Sonam WangchukThe engineer, educationist and innovator, who emerged as a leading figure in the CJP-led student protests, has been discharged from Medanta Hospital after weeks of treatment. Shortly after being discharged from the hospital, he announced in a video that he planned to first travel to Rajghat to commemorate mahatma gandhiand then return home to Ladakh. He was admitted to hospital after a 26-day hunger strike. CJP Protests aim to push for comprehensive exam reform and demand resignation of federal education minister Dharmendra Pradhan Controversy over a series of document leaks.
Sonam Wangchuk’s sustainable mud house in Ladakh
About three years ago, Wangchuk took viewers on a tour of his sustainable Ladakh home in a video featuring tribal girls, The Indian Express reported. The house was built without using any concrete but instead from earth, blending traditional, centuries-old construction methods with modern interiors and eco-conscious design touches. Wangchuck liked to call it his “tribal house,” inspired by the materials used to build it. “We often abandon the traditional way of building houses. Mud houses are almost unheard of now. However, I retained the best of both worlds. I took what was good in the past and enhanced it with today’s technology,” he said.
Sonam Wangchuk on traditional and passive solar heating
Even though there are modern furniture inside, the interior decoration is still closely connected with the Ladakhi tradition. “They are low seats, which is related to our tradition. Usually Ladakhis like to sit like this,” he explains. The mud walls also serve a certain functional purpose, keeping the houses naturally cool in the summer. When winter comes, Wangchuck no longer relies on firewood but on passive solar technology for heating. He describes a special wall – the “black wall” – with built-in water bottles that absorbs heat from the winter sun throughout the day and slowly releases the heat into the house after the sun goes down. As he puts it, “While the walls, windows and glass are modern, the techniques used are traditional.”
Kitchen and waterless bathroom designs by Sonam Wangchuk
The home showcases wooden roofs, mud walls and modern interiors in harmony with its overall sustainable design. The same concept, blending tradition with modern living, extends to the kitchen. Designed as an open space with adjacent dining tables, the layout was guided by a simple idea: “The idea was to make sure the chef never felt isolated,” he says. Wangchuck also adopted traditional waterless sanitation methods in the restrooms, using no water at all and instead systematically collecting human waste for composting and use as fertilizer.
Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike and its consequences
On June 28, Wangchuck announced an indefinite hunger strike, pushing the student protests led by the People’s Party to a new height. He said he would not stop until the education secretary resigned and real changes were made to the exam system. He ended his fast on Thursday after not eating for 26 days. The incident took place in front of BJP president JP Nadda after he was promised to fulfill his major demands.Following this, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister. The government has also set up special fast-track courts to quickly handle document leak cases. Meanwhile, a working group has been set up to come up with recommendations on how to make the country’s exam system stronger and better.
Sonam Wangchuk’s ‘Rancho’ connection from ‘3 Idiots’
Before the recent wave of protests, Sonam Wangchuck was primarily considered the real-life inspiration behind Rancho, the beloved character in “3 Idiots.” For years, the film’s makers insisted they knew nothing about Wangchuk when creating the story, a claim that has come under scrutiny, especially given Aamir Khan He reportedly met Wangchuck at an awards ceremony in Mumbai a few months before filming began. Oddly enough, Wangchuk himself has never been particularly keen on being associated with blockbusters. He has said in the past that he contacted producers after the film was released to highlight the similarities between his life and the character, but never heard back.