A video of Sonam Wangchuk's speech pressing for demands of statehood and the Sixth Schedule for the Union Territory of Ladakh is being shared on social media with a false claim that he called for violence.
A portion of his speech from the day he launched his 35-day hunger strike is going viral claiming the activist said "we will turn India into Nepal and Bangladesh”, referring to anti-government protests that triggered regime changes.
BOOM watched the entire 35-minute speech made on September 10, 2025 and found that Wangchuk made no provocative statement in Ladakhi calling for violence.
He did cite Nepal and Bangladesh as examples of popular movements that brought about change, while emphasising that Ladakh’s struggle should remain peaceful through hunger strikes and non-violence
Backed by the Leh Apex Body (LAB), Wangchuk began his fast at Leh’s NDS Memorial Park, with villagers joining in rotation to show solidarity. Tensions escalated on September 24 when police action in Leh turned violent, killing four protesters, injuring dozens, and leading to the detention of at least 50 people as authorities imposed a strict curfew. A local office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was among the buildings set ablaze, prompting police to respond with live ammo. After the violence, Wangchuk called off his fast and condemned the incident. Two days later, on September 26, he was arrested on his way to address a press conference.
The Claim: Video shows Wangchuk say, "We will turn India into Nepal and Bangladesh"
The viral video was posted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Information & Technology head Amit Malviya. The video is one of three clips in the post. The text embedded on the video reads 'We will turn India into Nepal and Bangladesh - Sonam Wangchuk'
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What We Found:
1) Wangchuk's September 10th speech
The 35-minute speech was uploaded to YouTube on September 10, 2025, by the channel Ladakh People’s Voice, titled: “35-day Anshan announced; land cancellation, FIR would not scare me, ‘Ready to die’: Sonam Wangchuk.”
The section in the viral video is at 15:00-15:50 timestamp. BOOM cross-checked the speech with a Ladakhi speaker. In the now viral clip, Wangchuk cited Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka as examples of popular movements that had brought change, and juxtaposed them with Ladakh’s struggle, insisting that the latter must remain peaceful through hunger strikes and non-violence.
"Like many just said ‘it is confirmed that a change will come.’ Change might have been there in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the people will bring change. It will happen if someone dies. I am not talking of the change from the noises (zingzing), Ladakh will see change through peace, that too a peaceful revolution. A change must come from death...from staying hungry which will also affect other places. Ladakh will then become an example for other places. We will show that now is the time we die by starving ourselves instead of firing or killing others by bullet violently," Wangchuk says.
2) Other Translations
We also found other Ladakhi translations shared by pro-Sonam Wangchuk pages which roughly translates to the same meaning that BOOM received. The Instagram page @climatefrontindia also posted an English translation of the video countering the claim.
3) Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali Angmo dismisses claim
In an interview to The Print on September 28, Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo denied that he ever called for Ladakh to be turned into Nepal or Bangladesh, stating that his words were distorted. She explained the following.
“…all he’s saying is that if the government is not responsive to the needs of the people then the natural reaction to that is a revolution and he’s just giving the examples that we can see happening in our neighbouring countries. … It was not to say that we will make Ladakh like Nepal as it has been construed. It was to learn from the mistakes that other governments did who were not responsive to the needs of the youth and we should not do the same,” Angmo says
4) News reports on Wangchuk's September 10 speech
News reports from the day he began his hunger strike covered his demands for statehood and for the Sixth Schedule. We did not find any news reports from September 10, 2025 which stated that the activist called for violence.
