GD Bakshi’s Silence on Ladakh: Jalebis Over Justice

I just watched Maj. Gen. G.D. Bakshi (Retd.) on Republic World’s YouTube channel talk about the ongoing Ladakh unrest, and honestly, I feel nothing but pity. A man who once screamed his lungs out on national TV blaming the Congress for every national issue now can’t even muster up the courage to say five words: “The Government is responsible here.”

15 minutes and 26 seconds. Not once did he say “Modi“. Not once did he say “BJP“. Not once did he even dare to say “Government of India.” Instead, what we got was a man just frying jalebis, going round and round, using soft language, emotional flashbacks, but showing zero guts to speak the truth directly.

This is the same GD Bakshi who used to thunder in debates, fire off accusations like bullets, and act like the loudest patriot in the room. But today, he was scared. Careful. Calculated. When it came time to say something that matters, he folded. And that’s where we are now. This is the state of Indian democracy.

Let’s be clear. Sonam Wangchuk is a patriot. Full stop. The people of Ladakh are patriots. What’s happening there is not some foreign-funded circus. It’s the result of being ignored and betrayed by the very government that claimed to empower them after scrapping Article 370. The demands are legit: statehood, Sixth Schedule protections, ecological safeguards, and basic dignity. Nothing outrageous, just things that were promised and never delivered.

But GD Bakshi? He went into nostalgia mode. Talking about the time a Ladakhi soldier gave him coffee in the mountains in 1976. Beautiful story, sure. But completely irrelevant to the burning present. People are dying, protesting, and being labeled as troublemakers. And the man with the mic, the man with the platform, chose to talk about how sweet Ladakhis are, how patriotic they are, how tough they are. But not who failed them.

And don’t think we didn’t notice how he danced around Wangchuk. He says on one hand people call him a provocateur funded by foreign hands. On the other, he says the movement has valid points. Pick a side, sir. Be clear. Don’t ride both boats.

And please, don’t throw CIA theories into the mix to dilute real local anger. That’s a tired playbook. Every protest isn’t a foreign conspiracy. Sometimes it’s just people fed up with being treated like they don’t matter.

What hit hardest was seeing a man like Bakshi, who could speak up without political cost, choosing to stay silent. Forget Modi’s name. He didn’t even touch the phrase “Government of India.” That’s not neutrality. That’s fear. That’s submission. That’s complicity.

So no, I’m not surprised. I knew this day would come. A day when the people who roar in TV studios will shrink into whispers when it actually matters. And now it’s here.

I don’t expect much anymore. But I won’t stay silent either. Ladakh is being betrayed, and anyone who’s too scared to even name the betrayer is part of the problem.

God bless the Nunoos. God bless the people of Ladakh. But also, God help us if this is the kind of “patriotism” we’ve come to accept.

If you don’t agree with me, I simply don’t care. Yes, I’m saying it straight. I don’t care. You want to see his appearance go watch it on Republic World’s YouTube channel. Meanwhile, I’ll say this loud and clear. JAI HIND!