Sonam Wangchuk - Ecology vs Security

Sonam Wangchuk - Ecology vs Security

I shared the two videos on Sonam Wangchuk by Dr Guarav Pradhan with you. 

1) The Dark Side of Sonam Wangchuk: Dr Gaurav Pradhan has raised many relevant points about India's security vis-à-vis China's game plan. 

https://youtu.be/okYfcDEbv90?si=-UyOE7XWqmpdD13x

2) Who is Sonam Wangchuk: Dr Gaurav Pradhan reveals history of Sonam Wangchuk 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhrUEBWOo50

Some of you did not like the videos. Let me share my point of view with you.  

There were four major issues -

First, the videos raised serious doubts about the motive of Sonam Wangchuk in organising the protests. I know Sonam Wangchuk is a respected figure after the success of 3-Idiots. Therefore, it is difficult to believe what is being said about him. Let’s drop this issue. Perhaps we need more material before we can say something definite about him. 

There are far more important issues which have been discussed in these videos. Let’s focus on them.

Second, the videos discuss the geo-political and geo-economic ambitions of China, which are well-known in defence circles that

a) China is eyeing Doklam to get an entry to the Bay of Bengal through Bangla Desh.

b) China is eyeing Glawan for securing the Karakoram highway from India. This highway is very important for China and part of its BRI project. It passes through POK and violates the territorial integrity of India.

c) China wants to control the freshwater glaciers of the Himalayas so that it will have control over India's and Pakistan's economies and have strong leverage over them in case of future conflicts.

d) In line with China's geo-political and geo-economic ambitions, it wants to control the Indian market by dumping cheap goods in Indian Market and crippling the Indian economy.

I am sure you would appreciate the strategic importance of all these issues. 

Third, Sonam Wangchuk wants 370 back. He is asking for autonomy through a state government in Ladakh. ‘Perhaps’ he wants to halt the development in Ladakh in the guise of preserving the environment.

If we don’t have strong infrastructure leading up to our borders, our borders will not remain secure against China.

Although we all want to preserve the environment, there is always a conflict between conservation of ecology and development and security. In the name of ecology, can we ignore our economic and strategic interests?

Fourth: We are now in the era of 4^th generation and 5^th generation warfare where a country is not destroyed using traditional weapons but by exploiting the social, economic, and religious fault lines present in the country. Social media and NGOs are the latest weapons of war. Through these, an enemy can create a division in society and break the country. These are low-cost wars and more efficient than terrorist attacks or guerilla warfare. 

We must be careful whether a person or an NGO is being used to weaken the country. This was why, the Modi government has put severe checks on NGOs.

Thus, although you may disagree with what these videos say about Sonam Wangchuk, I am sure you would think over other points discussed in the videos and take them into consideration while evaluating any socio-politico-economic situation.