In the midst of the short-lived joy of Ladakhis with Union Government reneging on some crucial clauses of the agreement, accepted in principle, after May 22, 2026 agreement, educationist and climate activist Mr Sonam Wanghchuk gave a new twist to the Ladakh issue while adding grist to the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP’s) youth related issues. 

He embarked on an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, along with six youth activists, to take the CRP’s protest against repeated leaking of NEET and other examination papers, to the next level. Their sole demand is resignation of Education Minister Mr Dharmendra Pradhan in whose tenure multiple cases of exam paper leak have taken place.It is a repeat of what he did few months back when he sat on indefinite hunger strike in the cold environs of Leh. His action not only rattled the administration from Delhi to Leh but also added new dimension to Ladakhis’ agitation for their political empowerment, and protection of all-encompassing identity. The outcome was his arrest under National Security Act and being confined to the hot environs of a Rajasthan jail. Only to be unconditionally released after six months of incarceration with a direct implication that the tag of being “anti-national” did not stick on him and the government had to bow in order to escape indictment by the Supreme Court.

Mr Wangchuk is brave and astute who carefully chooses his words, he has shown remarkable determination not only in pursuing the Ladakh cause, in the face of attempts by the statecraft to defame him, but also joining the bigger cause of gen-z sufferings due to mal-functioning of the education system and the government of the day simply looking the other way round. Atrociously, the government responded by........

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