As Sonam Wangchuk's Fast Enters 20th Day, Academics and Artists Appeal: You Are Too Precious to Lose
New Delhi: Climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk completes 20 days of an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Friday, July 17. With no response yet to his demands from the Union government, a number of academics and artists have urged that he call it off: "Sonamji – we appeal to you to end your fast. You are too precious to lose in this tragic way," they write in a "heartfelt appeal".
Wangchuk is on an indefinite hunger strike against the education ministry’s repeated failures and the government ignoring Ladakh's demands for constitutional safeguards.
The appeal has been signed by a wide cross-section of public figures, including Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee, writers Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy and Anita Desai, filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, Mira Nair, Kiran Rao, Vikramaditya Motwane and Payal Kapadia, actors Nandita Das, Freida Pinto, Jim Sarbh and many others.
They request that the government "initiate a dialogue with this committed citizen and honour the spirit of public service that Sonam Wangchuk represents".
Addressing Wangchuk, they say in their appeal that his sacrifice and courage have inspired people around the world.
Anxiety is mounting over Wangchuk's deteriorating health as there is silence from the government on his fast as well as his demands. Doctors monitoring his health have reported significant weight loss and declining vital parameters, sparking fears about the consequences of the prolonged fast. He is reported to have lost 9 kilos and weakened significantly.
Describing the climate activist as "our collective conscience" and "a great protector and ally of the environment and of young people in India", the signatories of the appeal also urge the government to honour "the spirit of public service that Sonam Wangchuk represents".
Wangchuk's indefinite hunger strike began on June 28 at Jantar Mantar, where he joined the ongoing protest of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which began on 20 June. He announced that he would fast until the government responded to the movement's demands.
In a video message shared on X on July 15, he urged people to join the July 20 protest in large numbers and to not appeal he end his fast. "There are two things I want to say. First, even if I break my fast, what will change? And what message will that send? The only message the government will receive is that there is no need for it to be accountabile. People sit on a protest, and then they [cannot] simply leave," he added.
The Delhi High Court had on Wednesday, July 16, directed authorities to ensure Wangchuk receives daily medical monitoring and said that "every citizen's life is precious". The court said it is concerned over his health while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Rakesh Kumar Saini, an advocate, on Wangchuk's condition.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia noted that every effort must be made to protect his life.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Union and Delhi government, told the court that Wangchuk was already undergoing medical check-ups and that private doctors had examined him at times. He added that appropriate treatment would be provides as per the doctors’ assessment.
The full list of signatories to the statement is as follows:
Zoya Akhtar, Filmmaker
Shamina AlyKhan, Human Rights Advocate
Raghav Bahl, Journalist
Abhijit Banerjee, Economist
Kanu Behl, Filmmaker
Dev Benegal, Filmmaker
Vishal Bharadwaj, Composer, Filmmaker
Kalpana Brijnath, Activist
Angana P . Chatterji, Scholar, Writer
Amit Chaudhuri, Writer
Nandita Das, Actor
Rana Dasgupta, Writer
Anita Desai, Writer
Kiran Desai, Writer
Sabrina Dhawan, Professor, Screenwriter
Siddharth Dube, Author
Siddhartha Dubey, Journalism Educator
Shruti Ganguly, Filmmaker
Amitav Ghosh, Writer
Sushmit Ghosh, Filmmaker
Timmy Grover, Special Needs Educator
Kartiki Gonsalves, Filmmaker
Navina Haidar, Art Historian, Curator
Mira Kamdar, Writer
Payal Kapadia, Filmmaker
Ritu Kapur, Journalist
Sneha Khanwalkar, Musician
Raghava KK, Artist
Deepanjana Klein, Art Historian
Amitava Kumar, Writer, Educator
Romi Mahajan, Entrepreneur
Aasif Mandvi, Actor
Nalini Malani, Artist
Deepa Mehta, Filmmaker
Pankaj Mishra, Writer
Savita Monie, Writer
Vikramaditya Motwane, Filmmaker
Madhusree Mukerjee, Writer
Raqib Naik, Researcher, Writer
Ruchi Narain, Filmmaker
Mira Nair, Filmmaker
Samir Patil, Publisher
Nandita Persaud, Sustainable Infrastructure Manager
Freida Pinto, Actor
Anjali Puri, Journalist
Shaifali Puri, Advisor
M.V . Ramana, Author
Kiran Rao, Filmmaker
Arundhati Roy, Writer
Ajit Sahi, Human Rights Advocate
Jim Sarbh, Actor, Producer
Konkona Sen, Actor, Filmmaker
Nandana Sen, Writer
Arjun S. Sethi, Lawyer, Writer
Vinay Shukla, Filmmaker
Prarthna Singh, Photographer
Aatish Taseer, Writer
Ankur Tewari, Musician
Sunita Thakur, Journalist
Rintu Thomas, Filmmaker
Honey Trehan, Filmmaker
Salil Tripathi, Writer
Altaf Tyrewala, Writer
Nilita Vachani, Filmmaker, Writer
Sunita Viswanath, Human Rights Activist
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