“I’ve heard some of you say we need drones to combat criminals. Okay, if you’re ready to give way to drones.”

The release of Sonam Wangchuk from Jodhpur Central Jail on March 14, marks more than the end of a detention; it is a moment that forces India to confront the uneasy balance between national security and civil liberty. Wangchuk, a 59-year-old climate...