Woke from sleep to witness Wangchuk’s swift end, says Ladakh leader

Environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk collects document as she receives written assurance on parliamentary debate on alleged NEET paper leak and zero legal action against CJP ‘Sansad Chalo’ protesters; and will end his hunger strike on Friday in Gurugram. Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J. Angmo is also present. | Photo credit: ANI

After being denied access to activist Sonam Wangchuk for two days, a civil society group from Ladakh was “awakened from slumber” on Thursday night (July 23) and rushed to Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital to witness Mr Wangchuk break his 26-day hunger strike.

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While thousands of people continued to pour into Jantar Mantar, where members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are sitting on a dharna demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, despite metro stations being closed and the internet down, the Union government worked through the night to find a way out of the massed crowd, which shows no sign of letting up.

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With the reopening of Delhi University colleges on July 28 and the weekend approaching, the government has expedited communication channels with the CJP team and Mr. Wangchuk to ensure that the protest is ended before a major incident occurs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Instagram at 11:52 pm on Thursday in a selfie mode video, assuring students that several steps against paper leaks and reforms in the education system are on the anvil. When he released the video, Mr. Wangchuk simultaneously ended his hunger strike in the presence of his wife Gitanjali J. Angmo, Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh and members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA). LAB and KDA are in talks with the Home Ministry to seek constitutional guarantees for Ladakh, which became a Union Territory in 2019.

Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, co-organiser, LAB, who was present at the hospital, told The Hindu: “Though we traveled from Ladakh on July 21 to meet Mr Wangchuk, the authorities never allowed us to see him. We were made to wait for hours. We were woken up by a phone call from Mr Wangchuk around 11pm on Thursday, who asked us to come to Medanta and that he wanted LAB and KDA members to be present.”

He said Mr Wangchuk ended his fast at around 12.30pm on Friday and the ministers arrived 15 minutes after them.

“Mr. Wangchuk told us that he would like to concentrate on Ladakh-related work from now on and will go to Kargil first and later to Leh. We are avoiding any political activity in Leh as the Dalai Lama stays here,” said Mr. Lakruk. He said Mr Wangchuk had secured a written assurance, signed by both ministers and himself, before ending his fast. “The document says that the government will withdraw all police cases against students and protesters unless they are violent in nature,” he said.

Mr. Wangchuk released a video message saying that the government has also given an assurance that the families of the suicide victims in the recent NEET paper leak will be adequately compensated and that no cases will be registered against the students and youth who protested peacefully.

Published – 24 Jul 2026 22:49 IST