Jantar Mantar Protest Student Activists: Delhi Police moved activist Sonam Wangchuk to a government hospital on Saturday after his health got worse on the 21st day of his indefinite hunger strike. He had been sitting on fast at Jantar Mantar with the CJP protest, which started about a month ago.
Wangchuk and the protesters are demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged problems in NEET and other public exams. Reuters reported that Wangchuk began fasting on June 28 and that police said he was shifted because of his health condition.
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Three Students Kept the Fast Going
Even after Wangchuk was taken away, three student activists stayed on hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. Their names are Neha Bora, Manish and Aameen. All three are linked to the All India Students’ Association, which is the student wing of CPI(ML). Neha Bora is a PhD scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University and the AISA national president. She comes from Uttarakhand and studied at Delhi University and Ambedkar University before joining JNU.
Manish is the AISA president in Uttar Pradesh and a PhD scholar at Allahabad University. He is from Azamgarh and has earlier faced action from the university because of his activism. Aameen Amitoj is the AISA vice president at Ambedkar University in Delhi. He studied at SGTB Khalsa College and is now doing a PhD in Urban Studies.
Health Fears and More Protests
Neha said the police action happened very suddenly. In her account, she said plainclothes people first came near the stage, and then a heavy police team moved in and took Wangchuk away for medical attention. AISA also said Neha’s blood sugar had dropped very low on Friday, so doctors advised her to end the fast and get hospital care. The group added that Manish and Aameen were also facing serious health problems after 20 days without food.
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The protest did not slow down after Wangchuk left. The AISA students formed a human chain and kept their hunger strike going. After Saturday’s events, at least six more students said they would join the fast at Jantar Mantar. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also began his own hunger strike.
Two more students, JNUSU joint secretary Danish Ali and JNU’s Barak Hostel president Hrishikesh, were later admitted to hospital after their health worsened. Delhi Police had also tightened security around the protest site, and the planned march to Parliament on July 20 remained a point of tension.
