After the arrest of activist Sonam Wangchuk, a video is now being circulated on social media platforms claiming that it showed him talking about showing the path to China if it invades India through Ladakh.
What can be heard in the viral video?: Wangchuk was heard delivering a few lines in Hindi loosely translated to, "When China invades, then people of Ladakh sacrifice their lives to stop them. However, if the government of India doesn't do anything for us, we will show them the path and won't stop them the next time. Why should we give our lives if we are not being protected."
What are the facts?: The video is clipped and from March 2024. The longer version showed Wangchuk sitting on a hunger strike and attributing the statements to a comedian.
How did we find that out?: We went through Wangchuk's official social media handles and found a longer version of the viral clip uploaded on his X (formerly Twitter) account on 12 March 2024.
The video showed Wangchuk talking about the end of the seventh day of his hunger strike. He said that around 400-500 people came to support him.
At around the 1:38 timestamp, he was heard saying, "A famous comedian from here said when China enters here, people from Ladakh sacrifice their lives to stop them. But now, if the Indian government doesn't do anything for us, we would show them [China] the path and won't them the next time. Why should we give our lives if we are not being protected. After this, he [the comedian] was questioned by the police."
He continued by saying, "Don't kill the messenger, solve the problem. People are expressing frustration, but the focus should be on solving the problems."
Wangchuk later said that he hopes that the government will fulfill its promises.
What was hunger strike about?: As per a Hindustan Times report, Wangchuk was protesting to demand for statehood and constitutional safeguards under the sixth schedule for Ladakh.
This 'climate fast' was started by Wangchuk on 6 March 2024.
Wangchuk had later ended his fast on 26 March 2024, and had said that it was the "end of the 1st leg of my fast."
Conclusion: It is evident that the viral video was clipped and did not show the part, where Wangchuk had attributed the comments to a comedian.
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