Who is Dan Ali? JNUSU leader hospitalized during hunger strike led by Sonam Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar | Today’s news
Student leader Danish Ali was hospitalized in critical condition on Saturday while on hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi along with activist Sonam Wangchuk from Ladakh. The protest launched by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on June 20 is demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in NEET and other competitive examinations.
Danish Ali is the Joint Secretary of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) – representing the United Left Panel which includes AISA, SFI and DSF). It is affiliated to the All India Students’ Association (AISA).
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Wangchuk joined the strike protest on June 28. AISA said Denmark’s Ali was admitted to hospital for intravenous fluids, while five other activists – Neha, Manish, Hrishikesh, Deepak and Aameen – continued their indefinite hunger strike along with Wangchuk and other protesters.
“Ali of Denmark was accepted RML Hospital after seven days on an indefinite hunger strike (on Saturday). Her blood sugar dropped to a life-threatening 46 mg/dL, requiring emergency hospitalization and intravenous fluids,” CPIML (Liberation) said in a post on X.
Who is Danish Ali?
Danish Ali, a PhD student at the Center for Historical Studies (CHS), hails from the small village of Bandarbarru in Narsinghpur district, Madhya Pradesh. She completed her schooling in the nearby town of Gadarwara, where she also emerged as a state-level player in handball and cricket.
Her father is a retired public school teacher while her mother is currently working as a principal in a public school.
Denmark’s Ali studied History from SGTB Khalsa College and later joined JNU for Masters in 2022-2024. She is well known for her fiery speeches defending the rights of marginalized communities, including Dalits, Muslims and Adivasis.
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In the JNUSU elections held in November 2025, Denmark’s Alise secured a decisive victory in the joint secretary race, winning 1,991 votes and extending Left Unity’s clean sweep.
15th day of CJP protest
The Janta cockroach party The (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar entered its 15th day on Saturday and received fresh political support from AAP MP Sanjay Singh and CPI(M) MP John Brittas, while climate activist Sonam Wangchuk continued her hunger strike on the seventh day.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke had earlier said that Wangchuk had lost five kilograms and that his condition was deteriorating day by day.
“How long will the Prime Minister wait before being dismissed? Dharmendra PradhanDipke asked in a post on X, adding that if anything happens to Wangchuk, the government will be held responsible.
The CJP also published an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to break what it called his “loud silence” on the agitation and hold Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accountable for alleged exam paper leaks and student suicides.
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The letter said Wangchuk’s hunger strike was aimed at putting “moral pressure” on the government and questioned why there had been no response despite 15 days of protests.
“How long will the Prime Minister wait before expelling Dharmendra Pradhan?” – Abhijeet Deepka
The protest, which began on June 20 over alleged irregularities in examinations including NEET, received support from a wide range of political leaders and members of civil society, including MA Baby, Brinda Karat, D Raja, Annie Raja, Dipankar BhattacharyaYogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey, Sagarika Ghose and Mahua Moitra.
