A wake-up call for the government, says Gitanjali Angmo

Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of educator and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. File. | Photo credit: PTI

Hours after activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk ended his fast at Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital late Thursday night (July 23, 2026), his wife Gitanjali J. Angmo described the ongoing agitation by students in the wake of the NEET paper leak as a “very successful movement” that focused on education reforms across the country and woke up. She expressed hope that it would also serve as a “wake-up call” for the current regime.

Also Read: Jantar Mantar Protest Update on July 24, 2026

Speaking to mediapersons outside the hospital on Friday (July 24, 2026), Mrs Angmo said the movement was successful on two counts – it put education back on the national agenda and woke up the nation. “First of all, both the opposition and the government have jointly decided that education is an important issue and that it will be discussed in this monsoon session and the reforms will continue. That is an immediate success,” she said.

The second success, she added, was the nationwide mobilization. “The whole country has woken up. The NEET paper leak was just a symptom. The reasons behind it were in every system – be it the judiciary or the media. The common man faces this broken system in his life on a daily basis,” Ms Angmo said.

She described the support from across the country as a “symbol” of public anger and hoped it would serve as a “wake-up call for the government”. “Probably they (government) may not have known till now that the country is angry with them and has so much expectation from them. It is a successful movement from every point of view. That’s why Sonam ended her fast yesterday (Thursday),” she said.

Three requirements

Mr. Wangchuk demanded a written commitment on three points: no new FIRs against the July 20 protesters and withdrawal of existing ones, compensation to the families of NEET students who died by suicide, and a parliamentary debate on education reforms. Ms Angmo said the verbal assurance was given on Thursday morning but Mr Wangchuk continued his fast until it was written. “Around midnight these terms were agreed in writing and signed,” she said.

Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh conveyed the assurance on behalf of the government. Before that, 20 MPs had personally met with Mr Wangchuk and 65 opposition MPs had also assured him that these issues would be raised in parliament, she said.

Mrs Angmo said her husband was now recovering on a liquid diet as part of a gradual process of “jumping his digestive system”.

“Today it is liquid, dal, vegetables and coconut water. From tomorrow, it will gradually change to semi-solid and then solid,” she said.

Published – 24 Jul 2026 23:06 IST