5 Key Takeaways
- Sonam Wangchuk began a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination system failures.
- The protest was sparked by a series of exam irregularities, including question paper leaks and mismanagement by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
- The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) initiated the sit-in, later joined by Wangchuk and six student leaders from the All India Students’ Association (AISA).
- Protesters expanded their demands to include the repeal of the National Education Policy 2020 and the scrapping of the NTA.
- The Delhi Police denied allegations of cutting off water and sanitation at the protest site, but the incident highlighted tensions between protesters and authorities.
Hunger and Dignity: Sonam Wangchuk's Fast for India's Examination Reckoning
The ice-stupa pioneer from Ladakh joins student activists at Jantar Mantar, demanding the Education Minister's resignation amid a cascading crisis of trust in the nation's testing system.
On a sweltering June afternoon in the heart of New Delhi, a well-known education reformer sat down in silent protest and refused food. Sonam Wangchuk, the environmentalist and innovator whose life inspired a Bollywood film, began a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar on Sunday, June 28, 2026, vowing not to eat until the Union Education Minister steps down. He was not alone. By evening, six young student leaders had joined his indefinite fast, turning a simmering protest into a headline-grabbing demand for accountability in India's troubled examination system.
This unfolding drama is the latest chapter in a protest that began ten days earlier. Since June 20, a relatively new and unusual political outfit—the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP—has been camped at Jantar Mantar, the iconic protest site in the capital. Their singular demand mirrors Wangchuk's: the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister of Education, over what they describe as a cascade of irregularities that have shattered the trust of millions of young Indians in the fairness of their exams. Wangchuk's arrival and his decision to put his body on the line instantly elevated the stakes.
To understand why a man best known for building ice stupas in Ladakh and championing climate-resilient mountain life is now at the centre of a Delhi hunger strike, one has to look at the string of exam-related crises that have rocked the country over the past year. The flashpoint is the medical entrance test, NEET, and a series of other high-stakes examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency, or NTA. Allegations of question paper leaks, unfair awarding of grace marks, arbitrary normalization of scores, and systemic mismanagement have sparked widespread anger among students and parents. What appeared initially as isolated glitches has since hardened into a perception of deep institutional failure.
The NTA, established in 2017 to conduct transparent and efficient entrance tests for admission to colleges and universities, has seen its credibility severely dented. In the 2024 and 2025 testing cycles, candidates reported widespread discrepancies. Some alleged that question papers were circulating on messaging apps hours before exams. Others pointed to inexplicable spikes in marks that pushed deserving students down the merit list. The Supreme Court weighed in at various points, and courts in several states ordered re-tests. Yet for many, the relief came too late or felt insufficient. The CJP's protest, and now Wangchuk's hunger strike, crystallizes the demand that political responsibility must be fixed at the top.
The Moral Force Behind the Movement
Sonam Wangchuk is no stranger to peaceful protest. Known for his work in education reform through the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, he has long advocated for a grassroots, community-based approach to learning. He famously led a 66-day fast in 2018 to push for the protection of Ladakh's fragile environment and its tribal identity. More recently, he walked from Leh to Delhi on a "climate fast" to demand safeguards for the Himalayan region. For many Indians, Wangchuk represents a kind of conscience-driven activism that stays away from partisan politics. His decision to join the Cockroach Janta Party's agitation gave the movement a new moral force.
The CJP's name is deliberately provocative. Founder Abhijeet Dipke, a former software professional turned full-time activist, has explained that the cockroach symbolizes survival against all odds and an ability to thrive in a system that often crushes ordinary citizens. The party's messaging is laced with satire, but its demands are sharply focused on what it calls a "broken examination-industrial complex." Dipke has in the past appealed to farmers, students, and various civil society organisations to unite behind a call for accountability. On June 20, the party began its sit-in at Jantar Mantar, initially with a small group of supporters. Over the days, their numbers grew.
June 27 — Sonam Wangchuk arrives in Delhi, visits Rajghat with Abhijeet Dipke.
June 28 — Wangchuk formally begins his indefinite hunger strike; six AISA student leaders join him by evening.
The protest entered a new phase on the morning of Sunday, June 28. Sonam Wangchuk, who had arrived in Delhi a day earlier, visited Rajghat alongside Dipke to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. The symbolism was powerful: the apostle of non-violence whose methods of satyagraha and fasting inspired generations of Indians. Soon after, Wangchuk reached Jantar Mantar and formally commenced his hunger strike. Standing before the gathered crowd, he declared that he would not consume food until the Education Minister resigns and "justice for students" is delivered. The crowd, a mix of student activists, farmers, and residents, responded with loud slogans.
In his address from the makeshift stage, Wangchuk struck a note of unity and encouragement. "I am not alone," he said. "I have been told that some youth are also going on hunger strike. Wherever you are, I salute you." The statement was both a recognition of the student energy swirling around the issue and a signal that the movement was about to broaden. Within hours, six students associated with the All India Students' Association, or AISA, formally joined him in the indefinite fast, infusing the protest with the voices of those directly affected by examination policies.
The Students Who Stepped Forward
AISA, a left-leaning student organisation with a strong presence in several central universities, had earlier extended solidarity to the CJP sit-in. On Sunday, they released a statement naming the six young people who would now share Wangchuk's hunger strike. The list included Danish Ali, the serving joint secretary of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union; Hrishikesh, the president of JNU's Barak Hostel; Aameen, a former student council member from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi; Neha, AISA's all-India president; Manish, the organisation's Uttar Pradesh president; and Deepak, the vice president of the AISA unit at Delhi University. Their presence brought a cross-university representation that underlined how deep the grievances run.
In their statement, AISA made it clear that the hunger strike was not just about one minister. The expanded list of demands placed the protest at the centre of a larger ideological battle over the direction of India's education policy. The National Education Policy 2020, or NEP, is a comprehensive framework approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2020 that aims to overhaul the entire education system from school to higher education. It recommends a wide range of reforms, including a shift towards multidisciplinary learning, multiple entry and exit points in degree programmes, and a greater emphasis on regional languages. While many educationists have praised its vision, critics, including the protesting students and activist groups, argue that its implementation has been rushed, underfunded, and in some cases harmful to public institutions. AISA and others have specifically called for its repeal, viewing it as a tool of centralization and privatisation that undermines India's public university system.
At the same time, the demand to scrap the National Testing Agency goes to the heart of the immediate crisis. For millions of students who aspire to careers in medicine, engineering, and other professional fields, the NTA is the gatekeeper. Its entrance tests—NEET for medical colleges, JEE for engineering, and several others—determine life trajectories in a fiercely competitive environment. When those tests are perceived as compromised or mismanaged, the damage is not only academic but deeply personal. Students who have studied for years feel betrayed. Families that have invested their savings often see no recourse. The anger that has been building on social media and in campus corridors now had a physical manifestation at Jantar Mantar.
Tensions and Denials at the Protest Site
The day of the hunger strike was not without tension. Shortly after Wangchuk announced his fast, Abhijeet Dipke made a serious allegation on social media: that the Delhi Police had cut off water and sanitation facilities at the protest site in an attempt to deter the hunger strike. The accusation, which quickly went viral, ignited outrage among supporters who saw it as an underhanded tactic to break the protesters' resolve. For a few tense hours, the narrative of state repression gathered momentum.
The Delhi Police responded swiftly and firmly. The Deputy Commissioner of Police for New Delhi district issued an online statement rejecting the charge. The Delhi Police, being a law enforcement agency, the commissioner said, had no role to play in providing or maintaining such facilities. The statement termed the allegations "falsehoods and misinformation," urging citizens not to fall for what it described as a smear campaign. By evening, the immediate controversy subsided, but the exchange highlighted the charged atmosphere surrounding the protest. Facilities at such protest sites are typically managed by civic agencies, and the police argument was that their mandate was to maintain law and order, not to provide amenities. The rebuttal did little to dampen the mood on the ground, where supporters continued to arrive with water bottles and food for those not on fast.
As the sun set over Jantar Mantar on June 28, the hunger strike was firmly in motion. Wangchuk, who is in his late fifties, appeared calm but resolute, seated on the dais with the six student activists beside him. The sight of an award-winning innovator in his trademark woollen cap, surrounded by young people representing diverse campuses, sent a powerful visual message. It bridged generations, geographies, and styles of activism. It also put the government in a delicate spot.
What Lies Ahead
The Education Minister has not yet publicly responded to the hunger strike, but his ministry has been scrambling to address the examination crisis for months. A high-level committee was constituted earlier in the year to review the NTA's functioning and recommend reforms. The government has also promised punishments for those found guilty in the paper leak cases. Yet for the protesters at Jantar Mantar, these measures feel piecemeal and reactive. They are demanding the resignation of the political head of the ministry as an admission of systemic failure, not just a bureaucratic reshuffle.
What happens next depends on several factors. Hunger strikes, modelled on Gandhi's satyagraha, carry enormous moral force in India, but they also come with physical risk and political uncertainty. The government must now decide whether to engage with the protesters, ignore them, or perhaps take administrative action that could defuse the momentum. On the protesters' side, the immediate challenge is sustaining support and maintaining the health of those on indefinite fast. Medical teams are usually on standby at such long-duration sit-ins, and there will be pressure to avoid a health emergency.
The broader implications for India's education landscape are significant. The protest links together disparate strands of discontent: students angry over exam fairness, academics worried about the NEP's direction, and civil society groups advocating for transparency. By positioning himself as an "honorary cockroach," as Wangchuk jokingly called himself earlier, the activist has underscored that this movement is resilient and adaptable. The cockroach, after all, is almost impossible to crush. The question now is whether the government will treat this agitation as a nuisance to be outlasted or as a catalyst for genuine reform.
For millions of students watching from their homes and hostels, the hunger strike at Jantar Mantar represents a rare moment of hope. The examination system that decides their futures has rarely felt this fragile. The sight of an educator who has dedicated his life to innovation and learning now refusing food to demand accountability may well become a defining image of student politics in the years to come. Whether it leads to a minister's resignation, a policy rollback, or simply a protracted standoff, one thing is already clear: the demand for dignity and fairness in education has never been louder.
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