In a wide-ranging interview with Newslaundry, educationist and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk detailed his journey into, and through, the Cockroach Janta Party protest, from his forcible removal from Jantar Mantar on July 18 to the breaking of his indefinite fast days later. Wangchuk alleged the hospital that held him “fudged” his potassium reports to justify keeping him in the ICU, away from the protest site, calling it “a total breach of trust”.
He described breaking his fast with Union ministers as another such breach, after visuals aired showing only the ministers, cropping out the Ladakh leaders present. On July 20’s police crackdown, he said accountability was owed – “that’s the least you can do” – while noting his own frame of reference as a Ladakhi made the violence look mild by comparison.
Reflecting on why he persisted through the fast despite pressure to stop, he said hunger strikes work “not with the leaders... but with the people of the nation who they cannot ignore.” Asked about his future role, he said: “I call myself a bulldozer, not a car... once the road is built, you don’t want bulldozers running on the road.”
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