by Imtiaz Popat
Delhi police forcibly removed Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest site and placed him in involuntary detention after his health deteriorated the two week hunger strike.
He says he’s ‘feeling fine,’ urges doctors to let him leave hospital to participate in the Cockroach Janta Party’s ‘Sansad Chalo’ march to Parliament. However, doctors have stated that while his vital signs are stable, he continues to require close medical supervision because some blood parameters still need careful observation. The development highlights an important health message feeling well does not always mean the body has fully recovered, especially after a prolonged fast.
59-year-old, Sonam Wangchuck has been on a hunger strike for 2 weeks at a New Delhi hospital, surviving on salt water and has lost 9.1kg and aides say he’s in immense pain and unable to even stand without support.
Wangchuk has been protesting in support of an online satirical movement called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) who are seeking educational reforms.
The police cracked down on the march on parliament hill on Monday July 20. The action on one of the largest protests in the national capital in recent years left many injured. The police swung into action amid an internet shutdown in the New Delhi district, even as CJP representatives Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka met with government representives to formally seek Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
The protesters are demanding the resignation the Education Minister after a key entrance exam for aspiring doctors was cancelled in early May following a paper leak. They say the minister must take moral responsibility and quit.
Pradhan has dismissed CJP and its supporters as “the B-team of disruptive elements”. And the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not engaged with the protesters.
Popularly known as “Sonam sir”, Wangchuk is one of Ladakh’s best-known public figures and a well-known name in India. His work has earned international recognition, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018, often referred to as Asia’s Nobel Prize.
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