Hungry For Change
What’s behind Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike, and what it says about protest in a democracy.
Happy weekend! Every Saturday, we try to bring stories from the past week (and beyond) to a logical closure rather than rushing off to the next big thing. If you haven’t read these stories yet, now’s the perfect time to quickly catch up over a cup of chai!
This is a special Closing the Loop edition. Instead of revisiting multiple stories from the past, we’re focusing on just one today: Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike.
What is he protesting against? Do his demands make sense? And what about the method he has chosen? Why do some support it while others disagree? Let’s take a closer look!
The Fast And The Furious
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I never like to feel resourceless, a Satyagrahi never should. Fasting is his last resort in the place of the sword.*
Mahatma Gandhi wrote these words on the eve of what would become his last fast. The 78-year-old began a “fast unto death” on January 13, 1948 to demand an end to communal violence. He ended it five days later after leaders from rival communities pledged to restore peace.
Many might wonder how simply refusing to eat can become a form of protest powerful enough to compel those in power to take notice. But if any country understands the power of a hunger strike, it is India. And no one embodied that tradition more than Gandhi. By some estimates, he fasted at least 15 times as a form of protest, with his longest lasting 21 days.*
Incidentally, Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike enters its 21st day today.
To jog your memory, Sonam Wangchuk is a renowned engineer, education reformer, and climate activist from Ladakh. This is not his first hunger strike. In fact, we wrote about him last year in “Ladakh and Loaded”, where we explained why many Ladakhis have been demanding inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to help safeguard their land, jobs, culture, and fragile environment.
So why is he fasting again this time?
The Breaking Point
On May 3rd, over 20 lakh hopeful students across India sat down for the NEET-UG exam to seek admission to medical school. Just nine days later, on May 12, the test was abruptly canceled after investigations revealed that several questions had been leaked beforehand. Over a dozen students took their own lives after facing the prospect of a retest.*
The National Testing Agency, or the NTA, is unfortunately no stranger to leaks. Just two years ago, in 2024, the NEET-UG paper was leaked as well! If you’re wondering what the NTA is, what the NEET exam is all about, or what the modus operandi behind the paper leak was, be sure to check out “Diagnosing the NEET Leak”.
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The person at the centre of the current controversy is Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Demanding his resignation is a relatively new citizen movement with an unusual name, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The group proudly describes itself as the “voice of the lazy and unemployed”. We explored its origins and five-point manifesto in our earlier story, “Metamorphosis of the Cockroach”.
So what happens from here?
Food For Thought
Whether one agrees with Sonam Wangchuk’s demands or methods, or suspects political motives behind the movement, let’s not conflate being anti-government with being anti-national.
Peaceful protest, however messy or inconvenient it may be, is one of the defining features of a healthy democracy. It allows citizens to hold their government accountable, express dissent, and advocate for social change without resorting to violence. We’ll end with what we told you a while back in “A State Of Confusion”:
If someone speaks out against their government to protect the social contract outlined in the Constitution, or if they protest because the government is failing the shared idea of the nation, they are indeed anti-government. But one could easily argue they are also deeply patriotic and true nationalists!
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Curious? Read or listen to this special Closing the Loop edition on Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike, and what it says about protest in a democracy, on Dot.
Find the full story here: https://www.dot.news/post/6a5a780727c56d0002ac1e6f
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