secondary or higher secondary-level examinations. In the guise of offering these failures with an alternative form and format of education, he brainwashes them with lectures on flaws in the Indian governing system, thereby gradually creating a large force of youth disenchanted with the Indian state.

Some visitors to the organisation allege that it fosters secessionist sentiments, portraying India as an “occupier" in Ladakh.

Wangchuk’s profile bears striking similarities to that of other Indian activists who have received support from American foundations, such as Ford and Rockefeller, which are known for funding initiatives that challenge the establishment. These organisations have a history of funding initiatives in India dating back to the 1950s — Indians began getting sensitised to the creepy antecedents of these........

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