SRINAGAR: Hours before the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) proposed protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk turned to Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz to explain why Ladakh needs him more than Delhi.Stating that he would not join the demonstration, the activist invoked Faiz’s famous line, “Mujh se pehli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang” (Do not ask me, my beloved, the love I earlier gave you).In a message on Friday evening on his social media, Wangchuk said he and his team were preparing for winter by conducting scientific experiments to create artificial glaciers to secure water supplies and developing measures to protect communities from glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).“Many of you have asked where I am, why I have been silent and why I am not part of the struggle in Delhi. On the one hand, I commend all of you who are working to avert the political dangers looming over the country. But I would also like to point out that not all threats are political. Some are from nature too,” he said.Quoting Faiz, Wangchuk said, “Aur bhi dukh hain zamane mein mohabbat ke siva” (There are other sorrows in the world besides love). He added his own adaptation, “Aur bhi dukh hain zamane mein siyasat ke siva” (There are other sorrows in the world beyond politics).“We also need relief from natural disasters,” he said, again invoking Faiz’s verse, “Mujh se pehli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang.”Wangchuk said he might not be able to join the protesters this time, as he had done previously and used the metaphor of a matchstick to explain his role in the movement.“When you need to light a traditional cooking stove, you need a matchstick. Once the fire catches, the cooking begins, and everything gets going,” he said, referring to himself as a matchstick, as in the first CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in July when he was among the first ones who joined the agitation seeking educational reforms and the resignation of the then Union Education Minister. He sat on a prolonged hunger strike during the protest in the scorching summer heat, consuming only salt and water.“I hope you will continue to confront the country’s political challenges while we work here to address the threats posed by natural disasters,” he said.Explaining why he was now prioritising work in Ladakh, Wangchuk cited the dangers posed by glacial lakes and the devastation caused by floods. “We are conducting experiments to address these dangers before they turn into disasters. It is said that nearly 200 glacial lakes are like bombs waiting to explode here.
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We want to find ways to defuse these threats in advance as we have been doing with several lakes,” he said, adding that protecting the country from natural disaster was as important as confronting political challenges.Wangchuk, however, urged the protest organisers and participants to remain united and peaceful. “Those who are leading the struggle must stand united. There is strength in unity,” he said, adding that youth should never abandon the path of peace, describing nonviolence as a gift from Mahatma Gandhi that he had brought to the protesters at Jantar Mantar in the first CPJ protest in July. “Whatever adversity you face, remain peaceful. Victory will be yours,” he said. “And if the fire in your stove ever goes out, remember this matchstick or remember this insignificant person,” Wangchuk said.
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