The Nation (doesn't) Wants to Know
Like many others who took the same path, I guess the ongoing hunger strike by Sonam Wangchuk will also meet a tepid end - and will be forgotten in due time. But right now, I am immensely affected by what's going on. There's no one to share my thoughts with as I am labeled "left-winged" if I talk. But I wish to tell you about it... There was something almost inconvenient about Sonam Wangchuk's protest. He wasn't blocking highways, burning buses, or hurling slogans through loudspeakers. He was simply refusing food. Amd it is difficult to demonize a man who is quietly becoming weaker. Much easier, perhaps, to question his motives than answer his questions. Governments often possess an extraordinary appetite for symbolism. They celebrate mountains, glaciers, and the resilience of those who guard India's frontiers. Yet when someone from those very mountains asks for dialogue, the signal mysteriously weakens. Meetings are "under consideration,...
