Bengaluru: On October 2, citizens and rights organisations across the country took to peaceful gatherings and marches to demand the immediate release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.Wangchuk, who has been spearheading the demands of Ladakh’s citizens for statehood and implementation of the Sixth Schedule to protect the region’s fragile ecology and environment, was arrested under the National Security Act on September 26. He is currently detained in Jodhpur prison in Rajasthan.October 2 is celebrated across India as Gandhi Jayanti to honor the birth anniversary of M.K. Gandhi, also known as the Father of the Nation. Wangchuk has repeatedly said, at numerous platforms, that he is a Gandhian at heart and follows in the footsteps of Gandhi’s non-violent peaceful protests.On October 2 last year, Wangchuk and around 100 other Ladakhis had walked from Leh to Delhi but were prevented from entering the national capital. Only after several hours of detention was the group permitted to reach Rajghat, a memorial complex dedicated to Gandhi.The demands that Wangchuk and others submitted then to officials including Union home minister Amit Shah – including Ladakhis’ demands for statehood and implementation of the Sixth Schedule – have still not been recognised.Protests across IndiaOn October 2 this year, citizens under the banner of the People for Aravallis gathered in support of Wangchuk at Gurugram. “Juley Ladakh, we are with you,” one of their posters read.Meenu Ghai, who participated in the protest, said that the lives of Ladakhis are filled with hardships, having seen that when she visited the Himalayan Institute for Alternatives – set up by Wangchuk and Gitanjali Angmo, his wife – last year to participate in a workshop on the importance of simple living.“The Ladakhis are right to demand their rights,” she said. “It is important for their environment, and the local economy in the Changthang that depends on extensive pasturelands for the survival of sheep that provide pashmina wool.”The Union government has plans to divert around 250 square kilometres of these crucial pasturelands in Pang in the Changthang, for a 13-gigawatt integrated renewable energy project.Demonstrators under the banner of the People for Aravallis in Gurugram. Photo by arrangement.“We want justice, we want Sixth Schedule,” shouted citizens in Bengaluru. “We are begging for favours, we are demanding our rights,” they said.Citizens in Bengaluru. Photo by arrangement. Citizens in Bengaluru. Photo by arrangement.Citizens gathered at the Kamaraj Memorial in Chennai and the Ambedkar Statue in Hyderabad in support of Wangchuk and Ladakh’s demands for statehood and the implementation of the Sixth Schedule.Citizens at the Kamaraj Memorial in Chennai. Photo by arrangement. Citizens in support of Wangchuk and the agitation in Ladakh in Hyderabad. Photo by arrangement.In Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, a group of citizens held a candlelight vigil and took to a peaceful march in the streets, raising slogans.Citizens in Itanagar. Photo by arrangement.Citizens under the Save Lahoul-Spiti Society raised slogans of “Release Sonam Wangchuk” at the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh. They said that Wangchuk should not have been detained, and that the Ladakhis’ protest at Leh on September 24 was a peaceful one.Wangchuk should be immediately released, as should the others detained at the same time, they added.Nearly 40 members of the Save Lahoul-Spiti Society gathered at the Rohtang Pass on October 2 to voice their dissent against Wangchuk’s detention. Photo by arrangement.Citizens gathered in Nainital on October 2 to honor Uttarakhand’s statehood activists and also in solidarity with Ladakh.On the same day in 1994, Uttarakhand statehood activists who were on their way to Delhi via Muzaffarnagar for a peaceful protest demanding statehood (Uttarakhand was then part of Uttar Pradesh) witnessed “state-sponsored brutality”, and several activists “were gunned down and women were raped”, said researcher and journalist Kavita Upadhayay.“Three decades later, we see the same script playing out in Ladakh. Innocents have been killed … Ladakh, we understand your pain, and we are with you,” Upadhyay said in a social media post.Citizens gathered in Nainital to honour its statehood activists of 1994, and also in solidarity with Ladakh. Photo by arrangement. Supporters of Wangchuk at the Maharaja Hari Singh Ji Park at Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir. Photo by arrangement.Citizens also gathered at locations in Mumbai, Bhopal and Dehradun to demand Wangchuk’s release.Citizens in Bhopal. Photo by arrangement. Citizens in Dehradun. Photo by arrangement. Citizens in Mumbai. Photo by arrangement.‘Twitter storm’Supporters of Wangchuk and Ladakh’s demands also took part in a ‘Twitter storm’ on the night of October 2.“Today it is Sonam Wangchuk. Tomorrow, it can be you or anyone, who demands their rights,” one post on X said.Numerous posts also highlighted how peaceful protestors had met with violence in the form of bullets on September 24 at Leh. “Human rights are universal,” one post said.Peaceful protestors in Ladakh face violence instead of dialogue. Human rights are universal. #JusticeForLadakh #ReleaseSonamWangchuck @PMOIndia @UNHumanRights @hrw @amnesty #SonamWangchuk #Saveladakh pic.twitter.com/r3PbFcKL2n— NILIMA (@NILIJOSEPH) October 2, 2025Actor Dia Mirza, who is also a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador, announced her solidarity with Wangchuk as well.“I stand in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk and the people of Ladakh, who embody the Gandhian spirit of peaceful resistance in their call for climate justice and the protection of fragile ecosystems,” Mirza said in a social media post. “Their courage reminds us that non-violence is not passive, it is active, it is courageous, and it is essential. Let us choose compassion, for people, for the planet, for all life.”