Vivek Tankha
New Delhi: Congress MP and lawyer Vivek Tankha on Thursday wrote a letter to home minister Amit Shah seeking the release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk who is detained under the stringent National Security Act, arguing that “a misunderstanding should not be stretched to a point where it causes deep hurt to the “soul of an entire region”.Tankha, whose roots are in J&K, told Shah, “He (Wangchuk) breathes India, thinks India, and lives for India.”Wangchuk was detained in Sept 2025 following protests in Ladakh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for the UT.“Nobody in India believes that Wangchuk deserves incarceration under NSA. He is a champion of climate change and melting glaciers,” Tankha said, adding that the detained activist is a widely respected and influential figure in Ladakhi society and across the nation. “The time has come for the govt to review his detention under the NSA,” he said.Stating that Wangchuk represents “honesty, innovation and selfless service”, Tankha said the climate activist is not only deeply revered in Ladakh, but is also respected nationally and internationally.
