Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk ends hunger strike, but ‘cockroach’ protests to continue

AdvertisementIndiaAsiaSouth AsiaIndian activist Sonam Wangchuk ends hunger strike, but ‘cockroach’ protests to continueYouth demonstrators are demanding the education minister’s resignation over exam leaks, in a challenge to Modi’s government3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 6:42am, 24 Jul 2026Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike on Friday over leaked medical school entrance exam papers that protesters say enabled cheating, but demonstrations demanding the education minister’s resignation were set to continue in the biggest youth-led challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.Youth protesters, led by the self-named Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, demand that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over the leaks that affected some 2 million students in May and are linked to several student suicides.Wangchuk said on social media that he broke his fast ‌in the presence of two federal ministers at the urging of scores of members of parliament and following “a long negotiation on various conditions and in view of possible violence in the country”.

He did not elaborate on the talks but promised to lay out details in a video soon.CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked Wangchuk, 59, for his “courage and sacrifice” and said the protests would continue until Pradhan resigns. “We won’t let Sonam sir’s sacrifice go in vain,” he added in a video message.

Indian police clash with ‘cockroaches’ marching to protest against exam irregularitiesLate on Tuesday, Pradhan, in his first comments since demands for his resignation were made, said that the government was committed to addressing concerns and reforming exams.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.

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