The Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike came to an end on Thursday after 26 days, with the Indian activist halting his fast in Delhi in the presence of two senior government ministers after receiving assurances that his demands would be addressed, according to the Guardian. Supporters of the wider Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest movement have called for demonstrations across the country on Friday, as the youth-led wave of unrest over an exam paper scandal continues to spread.
In a video posted from his hospital bed, Wangchuk said he had been assured that accountability for failures in the examination system would be discussed on the floor of India’s parliament. According to the report, the government also committed to compensating families of those who died by suicide following the leak of a major examination paper, and pledged that no cases would be registered against students who took part in mass protests in Delhi earlier in the week.
Wangchuk appeared weak but in good spirits after nearly four weeks without food, the Guardian reported, noting that hunger strikes have long served as a tool of protest in India, historically associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s campaigns during the independence movement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the activist to follow medical advice and regain the weight he had lost after ending the fast.
The Sonam Wangchuk hunger strike had been closely tied to the broader CJP movement, which has called for nationwide protests in solidarity with students who alleged police brutality during a march on parliament earlier in the week involving tens of thousands of people. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked Wangchuk for his sacrifice and said the protests would continue until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, a central demand of the movement, according to the Guardian.
The CJP has said Pradhan should step down over exam paper leaks that affected roughly two million students in May and have been linked to several suicides. On Friday, CJP leaders said the government had agreed to meet them at a neutral location to discuss their demands, with the movement’s spokesperson telling reporters they hoped officials would engage with an open mind. Youth-led protests have also emerged this week in Bengaluru, Ranchi, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram and Kolkata, with hundreds of students detained by police in Mumbai.
Pradhan, addressing the matter publicly for the first time since calls for his resignation began, said the government remained committed to addressing concerns and reforming the examination system, the Guardian reported. Officials from the Ministry of Education have not issued a separate statement beyond Pradhan’s remarks, according to available reporting.
In Delhi, thousands of protesters remained at the Jantar Mantar site on Thursday afternoon under heavy security, while authorities shut down 16 metro stations in the central part of the city, disrupting commuters. The government also ordered telecom operators to suspend mobile internet services in the area, a move that affected both protesters and local businesses reliant on digital payments, according to sources cited by Reuters and referenced in the Guardian’s report. Human rights groups have characterised the measures as an attempt to curb the protests and prevent further unrest.
Modi said on Thursday that fast-track courts would be established to prosecute those responsible for exam paper leaks, his first public response to the crisis, but the CJP rejected the proposal as insufficient, arguing it addressed only the aftermath of leaks rather than their root cause. Modi later said further measures against paper leaks would be announced at a cabinet meeting on Friday. The protests, which represent the largest youth-led challenge to Modi’s government since 2014, have also disrupted the ongoing monsoon session of parliament, with opposition parties echoing the movement’s demands. Developments involving Wangchuk’s hospitalisation and related legal proceedings continue to be tracked separately, including reports on the transfer of his hospital-related case.
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