Indian Activist Sonam Wangchuk Loses 8.5kg in 17 Days, Refuses to End Hunger Strike Over Exam Leaks

• Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk began his hunger strike on 28 June in New Delhi over a major exam paper leak scandal
• Wangchuk lost 8.5kg in 17 days and told reporters he was too weak to speak as his health continued to decline
• Opposition leaders and protest organisers urged him to stop fasting, but Wangchuk remained determined to continue

Indian engineer-turned-activist Sonam Wangchuk has refused to end his hunger strike in New Delhi, even as his health sharply declined after 17 days without food. The 59-year-old began fasting on 28 June at the Jantar Mantar protest site near India's parliament.

According to Al Jazeera, he joined the sit-in in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a Gen Z-led political movement demanding that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over the leaking of exam papers that disrupted millions of students. When approached by Reuters at the protest site, Wangchuk, lying on a white mattress on stage, said he was too weak to speak. He had previously warned that his fast could run for six weeks, unless his body gave out first.

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Activist advised to stop the fast

The CJP shared a photo on X showing Wangchuk surrounded by medical staff, confirming he had lost 8.5kg as of Tuesday and that his condition was getting worse. Wangchuk is widely known as the real-life inspiration behind a character in the beloved Bollywood film 3 Idiots. His presence at the protest has drawn significant attention to the CJP's cause.

The party was founded by 30-year-old Abhijeet Dipke, who described the situation with alarm. He also noted that Wangchuk was urging supporters to prepare for a planned march to parliament on 20 July. Another hunger striker at the same site fainted on Monday and was hospitalised. The CJP, which describes itself as the party of 'the lazy, the unemployed, and the chronically correct,' gathered 22 million Instagram followers within days of launching in May. The exam paper leaks that triggered the protests led to the cancellation of a medical entrance examination sat by 2.3 million candidates.

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Dangers of not eating

Skipping meals or severely restricting food intake can quickly derail your health, leading to dangerous metabolic and physiological complications. When the body is starved of essential nutrients and calories, it shifts into a catabolic state, breaking down its own muscle tissue and vital organs for energy. This prolonged deprivation slows down the metabolic rate, disrupts hormone production, weakens the immune system, and can lead to severe electrolyte imbalances that put immense strain on the heart.

3 Other Briefly News stories about exam papers

• The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, addressed Members of Parliament and South Africans about the matric exam paper leak.
• A TikTok video showing someone solving a ZIMSEC O Level Maths Paper 1 from June 2026 went viral among South African viewers.
• The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, discussed the findings of the department's probe into the matric exam paper leak.

Source: Briefly News