Activist Sonam Wangchuk has lost over 9 kg on the 19th day of his indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, his doctor said on Thursday. Wangchuk remains stable, but doctors say the coming days could prove critical, even as he ruled out ending the fast and urged supporters to join a planned march to Parliament on July 20 instead.
Wangchuk is fronting the protest by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for a string of exam paper leaks and student suicides. After initially calling the protest ‘anti-national’, the government has stonewalled it in the face of mounting criticism. Dr Satish Lamba, the senior general physician monitoring Wangchuk’s health, said his blood sugar stood at 80 mg/dL, pulse rate at 72 beats per minute, and blood pressure at 105/61 mmHg lying down and 101/65 mmHg while sitting.
Lamba said Wangchuk’s hydration was fair and that he remained mentally alert. Wangchuk has ruled out ending his strike despite appeals from political leaders and supporters, saying breaking the fast without any response from the government would send the wrong message. ‘If I eat, what message will go? The message to the government will be that there is no need for accountability,’ he said, questioning what would change if he ended the fast.
Instead of appeals to end the fast, Wangchuk urged people to join the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) proposed ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on July 20, calling on schools, colleges and universities to treat the day as one of experiential education under the National Education Policy. He appealed to supporters to register for the march through the campaign’s website or a missed-call initiative.
A public interest litigation was filed in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday by a lawyer, seeking that Wangchuk be force-fed and shifted immediately to a government hospital. The request, which claims Wangchuk could ‘lose his life in two days,’ was due to be heard by Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia on Wednesday but has been posted for Thursday because of a lawyers’ strike. Wangchuk’s uric acid levels are rising as his body begins breaking down muscle tissue for energy, and ketones have been detected in his urine — a sign the body has moved from burning stored carbohydrates to fat.
The CJP has been protesting at Jantar Mantar for 20 days, demanding the resignation of minister Dharmendra Pradhan over question paper leaks and irregularities in key national examinations like the NEET which students take to become doctors, and has called for the Parliament march on July 20, the opening day of the Monsoon session. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on X that when Wangchuk was urged to call off his strike, he replied: ‘Instead of asking me to end my hunger strike, ask the government why it refuses to listen.’
