Climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, who was fasting since September 10 for Ladakh’s statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, was arrested.

His arrest under the National Security Act on September 26 was following violent protests in Leh that left four people dead. The government accuses him of inciting unrest.

In the above context, a 1 minute 19 seconds video of video of Sonam Wangchuk has gone viral on social media. In the video, we can see him sitting inside a blanket with Indian national flag in the background and “Day 7” text embedded on the video. He says, “When China enters, people of Ladakh give their lives to stop them. But now, if Indian government is not doing anything for us, then next time if they come, we won’t stop them. Why will we give our lives?”

The video is shared with a caption that reads, “Sonam Wangchuk says if China attacks India through Ladakh, we will not stop them, but will show them the way in.” (Translated from Hindi)

SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is old and is shared out of context. In the video, Sonam Wangchuk was referring to someone else who made that statement.

On a Google reverse image search, we found that the extended original video was shared by Sonam Wangchuk on his X account on March 12, 2024. The video is 3 minutes 16 seconds long.

Just like the claim video, this too has a text on it that reads ‘Day 7.’ In the beginning, Sonam is heard talking about the plight of the 7th day fasting and how students, monks, journalists and other volunteers had come to participate in the protest.

In this video, at around the 1:40-minute mark, we can hear Sonam saying, “There is a famous comedian here, and his words are as follows: ‘If China enters here, the people of Ladakh will sacrifice their lives to stop them. But if the Indian government does nothing for us, then next time the Chinese come, we will pave the way for them; that is, we will not stop them. Why should we sacrifice our lives when we are not protected?’ After saying this, the police questioned the comedian.”

He further said that ‘the comedian’ was arrested by the police for his comment.

Thus, we can say that he was citing a comedian and that was not his own statement.

Moreover, at the end of the video, we can also hear Wangchuk say that he hopes that the government will keep its promises. The people of Ladakh will protect India like soldiers as always.