“Now your argument for ‘One Govt, One Tax’ may take time. Till that happens, you’ll have to pay.”

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...