Sonam Wangchuk
Indian engineer and environmentalist (born 1966)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sonam Wangchuk (born 1 September 1966) is an Indian engineer, educator, and environmental activist. He is the founding director of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), which was founded in 1988 by a group of students who struggled with the public education system. He also designed the eco-friendly SECMOL campus, which is powered by solar energy.
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Sonam Wangchuk | |
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Wangchuk in 2017 | |
| Born | 1 September 1966 |
| Education | NIT Srinagar (B.Tech.) CRAterre |
| Occupations |
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| Organization | Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh |
| Known for | Ice Stupa, SECMOL |
| Spouses |
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| Awards | List
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Born in Ladakh in 1966, he was initially taught at home before taking up formal school education. He completed B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology Srinagar in 1987 and later obtained a diploma in earthen architecture from CRAterre in 2011.
Wangchuk, along with his brother and a few friends, founded SECMOL in 1988. In 1994, SECMOL launched "Operation New Hope" in collaboration with the education department of the state government to bring reforms in the government school system. Wangchuk had served in various governmental advisory roles pertaining to education. In 2013, he developed the new "Ice Stupa technique" to build artificial glaciers, which are used for storing winter water in a cone-shaped ice heap. Along with Gitanjali J Angmo, he later co-founded the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh.
During the Ladakh protests in 2021, Wangchuk attempted to go on a hunger strike demanding increased autonomy and statehood for Ladakh. He went on a hunger strike in March 2024 and on a march to Delhi in October 2024 advocating for the same cause. He was arrested in September 2025 under the National Security Act after being accused of inciting riots, and was later released in March 2026. Wangchuk began a hunger strike on 28 June in support of the Jantar Mantar protests demanding accountability over the NEET 2026 Paper leak.
Wangchuk has received several awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (2018), Global Award for Sustainable Architecture (2017), and Fred M. Packard Award (2016).
Early life and education
Sonam Wangchuk was born in 1966 in Uleytokpo in Leh district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (now in the Indian union territory of Ladakh) to Sonam Wangyal and Tsering Wangmo.[1][2] He was home schooled by his mother until the age of nine.[1] His father was a member of the political party, Indian National Congress.[3][4]
Wangchuk's family moved to Srinagar in 1975, after his father became a minister in the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.[1][5] He was enrolled at a school in Srinagar, and he could not understand the various languages taught there due to the lack of formal education until then.[6] He later recalled this period as the darkest part of his life as he was misunderstood as being unintelligent.[7] Unable to bear this, in 1977, at the age of 12, he escaped alone to Delhi, where he personally pleaded his case for admission to the principal of a Kendriya Vidyalaya.[6]
Wangchuk completed his B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from National Institute of Technology Srinagar (then Regional Engineering College) in 1987.[8] He later studied earthen architecture at CRAterre in Grenoble, France, in 2011.[9]
Career
In 1988, after his graduation, Wangchuk (with his brother and five peers) started Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL). After experimenting with school reforms in government high school at Suspol, SECMOL launched Operation New Hope in collaboration with the government education department and the village population.[10][11][12][13]
From June 1993 until August 2005, Wangchuk also founded and worked as the editor of Ladakh's only print magazine Ladags Melong[14][12] In 2001, he was appointed to be an advisor for the education in the Hill Council Government.[15] In 2002, together with other NGO heads, he founded Ladakh Voluntary Network (LVN), a network of Ladakhi NGOs, and served in its executive committee as the secretary till 2005. He was appointed to the Drafting Committee of the Ladakh Hill Council Government's Vision Document Ladakh 2025 and entrusted with the formulation of the policy on Education and Tourism in 2004.[16] The document was formally launched by Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India in 2005. In 2005, Wangchuk was appointed as a member in the National Governing Council for Elementary Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.[16]
From 2007 to 2010, he worked as an education advisor for MS, a Danish NGO working to support the Ministry of Education for education reforms.[17]
In late 2013, Wangchuk invented and built a prototype of the Ice Stupa which is an artificial glacier that stores the wasting stream waters during the winters in the form of giant ice cones or stupas, and releases the water during late spring as they start melting, which is the perfect time when the farmers need water.[18][19] He was appointed to the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education in 2013. In 2014, he was appointed to the Expert panel for framing the J&K State Education Policy and Vision Document. Since 2015, Wangchuk has started working on establishing Himalayan Institute of Alternatives. He is concerned about how most of the Universities, especially those in the mountains have become irrelevant to realities of life.[20]
In 2016, Wangchuk initiated a project called FarmStays Ladakh, which provides tourists to stay with local families of Ladakh, run by mothers and middle-aged women. The project was officially inaugurated by Chetsang Rinpoche on 18 June 2016.[21]
Innovation
Wangchuk has been helping in designing and overseeing the construction of several passive solar mud buildings in mountain regions like Ladakh, Sikkim and Nepal so that energy savings principles are implemented on a larger scale. Even in cold winters with temperatures dropping to −30 °C (−22 °F), his solar-powered school, built with the rammed earth, keeps the students warm.[22][23][24]
Led by Wangchuk, SECMOL has won the International Terra Award for the best building in July 2016 at the 12th World Congress on Earthen Architecture in Lyon, France.[25] The rammed earth 'Big Building', located at SECMOL. The campus was built using simple, low-cost traditional techniques on principles of passive solar architecture.[22] The building comprises a big solar-heated teaching hall, along with several rooms for the students and other classrooms.[2]
Passive solar buildings such as those promoted by Wangchuk employ orientation, thermal mass, insulation and solar gain to reduce conventional heating requirements in cold climates, principles that are widely recognised in sustainable building design.[26]
Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL)
Wangchuk founded the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL)[27][28][29][30] with Gitanjali J Angmo[31][32] after his significant experience with the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), which he established in 1988. His motivation for starting HIAL stems from a desire to address the educational and developmental challenges specific to Ladakh's unique geographical and cultural context.[33][34][35]
Wangchuk's establishment of HIAL is a continuation of his commitment to educational reform in Ladakh, building on the foundations laid by SECMOL. His vision is not only to provide higher education but also to create a sustainable future for the region by equipping youth with the skills necessary to thrive in their unique environment.[36][37][38]
Ice Stupa
In January 2014, Wangchuk started a project called the Ice Stupa. His aim was to find a solution to the water crisis being faced by the farmers of Ladakh in the critical planting months of April and May before the natural glacial melt waters start flowing. By the end of February in 2014, they had successfully built a two-storey prototype of an ice stupa which could store roughly 150,000 litres (33,000 imp gal; 40,000 US gal) of winter stream water which nobody wanted at the time.[39][40][41][42]
In 2015, when Ladakh faced a crisis due to a landslide which blocked the Phugtal river in Zanskar and caused the formation of 15 km-long (9.3 mi) lake, which became a huge threat for the downstream population, Wangchuk proposed to use a siphon technique to drain the lake and water jet erosion to safely cut the edges instead of blasting the lake as was being planned. However, his advice was ignored and blasting work was carried on. On 7 May 2015, the lake finally burst into a flash flood which destroyed 12 bridges and many fields.[43][44][45]
In 2016, Wangchuk started applying the Ice Stupa technique for disaster mitigation at high altitude glacier lakes. He was invited by the Government of Sikkim to apply siphon technique for another dangerous lake in the state. In September 2016, he led a three-week expedition to the South Lhonak Lake in North-West Sikkim, which had been declared dangerous for the last few years.[46] His team camped for two weeks at the lake, amidst rain and snow, installing the first phase of a siphoning system to drain the lake to a safer level until other measures were taken up.[47][48]
In late 2016, the idea started gaining traction from the authorities in the Swiss Alps. Wangchuk was invited by the president of Pontresina, a municipality in the Engadine valley, Switzerland to build Ice Stupas to add to their winter tourism attractions.[49] In October 2016, Wangchuk and his team went to the Swiss Alps and started building the first Ice Stupa of Europe, together with their Swiss partners.[50][51][52]
In February 2018, a group of young, local sculptors and artists from Ladakh built a 10-foot-high (3.0 m) ice stupa. It was made entirely of ice and it took them 25 days to complete. As the stupa was housed inside another giant ice tower (ice stupa artificial glacier), it was made at a very low temperature of around −12 °C (10 °F).[53]
Mobile solar-powered tents
In February 2021, Wangchuk developed solar-powered tents for the Indian army. Each tent can accommodate around 10 soldiers. According to Wangchuk, he came up with this innovation when he learned that around 50,000 Indian soldiers were working in harsh weather conditions in high-altitude areas.[54][55] This invention traps the heat energy during the daytime and utilizes this energy to keep the tent warm during night.[56]
Politics
In 2013, on repeated requests from students community of Ladakh, Wangchuk helped launch the New Ladakh Movement (NLM), a social campaign and Ladakh's version of Green Party with the aim of working for sustainable education, environment and economy.[57][58]
It also aimed at uniting all local political leaders under one banner for the growth and development of Ladakh. Eventually, the members decided to make it into a non-political social movement.[59]
Boycott of Chinese products
In June 2020, in response to the India-China border skirmishes at Galwan, Wangchuk appealed to Indians to use their "wallet power" and boycott Chinese products.[60][61] The appeal received widespread media coverage and garnered support from several prominent celebrities.[61][62]
Ladakh autonomy protests
On 26 January 2023, to highlight the effects of climate change on the fragile ecosystem of Ladakh and to demand its protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, Wangchuk attempted to go on a fast at the Khardungla pass. However, the authorities allegedly prevented him from going to Khardungla by putting him under house arrest, restricting his movement, as well as restricting people from visiting him. The Ladakh police denied the charges, stating that he had not been given permission to enter Khardung La pass, citing temperatures being unsuitable for the fast, at less than -40°C.[63]
In March 2024, he started a fast-unto-death to press for his demand for constitutional safeguards for the Union Territory and protection of Ladakh from industrial and mining lobbies.[64] Additionally, he began a 21-day Climate Fast hunger strike for giving statehood to Union Territory Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule.[65][66] On 30 September 2024, during his walk by foot from Ladakh to Delhi for their demands, Wangchuk and his supporters were detained by Delhi Police at the Singhu border and were released on 2 October 2024.[67]
Remarks on Ladakh and border security
In March 2024, during the Ladakh statehood protests it was alleged that he had expressed support for China. Fact checkers and Wangchuk stated that the viral clip omitted the context over the government's treatment of Ladakh. Wangchuk said his remarks were intended as a warning about the consequences of alienating border communities, and denied making any statement in support of China. Wangchuk stated in a viral clip "When China invades, the Ladakhis stop them with their lives. But if the Indian government doesn't do anything for us, then the next time they arrive, we will not stop them; we will show them the way. Why should we give up our lives when there is no protection for us?"[68][69][70]
Arrest
On 24 September 2025, a protest in Leh led to the BJP office being torched and the premises of the Ladakh Hill Council being vandalised. The protest culminated in a police crackdown, during which officers opened fire on the protestors, killing four civilians and injuring dozens more. A curfew was imposed in the city alongside mass arrests being conducted.[71] The ministry of home affairs blamed Wangchuk for inciting the protests.[72][73] Wangchuk denied the allegations and said that the protests were a reflection of people's frustrations with the government;[74] Wangchuk had earlier appealed for peace when the violence had first broken out.[75] Two days later, Wangchuk was detained by hundreds of policemen, led by Ladakh's director general of police (DGP), under the provisions of the National Security Act (NSA).[72]
Internet services were subsequently suspended in Leh, while the curfew and mass arrests continued.[72] Despite no formal detention order being given to Wangchuk's family, authorities moved him to the Jodhpur Central Jail.[76][77] The Home Ministry falsely[75] accused SECMOL of accepting dubious foreign funds, before revoking its FCRA licence. Similarly, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opened an inquiry on HIAL, and several Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were deployed against it.[77] The Ladakh DGP accused Wangchuk of having "Pakistani links" because he had attended a Himalayan Climate Convention with his wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, in Pakistan in February 2025, organised by the United Nations and Dawn Media[77], which has been involved in publishing anti-India articles and has been banned by the Government of India.[78][79] Angmo was given no information about Wangchuk's health or condition, and authorities refused to allow her to speak with him.[80] Thereafter, on 2 October, Angmo moved to file a Habeas corpus petition before the Supreme Court, challenging Wangchuk's arrest.[81] On 24 November, the Supreme Court adjourned Angmo's plea to 8 December.[82] The case was later adjourned further to 29 January 2026.[83] Wangchuk was released on 14 March 2026 after the ministry of home affairs revoked his detention under the NSA.[84]
Cockroach Janta Party protest
Since the formation of the Cockroach Janta Party in May 2026 following controversial remarks made by the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, who used the terms "parasites" and "cockroaches" while reprimanding a lawyer over a plea seeking Senior Advocate designation, Wangchuk has stepped forward in support of CJP movement describing himself as an "honorary cockroach".[85]
Wangchuk has been a prominent figure at the CJP-organised protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over the NEET 2026 Paper leak and CBSE On-Screen Marking irregularity. Since 28 June, Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike along with six students from All India Students' Association (AISA).[86] Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah compared his hunger strike with the Anna Hazare Jan Lokpal movement and demanded the central government to start talks with Wangchuk.[87] On 18 July, Wangchuk was forcibly removed from the protest site by police and taken to Safdarjung Hospital.[88]
Personal life
Wangchuk met his first wife - Rebecca Norman (an American educator) after she came as a volunteer to SECMOL in 1992. They were married from 1996 until 2024.[89][90] Wangchuk is currently married to Gitanjali J Angmo, his co-founder at Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL).[91]
Awards and honours
| Year | Award/honour | Entity/organization | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Ramon Magsaysay Award | Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation | [92] |
| 2018 | Honorary D.Litt | Symbiosis International University | [93] |
| 2018 | Eminent Technologist of the Himalayan Region | IIT Mandi | [94] |
| 2017 | Honor Award | Indians for Collective Action, San Francisco | [2] |
| 2017 | Men of the Year Award, Social Entrepreneur of the Year | GQ | [95] |
| 2017 | Global Award for Sustainable Architecture | UNESCO | [96] |
| 2017 | State Award for outstanding environmentalist | Government of Jammu and Kashmir | [97] |
| 2016 | Rolex Awards for Enterprise | Rolex | [98][99] |
| 2016 | Fred M. Packard Award | International Union for Conservation of Nature | [100] |
| 2008 | Real Heroes Award | CNN-IBN | [101] |
| 2004 | Green Teacher Award | Sanctuary Asia | [102] |
| 2002 | Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship | Ashoka | [12][103] |
| 2001 | Man of the Year | The Week | [104] |
| 1996 | Governor's Medal for educational reform | Government of India | [102] |
See also
- 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement – Series of demonstrations and protests across India
- Anna Hazare – Indian activist (born 1937)
- Rajiv Goswami – Indian activist (1971–2004)
- Mandal Commission protests of 1990 – Protest against reservation in India
