The hunger strike at Jantar Mantar demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation entered its 16^th day, with a student from the All India Students’ Association (AISA) being hospitalised for hypovolemic shock, the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation-affiliated student body said in a statement. Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been fasting on the dais, lost 8.25 kg, the Cockroach Janta Party said.

Mr. Wangchuk and some students’ fast has dragged on amid silence from the government. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke expressed frustration with the way the protest was being ignored by national news media. “The silence of mainstream media on Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike will never be forgiven,” Mr. Dipke said on X. Saurav Das, a CJP spokesperson, lamented: “We are failing you by allowing a nation to reach a point where a man of your integrity and stature must gamble with his own life just to make those in power LISTEN.”

The lack of meaningful amplification for the protest was reflected in the site, where only a crowd amounting to a fraction of the swell that occupied the site in the initial day had gathered. Mr. Dipke has also complained of interference from police, who were seen in footage trying to stop protesters from setting up tarpaulins to shield them from the rain.

Lending support

A series of sympathetic voices urged Mr. Wangchuk to end his fast, including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and DMK MP Kanimozhi.

“Mr. Wangchuk has lost 8.25 kg, his blood sugar levels have repeatedly fallen below 70 mg/dL (normal fasting levels are around 100 mg/dL), and he is experiencing constant dizziness, severe muscle loss and visible weakness, with his rib cage now clearly visible,” the CJP said. “Despite his condition...the Union government has not sent a single representative to initiate a dialogue.”

Mr. Pradhan and the government have largely dismissed or ignored the call for him to resign, and no representative has been sent to the protest site to engage with the protesters.

“Students after students are risking their lives and getting hospitalised yet Dharmendra Pradhan or the government has not shown a single positive response,” AISA said in a statement.