Indian police forcibly took activist Sonam Wangchuk to a hospital after he completed a 20-day hunger strike protesting the country’s examination system. According to police statements, officers removed Wangchuk from a student protest site, with authorities reporting that “slight commotion” occurred when protesters attempted to prevent his removal.
Wangchuk had undertaken the indefinite fast as part of a demonstration against education reforms, drawing significant media attention and public attention to debates over the country’s examination system. Following his hospitalization, Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, began an indefinite fast to continue the protest movement in Wangchuk’s absence.
The incident has sparked discussion among international news outlets regarding the handling of public protests in India. While sources agree on the basic facts of the police action and Wangchuk’s 20-day fast, some outlets have characterized the operation with stronger language regarding police conduct, while police themselves have provided their account of the interaction with protesters.
Sources
Featured photo: Sonam Wangchuk via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)