Indian social activist on hunger strike Sonam Wangchuk has been moved to the hospital after his condition worsened on the 21st day of the hunger strike. Wangchuk had launched the hunger strike to demand the resignation of the federal education minister.
Wangchuk, 59, has been fasting since June 28 in solidarity with the Indian Youths Cockroach Janata Party, which is demanding that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should step down over exam paper leaks in May that affected the future of millions of students. His hunger strike has emerged as a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is drawing widespread support across the Indian citizens and amplifying the activist’s demand through millions of views and shares on social media. The visuals appearing on Saturday showed dozens of policemen and security personnel appearing in white clothes on the site of the protest and holding large white sheet clothes on the stage that had been created for the protest before Wangchuk was taken away. His visuals did not appear on the TV screens as he was being shifted to the hospital.
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On Thursday, the Delhi High Court had already asked the authorities to watch his health closely and intervene if needed, in response to a petition asking authorities to force-feed him as his health weakened. Meanwhile, the CJP founder Abhijit Dipke told reporters that they would march to India’s parliament on July 20th when the monsoon session will begin to demand for Pradhan’s resignation and seek exams reforms.
Wangchuk has been at the center of the CJP’s protest, lying on a mattress in the middle of a stage as protesters and visitors to the protest site mill about. He has been already accused of inciting people through his provocative statements last year during violent protests in federal Himalayan territory of Ladakh. Wangchuk has already spent six months in jail before being released in the March of 2026. The the Wangchuk’s hunger strike has generated interests of millions on social media. More than 100,000 Instagram reels have been posted by users urging Wangchuk to abandon the protest.
