Delhi police take fasting activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital

New Delhi police forcibly moved activist Sonam Wangchuk to a hospital on Saturday because of health concerns after a 20-day hunger strike against India’s examination system.

Wangchuk, 59, began fasting on 28 June. He is demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in examinations for medical studies.

A few hundred students had joined Wangchuk around his stage at the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi in recent weeks. Other protests have also been organised by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, online movement.

A deputy commissioner of Delhi police said Wangchuk had been shifted to hospital for essential medical care under high court orders and on expert medical advice because of his deteriorating health. The police statement said protesters tried to obstruct officers as they complied with the orders, causing a slight commotion.

Video from Jantar Mantar showed confusion among some Wangchuk supporters as police, carrying white sheets, hurriedly moved him from the stage.

Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, said on X that she was with him at the Delhi hospital. She said nothing should be given to him orally or intravenously without consent from her, his family and the doctors who had been monitoring his health during the hunger strike.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said after Wangchuk was moved to hospital that he would begin an indefinite hunger strike. Speaking at Jantar Mantar, he said the government had made a serious mistake.

A New Delhi court ordered government doctors on Thursday to monitor Wangchuk’s health every day. The court said the life of any citizen was precious after activist lawyer Rakesh Kumar Saini filed a petition expressing concern for Wangchuk. The Delhi High Court also ordered that whatever medical intervention was needed to save Wangchuk’s life should be carried out.

Wangchuk, an engineer by training, is best known for water-conservation projects in the Himalayas. A few hours before police moved him, he said smaller movements had brought down many governments in India and that the current protest concerned education.

The protest follows anger over India’s competitive medical entrance examinations. About 2.2 million aspiring medical students sat for a re-examination under tight security last month after the earlier test was scrapped following a paper leak. That controversy, along with a separate marking problem in high school tests, prompted public anger and youth protests.

Several opposition party members have supported Wangchuk and the student activists. Other protests on different issues are being planned at Jantar Mantar to coincide with the start of the monsoon session of India’s parliament on Monday.

Former opposition lawmaker Priyanka Chaturvedi said the CJP should not make Wangchuk a “sacrificial lamb” for its political ambitions. She said Wangchuk needed to live to fight another day.