Most people know Sonam Wangchuk as the real-life inspiration behind Aamir Khan’s character in 3 Idiots. Some know him as the man who literally built artificial glaciers in Ladakh to solve a water crisis. But on June 28, 2026, he showed up at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, sat down in the summer heat, and announced he was going on a hunger strike.
This is not a small thing.
Day 2 of the Hunger Strike:
A heartfelt appeal by @Wangchuk66 to all Indians. pic.twitter.com/5qbOdzJ8Yx— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) June 29, 2026
What Actually Happened
Wangchuk joined a protest already eight days old. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) — yes, that is a real group, and the name is a direct response to comments by Chief Justice Surya Kant in May 2026 where he was widely reported to have compared unemployed youth to cockroaches — has been holding a sit-in at Jantar Mantar since June 20.
Their core demand: the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the examination system, including the NEET paper-leak controversy.
Before starting his fast, Wangchuk and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke visited Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. The protest kicked off with the gathering observing a two-minute silence. Hundreds of people showed up.
Wangchuk was direct about why he came. “I did engineering, but never took a job because I felt the key to all generations is in education,” he said. “When some youth raise their voices on issues with the education system, how could I have remained silent?”
It Did Not Go Smoothly
Dipke alleged that shortly after Wangchuk began his fast, Delhi Police cut off sanitation facilities at the protest site — no water, no hygiene measures. He posted about it publicly, stating that despite repeated appeals citing Wangchuk’s age and health, police were not cooperating.
On top of that, Dipke claimed on X that farmer leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab had been placed under house arrest that morning to stop them from reaching Jantar Mantar.
Who Is This Man, Really
Wangchuk is 59 years old and has spent decades doing things most people only read about. He founded SECMOL (Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh) in 1988, a school where the admission criteria was literally failing your exams — designed for kids left behind by a system that did not fit them.
Then came the Ice Stupas. Ladakh has almost no rainfall and relies heavily on glacial meltwater, but melting glaciers mean water runs out before farmers actually need it. In 2013, Wangchuk designed cone-shaped artificial glaciers — built by piping water uphill using gravity alone, freezing it in the winter air. The cone shape exposes the least surface area to sunlight, so it melts slowly and delivers water precisely when spring crops need it most. The first prototype stored 150,000 litres. It worked.
The project won a Rolex Award for Enterprise and expanded to Switzerland. This is the level of person now sitting in the June heat at Jantar Mantar refusing to eat.
He was also released from Jodhpur prison in March 2026, after spending nearly six months under the National Security Act following his involvement in the Ladakh statehood protest. That context matters.
Why This Protest Has Hit Different
The Cockroach Janta Party started as a digital satirical movement. Within a week of launching in May 2026, it had accumulated over 22 million followers on Instagram. That kind of organic growth does not happen unless something genuinely struck a nerve.
The movement has become a catch-all for student frustration over exam irregularities, paper leaks, and a government that has been slow to act. The family of Amaira, a Class 6 student who died after falling from the fourth floor of a Jaipur school in a suspected suicide case, also joined the protest. Her parents say no chargesheet has been filed against the school or the teacher involved.
Wangchuk put it plainly: “I wish the government had shown sensitivity, we would not have had to go through this and sit here in such heat.”
He also called on people to join in a community hunger strike, asking supporters to fast for at least one day in solidarity.
A man who built glaciers to solve a water crisis without government funding is now using his body as leverage to demand accountability in education. Whether the government responds or not, one thing is clear: this protest is not going away quietly.