Have a look at the bio, family, religion and net worth of Sonam Wangchuk
The Ministry of Home Affairs has canceled the FCRA licence of Sonam Wangchuk’s NGO, SECMOL, citing “national interest” concerns amidst violent protests in Ladakh.
Ladakh is currently on edge after violent protests claimed four lives and triggered a crackdown from the Centre.
Wangchuk is a well-known climate activist and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, who is now under the scanner of investigative agencies. He has now also been arrested under the NSA act.
MHA cancels Sonam Wangchuk’s FCRA Licence amidst Ladakh protests
The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced the cancellation of SECMOL’s FCRA licence with “immediate effect”. The decision comes following alleged financial irregularities and foreign funding violations, with officials flagging transactions from Sweden and Switzerland as against India’s “national interest.” This move reportedly went on to cause massive protests in Leh, where protestors started demanding statehood for Ladakh. The clashes with security forces seemingly left four people dead, and the Centre blamed Wangchuk for fueling unrest.
However, he has countered and stated that his demonstrations were strictly non-violent, and publicly stated he is prepared to face arrest. However, he added that imprisoning him would simply “awaken more people.”
Sonam Wangchuk: Biography, age, parents, wife, son, education, religion and net worth
Sonam Wangchuk biography
Sonam Wangchuk, who is often called the “Snow Warrior,” is an engineer, innovator, and education reformer who was born on 1 September, 1966 in Uleytokpo village near Leh and is a Buddhist by religion. He is best known for having founded the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) and the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL). His work mainly focuses on sustainable technology, climate action, and educational reforms. Sonam’s Ice Stupa innovation, which stores winter water as artificial glaciers, gained international recognition and earned him the prestigious Rolex Award for Enterprise back in 2016.
In 1975, Mr Wangchuk’s father, Sonam Wangyal, became a minister in the Jammu and Kashmir government, and the family moved to Srinagar and he also served as the security officer of the 14th Dalai Lama.
His mother is named Tsering Wangmo while his brother P Wangyal is also a politician and the deputy chairman of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in Leh.
Age and height
Wangchuk is currently 59 years old and stands at 5 feet 8 inches (1.72 m).
Education
Sonam Wangchuk completed his early schooling in Delhi at Vishesh Kendriya Vidyalaya, following which he later pursued a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar. He went on to become a civil engineer, financing his studies by giving tuitions, and then earned a Master’s degree in Earthen Architecture from CRAterre School of Architecture, Grenoble, France.
Wife and children
Land of shepherd, equivalent to a city, has been given to companies.
And more than 20 times of that (4000 sq km) has been captured by China.
And if we tell people about it, we are labelled as 'Deshdrohi'-Sonam Wangchuk pic.twitter.com/qZRpkNtIbh
— Tarun Gautam (@TARUNspeakss) September 24, 2025
Wangchuk is married to his wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, and the couple has a son together named Aryan.
Profession and career
After completing his education, Wangchuk founded SECMOL back in 1988, to reform education in Ladakh and rebuild students’ self-confidence. He spearheaded Operation New Hope (1994), which is a collaboration with the government and local communities that seemingly improved Ladakh’s Class 10 exam results from 5% to 75%. Over the years, he has committed himself to sustainable living in extreme climates, with innovations including the solar-powered SECMOL campus and Ice Stupa project. Sonam has also advised the government on various education policies and inspired Aamir Khan’s character “Phunsuk Wangdu” in 3 Idiots.
Net worth
While Wangchuk does not flaunt his wealth, he has an estimated net worth of Rs.75 lakhs. Most of his income comes from his engineering innovations, international consulting, and awards such as the Ramon Magsaysay Award (2018) and the Rolex Award (2016).
Sonam Wangchuk has an Instagram account with the handle @wangchuksworld, where he has over 1.4M followers and 480 posts.
So Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani & Aamir Khan made a film in 2009 to launch Sonam Wangchuk as a secret weapon to attack the Modi govt 16 years later?
These galaxy brains should be sent for medical research. pic.twitter.com/jqtDtrhCHv
— Siddharth (@DearthOfSid) September 25, 2025
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