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At Jantar Mantar on Saturday morning, Delhi Police formed a human chain around the 59-year-old activist, shielded him from the crowd and lifted him from his bed.

Wangchuk had been on an indefinite hunger strike for 21 days. Within minutes, he was taken to an ambulance and shifted to Safdarjung Hospital as his health deteriorated.

The police said the action followed Delhi High Court directions and medical advice. Organisers alleged that Wangchuk was forcibly removed.

Either way, the images were dramatic. And they carry a strange echo from Ladakh's past.

More than four decades ago, Wangchuk's father, Sonam Wangyal, was also sitting on hunger strike, trying to force the country to listen to Ladakh.

The father's story takes us back to 1984.THE MAN WHO FASTED FOR LADAKH

Before he became one of Ladakh's key political figures, Sonam Wangyal had already made history on Mount Everest. In 1965, at just 23, he became the youngest person to reach the summit. Sonam Wangyal as a young man (Photo: Rediff) Born in 1923 to a poor farming family, he rose to become one of Ladakh's key political figures, serving in Jammu and Kashmir's Legislative Council and later as an MLA and minister.

The Ladakh Studies journal records that he was active in the campaign for Scheduled Tribe status for Ladakh during the 1980s.

Ladakh's communities had long faced concerns over economic and educational disadvantage, political representation and the protection of their distinct social and cultural identity.

The region's politics had already begun to change rapidly, with roads, administration and outside influences altering traditional life.

Academic research on Ladakh has documented how these changes affected everything from the economy and education to language and the balance between local communities and newcomers.

Then, in 1984, Wangyal went on hunger strike to push the demand for Scheduled Tribe recognition.

The episode drew the attention of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who visited Leh in 1984. (AI enhanced image) (Photo: Reddit/r/unitedstatesofindia)

Five years later, the demand finally moved from political promise to constitutional recognition.

The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1989, issued under Article 342, formally recognised eight communities in the state as Scheduled Tribes: Balti, Beda, Bot/Boto, Brokpa, Changpa, Garra, Mon and Purigpa.

For Wangyal, the recognition came after years of campaigning. For the region, it became one of the defining victories of a much longer political struggle. President Ram Nath Kovind presents the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2017 to Sonam Wangyal (Photo: PIB) FOUR DECADES LATER, THE STORY FEELS FAMILIAR

More than four decades after Sonam Wangyal's hunger strike, his son Sonam Wangchuk is once again using a fast to make a political point.

Last year, Wangchuk went on a 35-day fast in support of Ladakh's long-standing demands for safeguards, including statehood and Sixth Schedule protection.

Now, on the 19th day of an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, he is sitting in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party's protest over examination irregularities and the NEET paper leak controversy.

The protesters are demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation and reforms in India's examination system.

CJP has also linked its campaign to the deaths by suicide of students. Its founder Abhijeet Dipke has publicly referred to 17 students, accusing the Education Minister of having "blood of 17 students on his hands".

A father fasted for Ladakh in the 1980s. Decades later, his son is once again sitting on hunger strike, this time for India's students and the education system.

And somewhere between those two fasts lies a family history of using the one weapon both men believed could force the country to listen: their own bodies.- EndsPublished By: Roshni Published On: Jul 18, 2026 12:04 ISTRead | Sonam Wangchuk's weak, needs constant monitoring: Hospital on activist's healthRead | Wife's visit and an appeal for Wangchuk hours before cops took him to hospital