The Delhi High Court has directed authorities to monitor the health of Sonam Wangchuk, an education reformer and activist on the 19th day of a hunger strike in central Delhi, and to intervene if medical advice indicates that his condition is deteriorating. The order, issued in response to a petition seeking urgent medical intervention, could result in Wangchuk being moved to hospital if his health worsens.
Wangchuk is fasting at Jantar Mantar in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party, an online satirical youth movement that has held a sit-in over alleged examination-paper leaks. The group is demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan after a key entrance examination for aspiring doctors was cancelled following a paper leak, and it is also calling for broader examination reforms.
A doctor attending Wangchuk told ANI that he had lost more than 9 kg during the fast but remained mentally alert. The BBC reported that he had been subsisting on salt water and that aides said he was in severe pain and needed assistance to stand. Dr. Satish Lamba told the BBC that Wangchuk had lost fat and was beginning to lose muscle mass, warning that effects on organs would be a serious concern.
Calls for Wangchuk to end the strike have come from opposition politicians, activists, artists and others. More than 1,800 artists, writers, academics and activists signed a statement urging him to stop, according to the BBC. Wangchuk has said he intends to continue until the protesters’ demands are met. Pradhan has described the group and its supporters as the “B-team of disruptive elements,” while the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not engaged with the protesters, the BBC reported.
The Cockroach Janta Party has called for a march to parliament on July 20 from the protest site. Several other people, including student-organization members, have joined hunger strikes alongside Wangchuk, and one was taken to hospital earlier in the week after his health deteriorated, according to the BBC.
