The Himalayan fire is no metaphor anymore—Ladakh is boiling.
Snow-covered peaks have turned into the backdrop of a dramatic Gen-Z uprising. In Leh, protests demanding statehood and inclusion under India’s Sixth Schedule have escalated into violent clashes. Government offices, including a BJP office, have gone up in flames; curfew is in force, schools are shut, and over 80 people are injured with multiple arrests.
 
At the heart of this storm stands Sonam Wangchuk—the real-life inspiration for 3 Idiots’ “Phunsukh Wangdu,” a Ramon Magsaysay Award–winning innovator, educator, and environmental activist. Wangchuk began a 15-day “climate fast,” urging the government to protect Ladakh’s fragile ecology and tribal rights. His demand: full statehood and Sixth Schedule status, which would give local councils constitutional power to protect land, culture, and natural resources.