Ladakh Admin Tells Sonam Wangchuk-Founded School to Stop 'Unauthorised Activities'

The Ladakh administration has asked the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL), co-founded by Sonam Wangchuk and Gitanjali J Angmo, not to undertake any further activities at Desert Flower School in Phyang until the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh decides the matter.

The notice, dated November 1, was issued by the Office of the Tehsildar, Leh, to Angmo, HIAL’s Founder and CEO. It says classes and other activities have been started at the school without proper consent, clearances or approval from the concerned authorities.

WHAT THE NOTICE SAYS

Angmo wrote to the Deputy Commissioner, Leh, on September 22, seeking a No Objection Certificate or clearance for the proposed members of the school’s Managing Committee under the HIAL set-up, the notice says.

The administration says it has since learned that classes and other activities have begun without the required approvals.

Since the HIAL matter is pending before the High Court, the notice advises Angmo “not to undertake any action whatsoever in furtherance of the functioning or commencement of activities, until the matter is finally decided by the Hon’ble Court or until further directions are issued.”

It also directs her to strictly maintain status quo and to ensure that nothing is done that could prejudice the case.

THE LAND DISPUTE

The case before the High Court concerns about 1,076 kanals and one marla (over 53.8 hectares) of land at Phyang Thang, which HIAL was allotted on a 40-year lease on May 5, 2018.

On August 21, 2025, Leh Deputy Commissioner Romil Singh Donk cancelled the allotment, saying the land had not been used for its intended purpose. Wangchuk called the move a “witch-hunt” aimed at suppressing the demands of Ladakh’s people, and HIAL went to court.

In a 136-page affidavit filed last month, the administration told the court that the lease had lapsed by operation of law on May 5, 2019, because HIAL never executed the lease deed or paid the land premium or ground rent.

It also cited a certification from Ladakh’s Higher Education Department that HIAL is not a recognised university and that its courses are not affiliated with the University of Ladakh or any other statutory body.

It suggested that the land could instead go to institutions such as a Sainik School, an Eklavya Model Residential School or Sindhu Central University. HIAL’s CEO denied the administration’s claims.

The affidavit also refers to the violent protests in Leh in September 2025, the cancellation of the FCRA registration of Wangchuk’s organisation SECMOL, and Wangchuk’s detention under the National Security Act, which was revoked in March 2026, calling them part of a pattern of public-order disruptions.

Wangchuk is a prominent face of Ladakh’s demand for statehood and the extension of the Sixth Schedule.

Wangchuk and Angmo co-founded HIAL in 2017 as an alternative model of higher education for mountain communities.

With inputs from ANI