Sonam Wangchuk and Jamyang Tsering Namgyal – The two nationalists from Ladakh that China fears

Who doesn’t remember the fiery BJP MP from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, who had left the Congress and its allies red faced in the floor of the Lok Sabha in August last year, during the debate on abrogation of Article 370 and J&K Reorganization Bill. The same feisty MP is now back, and has a strong message for China and its continuing aggression along the LAC.

Amid the ongoing military standoff between India and China, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal visited the border areas in Eastern Ladakh, including the Pangong Tso Lake, surrounding areas of which have become a major point of contention between the two nuclear-armed countries. Namgyal said that Ladakh has faith in the Narendra Modi-led government and “not even an inch of land would go away” due to the ongoing standoff. Further, he went on to say although India did not want any confrontation with any neighbouring country, there shall be no compromise on national security, come what may.

Ever since the ongoing standoff broke out, this has been Tsering’s second visit to border areas of Ladakh. He had earlier, on May 18, visited Chumur, Hanley, Koyul, Demjok, Fukchey, Dungti and Tsagaon. During the second tour, which lasted three days, the Ladakh MP visited the end border villages of Phobrang-Yurgo-Lukung, Spangmik, Maan-Merak, Khagtad, Chushul and Shayok at the Galwan Valley side. He even spent a night at Chushul, the messaging of which China is bound to have received.

The visit by BJP’s Ladakh MP comes days after Sonam Wangchuk, another very prominent personality from Ladakh, had called for a complete boycott of Chinese goods, including softwares in India. Going by the unprecedented manner in which his appeal resonated among Indians, Sonam has now also released an English video-message, this time, for the international community. In a call to boycott Chinese goods internationally, Wangchuk stated that individuals around the world could help avert a World War III. He also described how Tibet, which is currently under occupation by China, was just beyond the mountains in his picturesque background.

In a strong message to not just China, but the world, Wangchuk said that if push comes to shove, India would not even require all of its nuclear warheads to raze major Chinese cities. He again invoked the power of the wallet around the world, and called upon people to boycott China economically.

It is important to mention here that both Jamyang Tsering Namgyal as well as Sonam Wangchuk invoked Tibet, with the latter affirmatively indicating that the land of Tibet was under occupation by China. Tsering, meanwhile, called Ladakh the mini-Tibet, and the symbolism of the same has not been lost upon us. Like China occupied Tibet, there would be no surprises to see the dragon now going overboard in attempts to swallow Ladakh as well.

However, the people of Ladakh, whose emotions are best represented by Jamyang and Sonam, are in no mood to let China intrude into their land. Both these leaders in their own right wield the power to rake dissent within China, and the CCP will not be liking the same. Sonam Wangchuk has declared an all-out economic war against China, and though Jamyang wasn’t hammering the CCP explicitly, considering the sensitivities which come along with his post, if the past is anything to go by, the man can obliterate China with his words almost effortlessly. The people of Ladakh, meanwhile, are willing to rally behind these two men, who are heralding an anti-China wave in Ladakh.

What the CCP would not like, however, is this same anti-China sentiment to start trickling into Tibet, where the people are not particularly fond of the occupational regime. It must also be remembered that both Tsering and Sonam are vociferous proponents of development in Ladakh, a region which was deprived of the same by past governments, the actions of whom, or lack thereof, were brutally destroyed by the BJP MP last year.

China, on the other hand, would do anything in its power to inhibit development of Ladakh. However, with PM Modi at the Centre, and an MP like Jamyang Tsering in Ladakh, the Chinese regime can do nothing but growl fruitlessly. Sonam Wangchuk, meanwhile, has take the fight into China, and is ensuring that people across the world boycott the dragon economically. A downfall of their economy would directly result in a rise of dissent within China, and nothing could be more beneficial for India than a toppling of the current CCP regime.