Delhi court orders daily health checks for Sonam Wangchuk amid hunger strike

NEW DELHI: A court in New Delhi on Thursday directed government doctors to examine activist Sonam Wangchuk every day as concern mounted over his health after nearly three weeks on hunger strike against India’s examination system.

Wangchuk, 59, began his fast on June 28 and is demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination, along with broader reforms. The Delhi High Court, acting on a petition, said that whatever medical intervention was required to save his life should be carried out, adding that the life of any citizen is precious.

The petition was filed this week by activist lawyer Rakesh Kumar Saini, who warned that Wangchuk might not survive much longer if he did not end the fast. Some of Wangchuk’s supporters and participants in the protest movement have also urged him to call off the hunger strike.

Wangchuk was at Jantar Mantar, a prominent protest venue in the Indian capital, where he appeared weak and frail on Thursday while acknowledging supporters from the stage.

Students join protest over exam controversy

Students from different parts of India have joined recent demonstrations organised by the online satirical movement Cockroach Janta Party. Many have said repeated paper leaks have badly shaken their confidence in the examination system.

Around a dozen students have also been observing a hunger strike alongside Wangchuk, including Bahadur Singh from Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking about his participation, Singh said:

I am not fasting for myself. This is about every student who has lost hope in the system,

Last month, about 2.2 million candidates seeking admission to medical colleges took a re-examination under strict security arrangements after the earlier test was cancelled because of a paper leak that triggered widespread anger.

The collapse of that highly competitive exam, together with a separate controversy over marking in high school tests, prompted a broader outcry and helped drive youth-led protests.

Support from opposition figures

Several opposition politicians have expressed support for Wangchuk and the students involved in the campaign. Among them was Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who wrote in a social media post:

This country hears you,

Your anger is not indiscipline, it is the anguish of a generation that did everything right and was still betrayed.

Wangchuk, an engineer by training, is widely known for water conservation initiatives in the Himalayas. He received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018 for his environmental work and for contributing to reforms in the local school system in Ladakh.