Key facts
- Shabana Azmi publicly urges Sonam Wangchuk to end his hunger strike
- Wangchuk is protesting for Ladakh's statehood and constitutional protections
- Anurag Kashyap also voiced support for Wangchuk the same day
Veteran actress and prominent public voice Shabana Azmi stepped into the debate around Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike on Tuesday, urging the Ladakhi activist to preserve his health and live to fight another day. 'Ladai aage tak ladni hai,' Azmi said — the fight must be taken forward — in a message that combined solidarity with concern.
Wangchuk, the engineer, educator, and climate activist who became globally known as an inspiration for the film 3 Idiots, has been on a hunger strike demanding statehood and constitutional protections for Ladakh. His protest has drawn attention to the region's unique vulnerabilities following its bifurcation from Jammu & Kashmir in 2019 and its designation as a Union Territory without a legislature.
Azmi's appeal adds to a chorus of voices from India's arts and entertainment world expressing support for Wangchuk's cause. Earlier in the day, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap also publicly stood with Wangchuk, questioning the government's continued silence on the activist's demands. Together, these interventions signal a broadening of the movement's cultural footprint.
For Wangchuk's supporters, Azmi's words carry the weight of a long career spent speaking out on social and political issues. Whether her appeal — and those of others in the cultural sphere — will translate into government engagement with his demands remains to be seen.