The three will continue the hunger strike in solidarity with Wangchuk, AISA said. The doctor who examined the activists gave a grim assessment of their vital organs.
There is the stomach-churning hunger, and then the “hunger for power that people in government have” – that is the contradiction Neha Bora offered this week to the 20-day fast and counting that she and two other student activists have been observing at Jantar Mantar, parallel to activist Sonam Wangchuk’s fast under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
Neha, who is the national president of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), along with Manish and Amin Al-Saim are also seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over recent exam leaks and irregularities.
Doctors have warned that their bodies are beginning to fail, and at least three other comrades from Tahrir’s CPI(ML)-AISA have already been hospitalized. According to the organization, Amin is “at risk of hypovolemic shock” due to dehydration; Neha’s blood sugar level dropped to a dangerous level of 49 mg/dl; Manish lost more than 10 percent of his body weight.
The three will continue their fast in solidarity with Wangchuk despite the deteriorating condition, AISA said. Dr Tilopa, who examined the activists on Thursday, gave a grim assessment of their vital organs.
“These three activists are in a very serious condition,” the MBBS-MD doctor said in a video posted from the protest site, warning that the situation could become critical at any time. She pointed out the risk of organ failure as well: “Neha’s condition is particularly bad because her blood sugar is decreasing day by day. We can see muscle wasting in these people. There can be multiple organ failure if the strike is prolonged.”
Of the three who had to withdraw after falling ill, Deepak, a 21-year-old Delhi University student, was hospitalized due to hypovolemic shock — a medical emergency caused by severe blood or fluid loss that can affect the heart. He was discharged from Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital the next day after his ECG returned to normal and his pulse rate stabilized.
What did the activists say?
Neha, a doctoral researcher at Jawaharlal Nehru University, was posting video messages from the site. Earlier in the week, she recounted Deepak’s hospitalization and described watching Wangchuk struggle to get up. “This is the reality of this protest,” she said.
Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government as a “heartless king”, she appealed to supporters to join the movement, particularly the mobilization scheduled for July 20 to march to Parliament on the first day of its monsoon session. She also said. “For every one of us you send to the hospital, our resolve to see Dharmendra Pradhan fall grows stronger.”
Amin said the AKP’s protest, which has now exceeded four weeks, and the hunger strike “exposed” the government. “If the prevailing public sentiment is that the government is heartless, then we have succeeded in exposing the government. This cruelty was previously reserved for the working class, the poor, Dalits; it was reserved for our minorities. I think people have realized that everyone’s turn will come,” he told PeekTV.
Wangchuk case and July 20 plan
The Wangchuk hunger strike entered its 20th day on Friday, on the main stage where “apolitical” neutrality is being attempted regarding flags and slogans.
The 59-year-old Ladakh-based education teacher told his supporters that he would stay alive till then at any cost. “I am weak on the outside but very strong on the inside,” he said, adding that if the parliamentary march scheduled for July 20 does not succeed, “I will return as a ghost!”
Wangchuk lost another 350 grams in the past 24 hours, bringing his cumulative weight to about 9.5 kg; He now weighs 56.55 kg. His blood pressure was recorded at 108/68 mm Hg, blood sugar at 80 mg/dL, pulse rate at 72 beats per minute, and oxygen saturation at 96 percent. Doctors noted that he was mildly dehydrated but described him as mentally alert.
A day before that, doctors warned that his condition had entered a critical stage, warning that continued fasting could lead to organ damage.
Wangchuk has refused to call off the strike, arguing that doing so without a response from the government would send the wrong message. The Delhi High Court ordered the authorities to monitor his health daily and provide medical assistance if his condition deteriorates.
The Kokruche Janta Party – founded and named by Abhijit Debki earlier this year in protest against some harsh comments made by the Chief Justice of India – began on June 20; Wangchuk joined the organization on June 28 and has been on an indefinite hunger strike since then.
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has called them “Team B of terrorists”, while PM Modi and the government have not reached out to them so far.
