For millions, Sonam Wangchuk embodies innovation and conscience — a man who made glaciers grow. Yet this year, while TIME called him a world climate leader, Indian authorities labelled him a threat to national security. Detained over 1,000 kilometres from his home, his case underscores the contradictions in India’s treatment of its most visionary voices.
By PC Bureau
November 1, 2025: When TIME Magazine released its annual list of The 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025, one name stood out instantly to Indian readers — Sonam Wangchuk. The visionary engineer-turned-activist from Ladakh was honoured for his decades-long work in sustainable innovation, glacier preservation, and advocacy for Himalayan communities facing climate change.
Yet, as the global spotlight shone on his achievements, Wangchuk himself could not see the light of it — he remains behind bars in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur Central Jail, detained under India’s stringent National Security Act (NSA).
The contrast could not be more bitterly symbolic: the world celebrates Wangchuk as a defender of the planet, while his own country treats him as a threat to its security.
A Global Honour Amid Personal Captivity
TIME’s “100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025” list — which includes names like California Governor Gavin Newsom, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, climate entrepreneur Varun Sivaram, and grassroots Kenyan activist Elizabeth Wathuti — recognises figures shaping humanity’s response to the climate crisis.
In that constellation, Wangchuk’s name appears under the category of Defenders — individuals whose work directly protects fragile ecosystems and vulnerable communities. TIME praised him for his “innovative responses to Himalayan warming and his efforts to align ecological survival with community rights.”
But when the issue hit newsstands, Wangchuk was not at home to receive the honour. He was being held over 1,000 kilometres away, in a high-security cell in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
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While his own Government is busy proclaiming @Wangchuk66 an anti-national and a threat to national security under the NSA, the #TimeMagazine is celebrating him as “the world’s most influential leaders driving business to real climate action” in its 2025 #TIME100Climate list!…
— Gitanjali J Angmo (@GitanjaliAngmo) October 31, 2025
The Arrest That Shocked Ladakh
Wangchuk was detained on September 26, 2025, after weeks of protests in Leh demanding Sixth Schedule constitutional protections for Ladakh’s environment and indigenous people. The demonstrations turned violent, resulting in four deaths and dozens of injuries. Authorities alleged that Wangchuk’s public addresses and social-media appeals had “instigated unrest” and accused him of maintaining “foreign links prejudicial to national security.”
Under the National Security Act (1980), he can be held for up to a year without formal charges or trial. Soon after his arrest, he was flown to Jodhpur — far from his home state — a move that his family and supporters describe as “punitive isolation.”
“Sonam Wangchuk is not a terrorist that even meeting him should be denied,” said Amra Ram Chaudhary , former Member of Parliament from Rajasthan, after being turned away from Jodhpur Central Jail.
“It is tragic that a man India should be proud of has been reduced to a prisoner of conscience.”
The Wife’s Plea, The Nation’s Irony
Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali Angmo, has petitioned the Supreme Court, calling the detention “politically motivated and based on false propaganda.” In interviews, she has said, “He was punished not for crime but for conscience — for speaking up for Ladakh’s fragile ecology.”
In Ladakh, his detention has triggered quiet outrage. Monks, students, and villagers continue to stage sit-ins calling for his release. In Dehradun and Shimla, environmental groups have organised solidarity marches. Hashtags like #FreeSonamWangchuk and #JusticeForLadakh trend periodically on X (formerly Twitter).
All this unfolds even as the world — through TIME’s pages — hails him as a visionary climate leader.
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A Legacy of Innovation
Long before his activism, Wangchuk’s fame rested on creativity and compassion. The founder of SECMOL (Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh), he re-imagined education for children in the high Himalayas. His “ice stupas” — artificial glaciers that store winter meltwater for spring irrigation — won him the Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2016.
He was the inspiration behind Aamir Khan’s character Phunsukh Wangdu in 3 Idiots, a cinematic homage to innovation in adversity.
Over the last decade, he turned from innovator to environmental crusader, leading fasting protests and marches to highlight Ladakh’s fragile ecosystem and the loss of traditional grazing lands due to military expansion and over-tourism. His 2023 hunger strike on the frozen Indus drew global attention and warnings of “the next melting point of Asia.”
TIME’s Global Climate Vanguard
This year’s TIME 100 Climate list celebrates diverse figures:
- Governor Gavin Newsom for leading California’s transition to zero-emission vehicles.
- King Charles III, noted for decades of environmental advocacy.
- Charlot Magayi, Kenyan entrepreneur developing clean-burning stoves for low-income homes.
- Nan Ransohoff of Stripe, pioneering carbon-removal financing.
- Lukas Walton, heir-philanthropist investing in sustainable agriculture.
Together, they form a mosaic of political, corporate, and grassroots leadership tackling climate breakdown. Amid these titans and innovators, Wangchuk’s presence injects the voice of the Himalayas — a fragile region often ignored in global policy conversations.
It is also one of the few times an Indian activist from a border region has been featured in a major international list without state endorsement — a detail that adds layers to his current predicament.
Two Faces of Recognition
Wangchuk’s dual reality — honoured by the world, condemned at home — exposes deeper contradictions within India’s climate politics.
At one level, India positions itself as a global climate leader, pushing renewable energy and championing “Mission LiFE” (Lifestyle for Environment). At another, it curbs regional movements that demand environmental justice or political autonomy, particularly in sensitive frontier areas like Ladakh.
The irony is sharp: the man embodying India’s grassroots climate ingenuity is in prison under laws meant for spies and saboteurs.
The Global Echo
International environmental circles have begun taking note. Several climate leaders from the TIME list have privately expressed concern. Human-rights groups, including Amnesty International and 350.org, have sought updates on his condition.
Western media outlets, from The Guardian to Le Monde, have highlighted what one headline called “The Prisoner of the Ice Stupas.”
Indian diaspora groups in London and New York have organised vigils outside Indian embassies, demanding transparency in the charges against him. Even Silicon Valley entrepreneurs — some inspired by his educational reforms — have circulated open letters seeking his release.
Inside the Jail Walls
Sources familiar with Wangchuk’s situation describe him as maintaining a calm, meditative routine in prison. He reportedly spends time writing notes on sustainable water design and teaching basic English to fellow inmates.
A recent message smuggled through visitors quoted him saying:
“If my imprisonment brings justice to the mountains, I will stay in prison till that justice comes.”
The line went viral, resonating with both admirers and critics — a reminder of the moral paradox his detention represents.
Beyond the Individual
Wangchuk’s case is more than a personal tragedy; it is emblematic of the tension between environmental activism and state control. His supporters argue that Ladakh’s demand for Sixth Schedule status — to protect land and ecology from unchecked industrialisation — directly challenges centralised power and corporate interests.
His critics within the administration claim his movement had been “hijacked by separatist elements.” But no public evidence has substantiated that claim.
What remains undeniable is this: the global community now sees in Wangchuk both a symbol of resilience and a measure of India’s democratic maturity.
A Tale of Two Realities
In one reality, TIME Magazine places Sonam Wangchuk among the planet’s most influential climate leaders, celebrating his innovations that make glaciers grow and communities thrive.
In the other, India’s legal system keeps him confined in a desert prison, cut off from the very mountains he sought to save.
Between these two worlds lies the irony of modern India — a nation capable of producing visionaries like Wangchuk, yet increasingly intolerant of their voices when they speak inconvenient truths.
