Hamro Party President Joins Hunger Strike in Solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk, Calls for Common Platform for Mountainous Border Regions

Ajoy Edwards, the president of the Hamro Party, embarked on a 48-hour hunger strike in support of climate activist and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Sonam Wangchuk in Ladakh. Edwards suggested creating a shared platform among the country's hilly border regions to address the issues facing the areas.

Wangchuk began a 21-day fast in protest of Ladakh's non-state status and exclusion from the Constitution's Sixth Schedule. On Thursday, the hunger strike began its sixteenth day. Ladakh is presently a part of the Union.

On Tuesday, Edwards fasted for 48 hours alongside Wangchuk. After breaking his fast in Ladakh on Thursday, Edwards announced that he had suggested that a unified forum be established by the people living in the hilly border states so that they could voice their aspirations.

"Our political currency is weak simply because we lack the necessary numbers. In my conversation with Sonam Wangchukji this morning, I suggested that we establish a shared border zone spanning from Kashmir to Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. Then maybe the government will pay attention to us," Edwards stated.

A member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabha by election, Edwards claimed that the hills were being destroyed by a lack of security. "Land rights are not granted to our people. He stated, "You have to come to Darjeeling to see the state of the people when there is no protection."

The leader of the Hamro Party claimed that while capitalists were given permission to establish businesses on tea garden estates where people had lived in Darjeeling for decades, estate workers received pitiful wages and had no rights to their land.

The Ladakhi people have also expressed concern that if the Himalayan areas and its environment are not protected, mining and other activities may affect vulnerable regions.

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