He Has Been Arrested For Political Reasons: Gitanjali Angmo On Husband Sonam Wangchuk's Imprisonment

"Prison is a hard time for anyone and it has been no different for my husband. He has been arrested under the National Security Act (NSA) and lodged at a jail in Jodhpur, Rajasthan and kept in solitary confinement. Sonam has, however, remained positive and has been spending his time reading books, and has told me to get some for him. I had taken a book by Sri Aurobindo to him to read in prison, as he was also wrongfully charged for sedition and imprisoned in Alipore jail for a year. Inside the prison, Sonam advises the staff on parenting issues and tells them to look at the positive traits in their children rather than focusing on their shortcomings.  My husband was arrested on September 26, even as he had made an appeal for peace in Ladakh. We are allowed to meet him twice a week in the prison and that too for only one hour. We can’t speak to him on the phone. There isn't even a bed in his cell.  After he was arrested, I was able to meet Sonam for the first time on October 7 at the Jodhpur jail after obtaining an order from the Supreme Court of India on a Habeas Corpus petition to meet him and get the grounds on which he was detained under the NSA.  Under the NSA, the grounds of detention have to be conveyed to the family members within 10 days, but we have been provided with the grounds about 28 days later, which should have been enough to quash the charges against him. However, it is taking more time as he is a political prisoner.

The charges pressed against him are false, and he has been arrested for political reasons. We have contested the charges against him, which are basically based on the videos that are part of the charges submitted before the court. The videos submitted by the government only hide the truth and have been interpreted out of context. He has not provoked the youth or urged them to follow the youth of Nepal or Bangladesh to turn to violence. In fact, he has denounced violence and from the last video of his speech it is very clear that he had urged people to maintain calm. The NSA board has slapped a prison term of 12 months on him, but we are contesting the charges. On the day violence erupted in Leh, he made an appeal to people to stay calm and also urged the police not to open fire on the protesters. It has been a struggle all along for me. I feared that I could also be arrested and did not go to Leh after my husband’s arrest."

As told to Ishfaq Naseem.

Climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on September 26, 2025 two days after protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh erupted.

This article is part of the Magazine issue titled Thou Shalt Not Dissent dated February 1, 2026, on political prisoners facing long trials and the curbing of their rights under anti-terrorism laws for voicing their dissent.