Interviews do not have to be confrontational to be newsworthy

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was released from detention on March 14, 2026 after being imprisoned in Jodhpur, Rajasthan for 170 days. The news, which was announced through a press release by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), surprised many. However, readers of The Hindu may have seen it coming.

A week before the release, Mr. Wangchuk’s wife and co-founder of the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning, Gitanjali J. Angmo, was approached by this newspaper for an interview.

As someone who has been covering the Ladakh issue since 2020, when civil society groups in the newly created Union Territory (UT) started campaigning for constitutional safeguards, there has always been a deep curiosity and shock about the events that unfolded in Leh city on September 24, 2025. The protest to demand Statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution — which would give the region tribal status, and provide more autonomy to the locals in deciding who they can sell their land to — turned violent, leaving four people dead.

Editoial | Nothing at all: On Sonam Wangchuk’s release, Ladakh

Such violence from a place known for its peaceful agitation and silent marches was disturbing. It was therefore important to keep the readers informed by regularly following-up on such events. Two days after the incident, on September 26, 2025, a police team blocked the roads leading to Mr. Wangchuk’s home at his village in Uleytokpo, 70 km from Leh, and later, in his own words, “bundled” and took him to Jodhpur prison, around 1,400 km away.

Ms. Angmo, who was at work was informed by a police official that he was being taken to Rajasthan. For one-week there was no further information from the police, following which, Ms. Angmo filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the Ladakh administration stated that Mr. Wangchuk had been booked under the National Security Act (NSA), a provision where an individual can be put behind bars for a year without trial based on executive orders.

For the past five months, Ms. Angmo has been living out of a suitcase, dividing time between Delhi and Jodhpur, attending court hearings and apprising Mr. Wangchuk of the judicial progress. When she agreed for the interview, the idea was to bring forth her struggle and inform readers about her journey navigating the legal labyrinth in Delhi and the emotional toll it takes to face the system.

On being asked a specific question of whether Mr. Wangchuk will continue to protest if the top court ordered his release, Ms. Angmo said he would rather seek a resolution to their demands through dialogue than pursue the path of agitation. After the story was published, there was consternation among his followers on social media that he was abandoning the movement. On March 12, 2026, a post on his X account said that he has not stepped away from activism but it will require “clarity, unity, and sincere dialogue.” On March 17, 2026, in his first remarks after the release, he reiterated that he does not see protests as the way forward and would instead prioritise dialogue. “Talks are a give and take process, both sides have to be flexible and considerate,” he said, adding that unnecessary prolonging of dialogue would hamper meaningful conversation.

The Supreme Court had finalised the hearing and was expected to deliver the verdict soon. Though he was released ahead of the hearing on the petition challenging the NSA order, and two days before the protest called by civil society groups in Leh and Kargil, he insisted that there were no conditions imposed by the Centre upon his release. The Ladakhis on the other hand went ahead with the protest on March 16, 2026 to press for their demands.

The readers and his followers may derive their own conclusions about Mr. Wangchuk’s politics and his plans ahead, but the episode showed the importance of timely interviews. Interviews do not have to be confrontational to be newsworthy.