Sonam Wangchuk: Indian activist on hunger strike for 20 days forcibly taken to hospital

Indian activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk, on hunger strike for the past 20 days in Delhi, has been forcibly removed from his protest site.

The 59-year-old had been protesting in support of an online satirical movement called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) who are seeking educational reforms. The protesters had planned a march to India’s parliament on Monday.

Wangchuk was sitting on hunger strike in the scorching summer, consuming nothing but salt and water. He had lost more than 9kg and was in a lot of pain.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has now begun an indefinite fast in his place. He says the march to parliament will go on and has called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign.

Dipke told the BBC he had gone to a friend’s house in the morning to freshen up when policemen turned up and refused to let him leave.

Videos from the protest site on Saturday showed chaos erupting just before 07:30 local time (02:00 GMT) when dozens of police and paramilitary personnel swooped in on the stage where the activist was lying down. Protesters who tried to stop them were pushed away.

They covered him with curtains of bedsheets before removing him from the stage. Minutes later, an ambulance was seen speeding away.

The activist’s wife Gitanjali Angmo later posted on X that she was “at Safdarjung hospital where he has been admitted”.

“Nothing should be administered to him orally or intravenous[ly] without taking consent from me, his family and his doctors who have been monitoring his health for the past 20 days,” she wrote, external.

Dr Charu Bamba, Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital, later told news agency ANI that Wangchuk was “fully alert and stable”.

“He is somewhat weak due to prolonged fasting and is experiencing mild dehydration; otherwise, all his vital parameters are stable. He is being continuously examined and monitored, and his treatment is under way,” she said.

A top police official told reporters that Wangchuk had been moved “in compliance with [a court] order, and based on health conditions and medical advice”.

“Sonam Wangchuk has been moved to a government hospital for much-needed medical intervention and is currently under medical supervision,” said Sachin Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police.

He was referring to a Delhi High Court order from Thursday asking the federal government to monitor Wangchuk’s health regularly and provide necessary treatment if needed.

Wangchuk had refused to end his indefinite hunger strike despite growing calls for him to do so. Despite his frail health, he had been insisting that he would participate in Monday’s march to the parliament.

“I’ve grown weak from the outside but I’m strong from within,” Wangchuk told the crowd gathered at the protest venue, Jantar Mantar, a 300-year-old observatory, a couple of days back. His statement was met with cheers and applause.