Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Indian authorities have detained a prominent climate activist who attended a climate conference in Pakistan, accusing him of using foreign funding to undermine India&rsquo;s energy security, allegations his organization and international partners reject as politically motivated.&nbsp;Harjeet Singh was detained on January 5 after raids on his organization&rsquo;s offices and his home in the Delhi region, according to a press release from India&rsquo;s Enforcement Directorate (ED), the country&rsquo;s top financial crimes agency. The ED alleged Singh channeled overseas funds to promote opposition to fossil fuel projects in India.&nbsp;Singh was initially arrested by the Uttar Pradesh state excise department on charges of possessing liquor beyond legal limits, the ED said. He was later granted bail, according to AFP, citing a statement from his organization, Satat Sampada.&nbsp;Foreign funding claimsThe ED said it searched premises linked to Satat Sampada Private Limited, a company Singh co-founded with his wife, Jyoti Awasthi, alleging it received more than $666,000 in foreign funds between 2021 and 2025. The agency claimed the money was routed as &ldquo;consultancy charges&rdquo; from international climate groups and was &ldquo;actually intended to promote the agenda of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FF-NPT) within India.&rdquo;&nbsp;Adoption of the treaty, which calls for a phase-out of fossil fuel production, &ldquo;could expose India to legal challenges in international forums like the International Court of Justice and severely compromise the nation&rsquo;s energy security and economic development,&rdquo; the ED statement said.&nbsp;The agency further alleged Satat Sampada operated as &ldquo;a front for foreign-influenced activism&rdquo; and that Singh and Awasthi diverted funds for personal use, claims the organization strongly denies.&nbsp;&lsquo;Baseless&rsquo; allegations&ldquo;We categorically state that the allegations being reported are baseless, biased and misleading,&rdquo; Satat Sampada said in a statement issued late Wednesday, adding it had fully cooperated with investigators.&nbsp;The organization said Singh&rsquo;s international travel was routine professional engagement, noting he has attended climate conferences for more than two decades.&nbsp;The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative also pushed back, saying: &ldquo;Our work consists of building mechanisms for just, orderly and equitable energy transitions,&rdquo; and rejecting suggestions of improper political interference.&nbsp;Pakistan visit under scrutinyThe ED said it is investigating Singh&rsquo;s February 2025 visit to Pakistan for the &ldquo;Breathe Pakistan Summit&rdquo; and the people he met there. Singh spoke at Dawn Media&rsquo;s Breathe Pakistan International Climate Change Conference, which brought together nearly 100 regional and international experts to discuss climate finance and cooperation, according to the event&rsquo;s website.&nbsp;The scrutiny of Singh&rsquo;s Pakistan visit comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. The two nuclear-armed neighbors came close to a full-scale military confrontation in May following the Pahalgam incident in Indian-occupied Kashmir. Hostilities subsided after a US-brokered ceasefire, but relations between the two countries have remained strained since then.&nbsp;Authorities are also examining Singh&rsquo;s December 2025 visit to Bangladesh &ldquo;during a period of anti-India protests,&rdquo; alleging he delivered a lecture without an official invitation.&nbsp;&ldquo;The funding for these trips is also under scrutiny,&rdquo; the ED said.&nbsp;Pattern of pressureAnother Indian speaker at the Pakistan conference, engineer and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, remains detained under India&rsquo;s National Security Act in Jodhpur Central Jail. He has been in custody for more than 100 days as of January 2026, after authorities accused him of inciting violence during protests in Ladakh, charges he and his legal team deny.&nbsp;A habeas corpus petition filed by Wangchuk&rsquo;s wife calls the detention &ldquo;illegal&rdquo; and based on &ldquo;stale FIRs, vague imputations, and speculative assertions,&rdquo; according to court filings. India&rsquo;s Supreme Court is hearing the case.&nbsp;Rights advocates argue the actions against Singh and Wangchuk signal a broader crackdown on dissent and climate activism, particularly when it intersects with international engagement. An accusation Indian authorities reject as investigations continue.

India

Indian authorities detain climate activist Harjeet Singh, allege foreign-funded activism undermining energy security, and investigate his Pakistan conference visit amid denials from his organization official.

India detains climate activist after Pakistan visit, probes foreign funding

Ibrahim Babakhel

Muhammad Imad Abbas

ISLAMABAD: Once hailed as a national hero and innovator, Sonam Wangchuk, the celebrated climate activist and education reformer from Ladakh, now sits in a high-security Rajasthan jail, accused of inciting unrest and acting against the Indian state.&nbsp;Just six years ago, Wangchuk publicly thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for granting Ladakh union territory status after the revocation of Article 370 and 35-A, which stripped Indian occupied Kashmir of its autonomy. For many in Ladakh, it seemed a step toward recognition. Today, it feels like betrayal.&nbsp;On September 26, Indian authorities arrested Wangchuk, transferring him over 1,600 kilometers from his home to Jodhpur Central Jail under the National Security Act (NSA). A law that allows detention without trial for up to a year.&nbsp;He was accused of &ldquo;instigating violence&rdquo; during protests in Leh that left four people dead and the local BJP office in flames.&nbsp;The government has gone further, alleging that Wangchuk attempted to trigger an &ldquo;Arab Spring&ndash;style movement&rdquo; to destabilize India, and even that he acted &ldquo;under Pakistan&rsquo;s influence.&rdquo;&nbsp;But his real &ldquo;crime,&rdquo; supporters say, was staging a peaceful hunger strike demanding constitutional protections and environmental safeguards for Ladakh, one of India&rsquo;s most vulnerable and militarized regions.&nbsp;Despite condemning the violence and urging protesters to stay nonviolent, Wangchuk now faces charges typically reserved for terrorists. His arrest raises a stark question for India&rsquo;s democracy: why is an environmentalist being treated as a threat for asking for rights?&nbsp;From innovator to inmateWangchuk co-founded SECMOL in 1988, revolutionizing education in Ladakh. His Operation New Hope program raised school pass rates from 5% to over 70%. He designed solar-heated military tents for soldiers in Siachen and Galwan, reducing fuel needs in sub-zero conditions.&nbsp;His innovations inspired Aamir Khan&rsquo;s character &ldquo;Phunsukh Wangdu&rdquo; in 3 Idiots, and earned him the Ramon Magsaysay Award (2018) and the Rolex Award for Enterprise (2016) for his Ice Stupa, an artificial glacier that conserves water in the high Himalayas.&nbsp;Once a national symbol of ingenuity and patriotism, Wangchuk&rsquo;s transformation from celebrated reformer to accused subversive reflects India&rsquo;s shrinking space for dissent.&nbsp;The broader patternWangchuk is not alone. Several former admirers of Modi&rsquo;s leadership, from policy scholar Yogendra Yadav to ex-ministers Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha, have faced state pushback after criticizing the government&rsquo;s centralization of power. Even Kiran Bedi, India&rsquo;s first woman IPS officer and a one-time BJP campaigner, has publicly distanced herself from party rhetoric.&nbsp;What lies aheadAuthorities say investigations into the Ladakh protests continue. Protest groups, meanwhile, are demanding Wangchuk&rsquo;s release and an independent inquiry.&nbsp;For many in India, the case has become symbolic, not just of Ladakh&rsquo;s struggle for rights, but of a deeper question echoing across the country: when did asking for democracy become a crime?

Asia

Once celebrated for his innovation and patriotism, Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk now faces jail under India’s National Security Act, accused of inciting unrest after demanding constitutional rights and environmental protections for his region.

Articles tagged with "Sonam Wangchuk"

India detains climate activist after Pakistan visit, probes foreign funding

From hero to traitor: Why is India jailing Sonam Wangchuk?

India detains climate activist after Pakistan visit, probes foreign funding