Meet Sonam Wangchuk, The Real Life Phunsukh Wangdu From 3 Idiots

Remember Phunsukh Wangdu, the most loved character from the Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots? Aamir Khan played the popular and influential character Phunsukh Wangdu and the man who inspired the film 3 Idiots is Sonam Wangchuk. Sonam Wangchuk is an Indian engineer, innovator, and education reformist. The real-life Phunsukh Wangdu’s story is so inspiring that we couldn’t help but share it with you all. In this article, we are going to share some unknown facts about Sonam Wangchuk.

Here are some lesser-known facts about Sonam Wangchuk:

1. Sonam Wangchuk was born in the Leh district of Ladakh

Wangchuk was born in 1966 in Uleytokpo, near Alchi in the Leh district of Ladakh. Sonam Wangchuk age is 56 years as of 2023. There were not any schools in his village. He was not enrolled in a school until the age of 9. He received his basic education in his mother tongue until that age.

2. The real-life Phunsukh Wangdu family

His father’s name is Sonam Wangyal. He was a politician who later became the minister of state government, and was stationed in Srinagar. His mother is Tsering Wangmo.

3. Sonam Wangchuk is a well-educated man

At the age of 9, he was moved to Srinagar and enrolled in a school there. As he looked different than the other students, he would get addressed in a language that he did not understand. He was deemed stupid due to his lack of responsiveness. He considers this period as the darkest part of his life. In 1977, unable to bear the treatment, he escaped alone to Delhi. He pleaded his case to the school principal at Vishesh Kendriya Vidyalaya.

In 1987, Wangchuk completed his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Srinagar (then REC Srinagar). He had to finance his own education because his father was not happy with his choice of engineering stream. After his graduation, he went to Grenoble, France, in 2011. He went there for two years for his higher studies in Earthen Architecture at Craterre School of Architecture.

4. Sonam Wangchuk started the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL)

After his graduation, in the year 1988, Wangchuk along with his brother and five peers started the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL). SECMOL started experimenting with school reforms in the government high school at Saspol. SECMOL launched Operation New Hope in collaboration with the government education department and the village population.

He describes his companions who helped him start SECMOL as a group of students who have been ‘victims’ of an alien education system foisted on Ladakh. He also designed the SECMOL campus that runs on solar energy and uses no fossil fuels for lighting, cooking, or heating.

5. From June 1993 to August 2005, Wangchuk founded and worked as the editor of Ladakh’s only print magazine Ladags Melong.

6. In 2001, Sonam Wangchuk aka Phunsukh Wangdu was appointed to be an advisor for education in the Hill Council Government.

7. He invented the Ice Stupa technique that creates artificial glaciers in 2013. It is used for storing winter water in the form of a cone-shaped ice heap.

8. In 2002, along with other NGO heads, he founded the Ladakh Voluntary Network (LVN), a network of Ladakhi NGOs

He served in its executive committee as the secretary till 2005.

9. He was appointed to the Drafting Committee of the Ladakh Hill Council Government’s Vision Document Ladakh 2025

He was entrusted with the formulation of the policy on Education and Tourism in 2004. The document was formally launched by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India in 2005.

10. Wangchuk was appointed as a member in the National Governing Council for Elementary Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India in 2005.

11. Sonam Wangchuk was appointed to the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education in 2013

He was appointed to the Expert Panel for framing the J&K State Education Policy and Vision Document in 2014. Sonam has started working on establishing the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives since 2015. He is concerned about how most of the Universities, especially those in the mountains have become irrelevant to the realities of life.

12. In 2016, Wangchuk started a project called FarmStays Ladakh

It provides tourists to stay with local families of Ladakh, run by mothers and middle-aged women. The project was officially inaugurated on 18 June 2016 by Chetsang Rinpoche.

13. Wangchuk’s environment-friendly innovations are praiseworthy

Wangchuk has been helping in designing and supervising the construction of several passive solar mud buildings in mountain regions like Ladakh, Sikkim, and Nepal. The effort is to implement energy savings principles on a larger scale. His solar-powered school, built with the rammed earth, keeps the students warm even in -30 Celsius winters. This is one of Sonam Wangchuk inventions.

Wangchuk’s SECMOL has won the International Terra Award for the best building in July 2016 at the 12th World Congress on Earthen Architecture in Lyon, France. The rammed earth ‘Big Building’ is located at SECMOL. The campus was built using low-cost traditional techniques on principles of passive solar architecture. The building has a big solar-heated teaching hall and several rooms and classrooms for the students.

14. Sonam built a solar-powered portable military tent for the soldiers that could accommodate 10 jawans at a time

To keep the Army jawans stationed in the Ladakh region warm, he innovated the tent. He said that the military tent could work even under sub-zero temperatures such as -14 degrees Celcius. Sonam Wangchuk tweeted,

“SOLAR HEATED MILITARY TENT for Indian Army at Galwan Valley +15 C at 10 pm now. Min outside last night was -14 C, Replaces tons of kerosene, pollution climate change. For 10 jawans, fully portable all parts weigh less than 30 Kgs”

SOLAR HEATED MILITARY TENT
for #indianarmy at #galwanvalley
+15 C at 10pm now.
Min outside last night was -14 C,
Replaces tons of kerosesne, pollution #climatechange
For 10 jawans, fully portable all parts weigh less than 30 Kgs. #MadeInIndia #MadeInLadakh #CarbonNeutral pic.twitter.com/iaGGIG5LG3

— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) February 19, 2021

15. Wangchuk helped launch the New Ladakh Movement (NLM) on requests from the student community of Ladakh

It is a social campaign and Ladakh’s version of the Green Party. The aim is to work for sustainable education, environment, and economy.

It also focused on uniting all local political leaders under one banner for the growth and development of Ladakh. Ultimately, the members transformed it into a non-political social movement.

16. Sonam Wangchuk appealed to Indians to use “wallet power” and boycott Chinese products in 2020

In response to the India-China border fights, Sonam Wangchuk’s appeal to boycott Chinese products was covered by major media houses and supported by several celebrities. After the Galwan Valley clash on 15 June 2020, there were calls across India to boycott Chinese goods.

17. Sonam Wangchuk attempted to go on a five-day Climate fast at the Khardungla pass at 18000 ft in 2023 to protest Ladakh’s autonomy

To demand its protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and to highlight the effects of climate change on the delicate ecosystem of Ladakh, he tried to go on a fast. However, he was prevented by the authorities from going to Khardungla. He was put under house arrest, his movement was restricted, as well as people were restricted from visiting him.

However, the police denied the charges and said that he had not been given permission to enter Khardung La pass, due to the temperatures being unsuitable for the fast, at less than -40°C. Wangchuk continued to protest and fast from the HIAL campus.

18. Wangchuk tweeted his gratitude to PM Modi for “fulfilling Ladakh’s long-standing dream” of becoming a UT

In 2019, when the Modi government scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the erstwhile state into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, Wangchuk  Thanked Modi and others who helped bring about “democratic decentralisation”.

19. His story in the film 3 Idiots directed by Rajkumar Hirani made him popular

In 2009, Sonam Wangchuk came into the spotlight. His story inspired Aamir Khan’s character Phunsukh Wangdu in the blockbuster film 3 Idiots. He has been referred to as “The real life Phunsukh Wangdu”. However, Sonam says that he is not Phunsukh Wangdu.

20. Awards won by Sonam Wangchuk

There are numerous awards won by Sonam. Some of the notable National and International ones include the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Eminent Technologist of the Himalayan Region by IIT Mandi, GQ Men of the Year Awards, Social Entrepreneur of the Year, State Award for outstanding environmentalist by J&K Govt., UNESCO Chair Earthen Architecture, by CRATerre France, Rolex Award for Enterprise, and Governor’s Medal for educational reform in Jammu and Kashmir.

21. Sonam Wangchuk net worth aka Phunsukh Wangdu

Sonam Wangchuk aka Phunsukh Wangdu net worth is estimated to be ₹80 Crore ($12 Million) as per recent reports.

22. Sonam Wangchuk has a YouTube channel with millions of subscribers