Abhijit Dipke Takes Over Hunger Strike After Sonam Wangchuk Shifted To Delhi Hospital
On Saturday morning, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke took over the indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, hours after Delhi Police forcibly shifted climate activist Sonam Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital. The police action occurred around 7:00 a.m. on the 21st day of the ongoing agitation.
Following Wangchuk’s removal from the protest site, Dipke broke down in tears before immediately commencing his own indefinite fast to keep the agitation active. Addressing the gathered protesters from the stage where Wangchuk had been seated, Dipke alleged that the climate activist was taken away forcibly without his or his family's consent.
During his address, Dipke strongly rejected any characterization of his activism as dangerous. "They say I am a national security threat. I am not. I am a citizen," Dipke said. He appealed to people across the country to show solidarity by holding peaceful protests with photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and Sonam Wangchuk, urging them to "make Jantar Mantar in every city."
The protest at Jantar Mantar continues to receive support, with several other protesters joining the fast on Saturday. Alongside Dipke, three student activists from the All India Students’ Association (AISA) remain on an indefinite hunger strike. The three students—Neha, a PhD scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU); Ameen Amitoj, a PhD scholar from Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD); and Manish Kumar, a PhD scholar from Allahabad University—have been fasting since the agitation commenced 21 days ago.
According to the protest organizers, the prolonged fast has taken a severe toll on the health of the student activists. Organizers reported that Neha has lost 7.5 kilograms, Ameen has lost 9.5 kilograms, and Manish has lost 10.5 kilograms during the 21-day hunger strike.
Despite the police intervention and Wangchuk's hospitalization, organizers have asserted that the movement will not halt. They confirmed that the planned march to Parliament on July 20 remains scheduled to go ahead as originally planned.
