In the wake of the September 24 violence in Leh, a video went viral on social media which apparently showed activist Sonam Wangchuk saying that he would help China invade India.
Media outlet Republic World posted a part of a bulletin on its YouTube page on September 25 with the title, “The Debate LIVE: Sonam Wangchuk’s Ladakh Protest And Footprints Of The Nepal Gen Z Toolkit”. In the video, the anchors state that Wangchuk’s real intentions were yet to be questioned. At the 1:10-minute mark, one of the hosts says, “Then we went back and saw some of the comments he made. He’s on record saying, “The next time the Chinese come, we will ensure that we welcome the Chinese into India’. He has said that people of Ladakh want a Nepal, Bangladesh-like protest…”
At the 3:20-minute mark in the bulletin, the viral clip is aired.
Instagram user @rajput_preeeti posted a reel on September 27 with the same clip. Wangchuk is heard saying, “When China invades, then the people Ladakh stop them with their lives. But now, if the Indian government doesn’t do anything for us, then we will show them the way and not stop them. Why should we give our lives if there’s no protection for us?” Later in the video, the user remarks that the Ladakh protests did not just happen out of the blue, before making other allegations.
At the moment, the reel is no longer accessible on the platform.
Several other users on social media, such as @rishibagree, @FrontalForce and @itsmittalHim, posted the same clip claiming that Wangchuk said he would help China enter deep into India.
Fact Check
Upon investigation, we found a longer version of the viral video. It was posted on Sonam Wangchuk’s official Instagram page (@wangchuksworld) and his X handle (@Wangchuk66) on March 12, 2024, when Wangchuk, joined by several Ladakhis, was on a 21-day hunger strike demanding statehood and the implementation of Sixth Schedule in Ladakh. Hence, it is clear that the video is not connected to the recent unrest in the region.
END OF 7th DAY
Snowed heavily in the morning but the sun quickly melted it
In this tiny town some 500 people gathered today even on a week day. 100s of university students, all the advocates of the Bar association, monks, nuns, retired soldiers and all.
People’s frustration is… pic.twitter.com/6KqNgQT2Sr— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) March 12, 2024
At the very beginning of the 3.16-minute video, Wangchuk states that it is the end of Day 7 of the protest and people from all walks of life had shown their solidarity with him.
At the 1.37-minute mark, he adds, “And there is one famous comedian here in Ladakh who said, ‘When China invades, the Ladakhis stop them with their lives. But if the Indian government doesn’t do anything for us, then the next time they (China) arrive, we will not stop them; we will show them the way. Why should we give up our lives when there is no protection for us?’ After this, the police have been questioning him (the comedian). In my opinion, don’t kill the messenger; solve the problem. They are only expressing their frustration. You should look into how to solve the problems.”
Hence, the longer version of the video makes it clear that at no point did Wangchuk say he would help China invade India. He was only quoting a comedian who had made such a statement. The viral clip is being shared without context. Republic ran the clipped video and falsely attributed the statement to Sonam Wangchuk.
Note that this is the second false claim that Arnab Goswami’s Republic made in its reportage on Sonam Wangchuk. In the same bulletin as the one mentioned above, they also claimed that Wangchuk had called for Nepal-like violence in Ladakh, which is false.
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