By Saurabh Sharma
NEW DELHI, July 14 (Reuters) - A prominent Indian social activist demanding the education minister's resignation over exam paper leaks entered the 17th day of a hunger strike on Tuesday as his condition worsened, prompting opposition leaders to urge him to call off the fast.
Sonam Wangchuk has been fasting in central Delhi in solidarity with the founder of India's youth Cockroach Janta Party, who is staging a sit-in demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan step down over the leaks in May that affected millions of students, a rare show of defiance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule.
The CJP, founded by 30-year-old Abhijeet Dipke, has caught the imagination of young Indians on Instagram, gaining 22 million followers within a few days of being set up in May.
Wangchuk, 59, lying on a white mattress on a stage in front of a handful of people, gestured to Reuters that he was too weak to talk. He said earlier his fast could last six weeks unless he died first.
In a picture posted to X where Wangchuk can be seen surrounded by medics, CJP said he had lost 8.5 kg of weight as of Tuesday and his "health continues to deteriorate".
"We have been trying to convince Sonam sir to withdraw his hunger strike but he is adamant to continue it," Dipke said between talking to onlookers and YouTubers. "Sonam sir is asking us to keep preparing for the march to parliament on 20th July. I feel the government wants Sonam sir and other people on hunger strike to die."
A young person who was also on a hunger strike at the protest site, the Jantar Mantar observatory near parliament, fainted on Monday and was taken to hospital.
Pradhan, his ministry and the government's chief spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
'HIS LIFE IS INVALUABLE'
Several senior opposition leaders also called on Wangchuk, an engineer turned activist who inspired a character in a blockbuster Bollywood film, to end his fast.
"His life is invaluable to the entire world because it embodies a commitment to humanity and the environment that is as profound as his commitment to democracy," Akhilesh Yadav, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, said on X.
CJP describes itself as representing "the lazy, the unemployed, and the chronically correct". Its rapid online rise reflects frustrations among young Indians, who are estimated to make up more than half the country's 1.42 billion population.
India's unemployment rate was 3.1% in 2025 for people aged 15 and above, government data showed, but nearly 10% among those aged 15 to 29, rising to 13.6% in urban areas.
Young people have also been angered by the question paper leaks, which led to the cancellation of a medical college examination taken by 2.3 million candidates. It was eventually held last month.
(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi; Writing by Krishna N. Das)
