Prakash Raj ’celebrates’ birthday with hunger strike in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk | Watch

Sonam Wangchuk fasting: As the hunger strike by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk enters Day 21, the education reformer is gathering support from people of various fields. Actor Prakash Raj on Tuesday celebrated his birthday in Ladakh in solidarity with the hunger strike of Sonam Wangchuk, who is fasting to protect the fragile Himalayan ecology. 

“Its my birthday today .. and i’m celebrating by showing solidarity with @Wangchuk66 and the people of ladakh who are fighting for us .. our country .. our environment and our future. let’s stand by them,” Prakash Raj said in a post on X.

Wangchuk ended his 21-day hunger strike on Tuesday. He has been surviving on just water and salt for the last 21 days.

In a social media post, Wangchuk retreated from his demands and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to display some character and save Ladakh's unique indigenous tribal cultures.

“We are trying to remind and awaken the consciousness of our Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and Home Minister Mr Amit Shah to safeguard the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayan mountains in Ladakh and the unique indigenous tribal cultures that thrive here. We do not want to think of PM Modi and Amit Shah ji as just politicians, we would rather like to think of them as statesmen, but for that, they will have to show some character and farsightedness,” Sonam Wangchuk said in a video posted on X.

Also read: Sonam Wangchuk ends 21-day hunger strike in Ladakh: Who is he and why was he protesting?

Sonam Wangchuk's demands

After the abrogation of Article 370, Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The local population has protested against losing the special status granted by Article 370 and statehood for the region. Apex Body of Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance are two major bodies leading the protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the sixth schedule of the Constitution to protect the distinct identity of tribals.

Arguing for the sixth schedule for Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk has claimed that without Constitutional protections, there is a threat to the fragile ecology of the Himalayan region, which exacerbates the climate crisis. The activist started his hunger strike on March 6 demanding fulfillment of these demands.