Twenty days, over nine kgs lost, muscle mass disappearing, and organ failure a possibility. Yet the loudest thing about activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike seems to be the silence surrounding its cause – the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the spate of exam paper leaks. While Wangchuk’s protest has captured national attention, drawing support from actors and the opposition, the cause behind it seems to have faded away.
As Wangchuk’s health deteriorates by the day, the Centre has held on to its stoic silence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi even seemed to pour cold water on demands for Pradhan’s sacking with his effusive birthday wish for the minister a couple of weeks back. In fact, the narrative at the Jantar Mantar protest site itself has shifted – from calls for Pradhan to step down to wean Wangchuk off his fast, considering his health.
The sit-in at Jantar Mantar, India’s OG protest hub, was started by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a Gen Z-led satirical movement, on June 20. The 59-year-old Wangchuk joined the protest on June 28, kicking off his hunger strike. The CJP’s frontline leaders, including founder Abhijit Dipke, did not join the fast. Wangchuk gave the CJP protest a face.
Our reporter also went to the CJP protest site to closely observe Wangchuk’s hunger strike. Read our ground report.
SONAM WANGCHUK’S FAST ENTER DAY 20
Initially, Wangchuk’s protest failed to gather steam. Cockroach Party founder Abhijit Dipke’s apolitical framing of their protest did not help matters.
“We don’t want existing parties to come. They are the ones who were in power when things did not improve. They are a reason why we are here,” Dipke said in an interview.
Even Wangchuk suggested that he joined the CJP protest as it had no political colour. “If I saw even a hint of politics in this, I wouldn’t have come here,” he said.
However, the same utterly apolitical framing has come under strain over the past week. As the protest struggled to gather momentum, Dipke invited political leaders across the spectrum, including the BJP, to join the agitation.
By then, Wangchuk’s hunger strike crossed two weeks. He turned frail, his voice feeble. His blood sugar had been falling. The weather didn’t help either, as temperatures hovered around 37 degrees. Videos of a weak Wangchuk struggling to stand up on his feet and wincing in pain went viral. The crowd began to thicken.
Arvind Kejriwal interacts with Sonam Wangchuk during his hunger strike at Jantar Mantar (PTI)
PROTEST GATHERS STEAM, CAUSE LOSES VOICE
It was only then that actors, writers, academics and opposition leaders began to publicly engage with the protest. A petition was also filed in the Delhi High Court, urging immediate medical intervention and ending his fast by force-feeding him. The court has ordered the Centre to monitor his health daily.
The conversation shifted. It now revolved around getting Wangchuk to end his fast. The cause that triggered it, alleged failures in the education system and Pradhan’s resignation, faded from the conversation.
The opposition seems to have woken up only now, timed just ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament. Over the past couple of days, a host of leaders, including Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, have visited the protest site. Others, like Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, tweeted asking Wangchuk to end his fast.
However, most refrained from voicing the demand that lay at the centre of Wangchuk’s protest – the resignation of Education Minister Pradhan. It has been overshadowed by urgent appeals to save his life.
The biggest face that the CJP was banking on, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, has stayed away from the protest. It may be due to the association of Dipke, who was with the AAP during its early days. Moreover, Wangchuk’s remark that leaders like Rahul not coming to the protest site were doing so “out of pettiness” did not help matters.
It was only on Thursday that Congress general secretary KC Venugopal expressed solidarity with Wangchuk’s agitation.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav was among the several politicians who visited Wangchuk (PTI)
WHAT NEXT FOR SONAM WANGCHUK?
Wangchuk, however, has remained unmoved by the growing chorus asking him to call off his fast. “I am not in good shape but not so bad either,” Wangchuk said.
“Instead of asking me to end my hunger strike, ask the government why it refuses to listen,” he further said in a video posted by the CJP.
Wangchuk knows that ending his hunger strike without any response from the government would send a wrong message. A withdrawal will be a political defeat. The BJP leadership has stood firmly behind Dharmendra Pradhan. Strong buzz of a Cabinet reshuffle and possible action against Pradhan have fizzled out for now.
For 59-year-old Wangchuk and the CJP, much hinges on their proposed march to Parliament on July 20 – the first day of the Monsoon session. Over the past few days, Wangchuk has appealed to his supporters not to ask him to end his fast, but instead join the march to Parliament.
“I will stay alive until July 20… so I can march with all of you to Parliament. And if our march doesn’t succeed… I will come back as a ghost and finish the job!” Wangchuk said.
With his hunger strike, Wangchuk has already captured the nation’s attention and stirred a debate on social media. However, as his condition deteriorates, an uncomfortable question hangs over the movement. Has the cause that triggered the protest in the first place lost its voice?
– Ends
Published By:
Abhishek De
Published On:
Jul 17, 2026 13:34 IST
