Activist Sonam Wangchuk's Health Monitored by Doctors on Court Order Amid Hunger Strike

New Delhi. A court in New Delhi has ordered government doctors to monitor the health of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on a hunger strike against India's examination system, on a daily basis. The court issued such an order on Thursday after supporters expressed concern about his health due to the ongoing hunger strike for three weeks.

Wangchuk, 59, who started his hunger strike on June 28, has demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, citing alleged irregularities in medical entrance exams and other reforms. 'Whatever medical intervention is necessary to save Sonam Wangchuk's life, it should be done,' the Delhi High Court said while hearing a petition, adding, 'The life of any citizen is invaluable.'

In a petition filed this week by activist's lawyer Rakesh Kumar Saini, it was warned that Wangchuk's life would be in great danger if he did not break his fast. Some of Wangchuk's supporters and movement members are also urging him to break his fast. Wangchuk, who is fasting on the stage at Delhi's famous protest site Jantar Mantar, appeared very weak and sick on Thursday, but he waved his hand to the supporters who had come to the protest site for help and encouraged them.

An engineer by profession, Wangchuk is famous as a pioneer of water conservation projects in the Himalayas. He received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018 for his contributions to environmental conservation and improvement of the local school system in the Himalayan region of Ladakh.

Along with Wangchuk, about a dozen students, including 29-year-old Bahadur Singh from Uttar Pradesh, are also on hunger strike. Singh told AFP, 'I am not fasting for myself, this is for every student who has lost hope in the system.'

Protesting students from across India have participated in demonstrations organized by a satirical online movement called 'Cockroach Janata Party' in recent weeks. Many students have said that due to repeated leaks of question papers, examinees have lost faith in the examination system itself.

Following widespread outrage after the question paper of a previous exam was leaked, leading to the cancellation of the exam, about 2.2 million aspiring medical students took a re-examination last month under tight security. The failure of this highly competitive exam and separate marking scams in high school exams have generated significant outrage and fueled the youth movement.

Some members of opposition parties have also expressed support for Wangchuk and the student activists. Shashi Tharoor of the Indian National Congress party, supporting Wangchuk's campaign, wrote on social media, 'This country hears you. Your anger is not indiscipline, it is the pain of a generation that did everything right and was still betrayed.'