Sonam Wangchuk is a 59-year-old engineer-turned-education-reformer and climate activist from Ladakh. His story is widely known as the inspiration for the character Phunsukh Wangdu in the 2009 Bollywood blockbuster “3 Idiots.” Beyond that pop-culture connection, he’s spent decades building alternative education models for Ladakhi youth and pushing for stronger protections for the fragile Himalayan region he calls home.
He’s also a repeat hunger striker. Over the past couple of years he’s fasted multiple times, including a 21-day strike in March 2024 and another in September 2024, demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Why is he on a hunger strike now (July 2026)?
This latest fast is a different issue. Wangchuk has been fasting at a protest site in central New Delhi since June 28, and as of today, July 17, he is on the 20th day of the hunger strike, with his condition worsening. Sonam has reportedly lost more than 9kg, and doctors have warned that his prolonged fast has reached a critical stage and could cause organ damage.
This time it’s about education. He’s fasting in solidarity with the founder of India’s Gen Z-led “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP), whose sit-in protest now in its 28th day is demanding that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over exam paper leaks that occurred in May and affected millions of students. The protest is being held at Jantar Mantar, near India’s parliament, and is being described as a rare show of defiance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 12-year rule.
The situation has grown serious enough that the Delhi High Court has stepped in, directing authorities to monitor Wangchuk’s health daily and provide medical assistance if his condition deteriorates further. Meanwhile, a young person also fasting at the same protest site fainted and was hospitalized, and several opposition leaders have publicly urged Wangchuk to end his strike given his health.
As the CJP has called for a massive peaceful march to Parliament on July 20th, Wangchuk declared just this morning: “I will stay alive till July 20 at any cost.”
