India exam leak protest swells after activist's forced hospitalisation

Police forcibly removed Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar on Saturday and took the activist to hospital, turning a hunger strike over exam leaks into a larger test of public faith in India’s merit-based recruitment system.

Wangchuk had been fasting in New Delhi since June 28 in support of the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest. He had gone 20 days without food and was surviving on salt water, a grim detail that sharpened concern around the state of the agitation and the activist’s health. His removal brought more attention to the camp at Jantar Mantar, where student anger over repeated exam leaks and cancellations has been building for weeks.

The protest is centered on alleged irregularities in India’s examination system, especially the NEET-UG paper leak row, and on the wider question of whether the National Testing Agency and the Union Education Ministry can still guarantee a fair process. The CJP has demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, compensation for people hurt by paper leaks, 72-hour notice for re-exams and independent technical audits.

By July 20, organisers had announced that the agitation would escalate to Parliament. Police sources said no permission had been sought for the march, raising the likelihood of another confrontation as the movement pressed into the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The setting has added pressure on the government, because the protest is no longer only about a single leak but about whether India’s exam system can still command trust from students who say repeated failures have punished them for a system they did not break.

Wangchuk’s fast has also pulled in a broader political cast. Opposition figures including Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi have expressed support, while public figures such as Aamir Khan have added to the attention around the protest. Some leaders have met Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar, giving the movement a sharper anti-government edge at a moment when student frustration is spreading beyond the original exam scandal.

The result is a protest that now carries two burdens at once: the immediate demand to fix exam irregularities, and a wider indictment of the state’s ability to protect fairness in one of the country’s most consequential public systems.