What does Republic Day mean when Constitutional rights are not given, says Wangchuk's wife
New Delhi (PTI): As the 77th Republic Day was celebrated across the country with displays of military might and cultural heritage, HIAL co-founder and wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, Gitanjali J Angmo said it was the first time she did not feel motivated to watch the parade.
Questioning the meaning of Republic Day when rights guaranteed in the Constitution were not being granted, Angmo pointed out that it has been four months since Wangchuk was "unlawfully" arrested.
"It is 4 months... 120 days of Sonam Wanghuk's unlawful and illegal detention! For the first time ever since I can remember, I did not feel motivated to watch the Republic Day parade on TV which my mom and I had never missed," Angmo said.
"It is sad but I don't know how to feel proud of what is showcased anymore! What to believe and what not to! Where is the truth lying in all this narrative of the rise of India amongst the great nations of the world," she said.
Wangchuk, a Magsaysay Award-winning climate activist and educator, was detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on September 26, two days after protests demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 90 injured in the Union territory.
"When Constitutional safeguards available are not given to a region that legitimately deserves it, how is it Republic Day? The Constitution guarantees to put out a point of view in democracy... When you do that, you are jailed... There is no respect for the Constitution that we are celebrating," Angmo told PTI.
"How much of taxpayers' money is spent on pageantry. It is for the nation, so that all can feel proud of our achievements... but has to be built on a solid foundation. When foundation is shakey, you can't inspire people based on pageantry," she said.
Angmo, the co-founder of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), said there is a "certain disillusionment".
"It is not just a personal thing... There is a lot of trust in the parade, and the military capabilities... there is a lot of pride. But how much of this is true and how much is a facade?" she asked.
"There is a certain disillusionment when we see the real issues are not being addressed... like pollution, no one is talking about it... unemployment, the state of education, schools being shut..." she said.
Citing an example, she said, "They talk about carbon neutral Ladakh, but something so tried and tested -- the passive solar building -- there is no thrust in ensuring all buildings that come up in Ladakh are built that way. All government buildings are being constructed as regular cement-mortar buildings".
After being arrested, Wangchuk was taken to jail in Jodhpur soon after he ended his 15-day fast over the demands pertaining to the Sixth Schedule and statehood for Ladakh, as violence erupted in Leh.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
