Who is Sonam Wangchuk and why did he go on hunger strike in 2026?
Short answer
Sonam Wangchuk is a Ladakhi engineer and education reformer. He began an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar on 28 June 2026 demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. He ended it after 26 days, on 23 July, on written government assurances.
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Wangchuk is an engineer and education activist from Ladakh, known for his work on school education reform and for a long record of hunger strikes on Ladakhi statehood and environmental issues. His involvement gave the 2026 exam-leak protests something the Cockroach Janta Party, six weeks old at that point, did not have: a figure with independent moral standing and an established track record.
He announced on 20 June 2026 that he would begin an indefinite hunger strike from 27 June if Pradhan did not resign, and began it on 28 June alongside six All India Students' Association activists including national president Neha Bora.
By 17 July, the nineteenth day, he had lost 9.1 kilograms. Doctors reported he had begun losing muscle mass, and video circulated of him unable to stand unaided.
On 18 July, Delhi Police removed him from Jantar Mantar and admitted him to Safdarjung Hospital, citing medical advice. Organisers called it a forced removal without notice, and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi criticised it. On 21 July the Delhi High Court ordered him transferred to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram on his wife's petition. He continued the fast throughout.
On 22 July he wrote to Union ministers J. P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh Rana setting three conditions for ending it: an assurance against punitive action on protesters, acknowledgement of compensation for the families of students who died by suicide, and a parliamentary discussion including consideration of Pradhan's resignation. Around 65 opposition MPs wrote asking him to end the fast and pledging to press the government.
He ended it on 23 July 2026, in the presence of Nadda and Singh Rana, on written government assurances to withdraw cases against non-violent protesters, hold discussions on preventing paper leaks, and provide suitable compensation to bereaved families. Pradhan resigned two days later.
- Ladakhi engineer and education reformer with a long record of hunger strikes
- Began an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar on 28 June 2026 with six AISA activists
- Lost 9.1 kg by day nineteen; removed by police to Safdarjung Hospital on 18 July
- Delhi High Court ordered his transfer to Medanta, Gurugram, on 21 July
- Ended the 26-day fast on 23 July on written government assurances; Pradhan resigned on 25 July
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Facts verified
- 1.2026 Delhi Jantar Mantar protests NewsWikipediaUsed for: The dates of the fast, weight loss, the removal to hospital, the High Court transfer order, the three conditions and the assurances on which it ended
- 2.2026 NEET controversy NewsWikipediaUsed for: Wangchuk's role in the protest and the duration of the fast
- 3.Cockroach Janta Party and the 2026 Delhi protest ResearchEncyclopaedia BritannicaUsed for: Wangchuk as a principal figure in the protest
Dates, the weight loss figure, the hospital removal and transfer, and the terms on which the fast ended come from the sources cited. The characterisation of the removal from the protest site is contested — police cited medical advice and organisers called it a forced removal without notice — and both accounts are stated. The government's assurances and their implementation were disputed within days and remained unresolved when this page was last reviewed.
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