Indian activist moved to hospital after 20-day hunger strike

New Delhi police forcibly moved activist Sonam Wangchuk to a hospital on Saturday over health concerns after a 20-day hunger strike in protest against India's examination system.

Wangchuk, 59, has been fasting since June 28 to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in examinations to study medicine. 

A few hundred students have also joined Wangchuk around his stage at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar protest site in recent weeks, with other protests also organised by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) online movement.

"As per the orders of... high court and on expert medical advice due to deteriorating health condition of Sonam Wangchuk, he has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care," a deputy commissioner of Delhi police said in a statement.

"While complying with the orders... the protestors tried to create obstruction, in which slight commotion ensued," the statement said.

A video from Jantar Mantar showed confusion among a few Wangchuk supporters as police, carrying white sheets, hurriedly moved Wangchuk from the stage.

Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, said in a post on X that she was with her husband at the Delhi hospital.

"Nothing should be administered to him orally or intravenously without consent from me, his family, and his doctors who have been monitoring his health for the past 20 days," she said.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said after Wangchuk was moved the hospital that he would now start "an indefinite hunger strike". 

"The government has made a serious mistake," Dipke said at the Jantar Mantar site.

A New Delhi court ordered government doctors on Thursday to monitor Wangchuk's health daily.

The "life of any citizen is precious", it said after a petition filed by activist lawyer Rakesh Kumar Saini expressed concern for Wangchuk.

"Whatever medical intervention is needed to save Sonam Wangchuk's life should be done," the Delhi High Court ordered on Thursday.

An engineer by training, Wangchuk is best known for pioneering water conservation projects in the Himalayas.

A few hours before he was picked up by the police, Wangchuk said: "Smaller movements have brought down many governments in India... and here it is about education."

Some 2.2 million aspiring medical students sat for a re-examination under tight security last month after the previous test was scrapped following a paper leak that triggered widespread outrage.

The failure of the hugely competitive exam, along with a separate marking fiasco in high school tests, sparked an outcry and fuelled youth protests.

Several members of opposition parties have supported Wangchuk and the student activists, while 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 their political ambitions".

"... we need you to live to fight another day," she said on X.

bb/pbt

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