Sonam Wangchuk’s decision to join CJP protest organic, says wife Gitanjali Angmo

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s decision to join the protest launched by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) was “organic”, said his wife Gitanjali J. Angmo.

Miss Angmo told Hindu Since CJP is a youth-led movement, Mr Wangchuk wanted to ensure that the cause was not sabotaged by “vile” elements and the movement was not led astray.

The protest at Jantar Mantar against irregularities in the NEET exam and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan entered its 26th day on Wednesday.

“She is passionate about education. When she learned about the social media movement and youth discontent, she connected with the issue. It all happened organically. She wants to hold their hands and wants every well-intentioned person to join the movement,” Ms Angmo said.

Before joining the CJP protest, Mr. Wangchuk was involved in a movement launched by Ladakh’s civil society leaders to demand constitutional guarantees such as statehood and inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, thus granting it tribal status. He attended a meeting held at the Union Home Ministry on May 22 to shape the demands and was imprisoned for 170 days.

Mr. Wangchuk was released on March 14 after the Ministry revoked the National Security Law imposed on him. He was detained under the Law, which provides that a person can be detained for one year without trial, following violence in the city of Leh on September 24, 2025, which resulted in the deaths of four people. Education reformer who inspired Indian film 3 Fools (2009) was labeled by the police as the “ringleader” of the violence.

Ms. Angmo said Mr. Wangchuk felt committed to CJP’s cause because no one had the potential to oppose the government. “Every time someone raises his voice, raids by state institutions follow. He wants to be the third voice. This is a real issue, (the Minister’s) resignation is the first step towards accountability. Students committed suicide after the paper leak,” he said.

Before their detention, the Ladakh administration canceled the land allocated to the Himalayan Alternative Learning Institute, founded by Ms. Angmo and Mr. Wangchuk in 2018. Soon after, the Ministry canceled the FCRA registration of the Ladakh Students Educational and Cultural Movement, which it had established in 1988 for students who had failed the board exams.

Ms. Angmo said the longest fast Mr. Wangchuk had kept was 21 days, adding that the climatic conditions in Ladakh were different from Delhi, which was hot and humid. “He survives on salt and water, it feels like he went on a 34-day hunger strike in Ladakh even though he has completed a 17-day hunger strike here. He has never lost muscle mass there, the air is punishing in Delhi,” he said.

According to the medical bulletin issued by CJP, Mr. Wangchuk is still in a “very weak” condition and is under 24-hour medical supervision. His weight dropped by 400 grams in the last 24 hours to 57.15 kilograms, bringing his total weight loss since the start of the fast to 8.9 kilograms. It was stated that the patient’s blood pressure was 105/76, blood sugar was 80 mg/dL, and oxygen saturation was 97%, and his fluid intake was moderate.

Mr. Wangchuk, who won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018, was instrumental in launching Operation New Hope in 1994, a tripartite collaboration between the government, village communities and civil society to bring reforms to the state’s school system.

Since there was no school in his village, he was home-schooled in Ladakhi by his single mother until the age of nine. His uncle, who followed Islam, taught him English and Urdu through radio and billboards. “My uncle read the Quran and made me read Buddhist texts,” he said in an interview.