Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike on Friday, July 24, 2026, after talking with government ministers and amid warnings that violence could break out across the country, according to NPR.

A hunger strike is when someone refuses to eat as a form of protest to pressure those in power. Wangchuk said he stopped his fast after "a long negotiation on various conditions and in view of possible violence in the country." Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh were there when he ended the strike, according to AIR News. The decision came after dozens of members of parliament asked him to stop.

The strike supported a movement led by the Cockroach Janta Party, a satirical group founded by Abhijeet Dipke. Satirical means the group uses humor and irony to make a serious point. The movement began more than a month before July 24. It started because of alleged leaks in competitive entrance exams, meaning test questions may have been shared before the exam, giving some students an unfair advantage.

The group's name refers to a comment by India's Supreme Court chief justice, who compared some unemployed young people to cockroaches.

The protests have brought professionals, families, and activists to demonstrations in New Delhi and cities across India. They are described as one of the longest and largest waves of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in recent years.

Things got worse in the days before the strike ended. On Monday, July 20, thousands of people marched toward Parliament, and students were beaten by police. During that week, police used tear gas and batons, or heavy sticks, to break up marchers trying to reach Parliament. Protest organizers called for demonstrations across India on Friday, July 24, to support the students beaten by police during the July 20 march.

Police had forced Wangchuk to go to a hospital during his hunger strike. His strike reached its 21st day around July 18, after he refused to stop at the 20-day mark even though more people were urging him to, according to BBC News. The hospital said dehydration and fasting had left Wangchuk weak but in stable condition. He was refusing medical treatment after being taken there by police, according to Reuters.

Earlier in the strike, on Day 18, Wangchuk said, "I'm not in good shape but not so bad," according to Times Now. During the hunger strike, Wangchuk posted on his official X account that 20 students had committed suicide in connection with the issues he was protesting, according to his X account.

Modi spoke about the protests publicly for the first time. He announced fast-track courts, which are courts designed to handle cases quickly, to prosecute cases involving exam paper leaks. He also said the government would introduce a new law in Parliament to crack down on exam paper leaks.

Protesters said Modi's announcements did not address what they want. They are demanding government accountability, exam reforms, and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after exam paper leaks. Protesters also said they will keep demonstrating until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns.

The broader context here is that this movement has used humor and satire to keep pressure on the Modi government over failures in the education system. The new courts and proposed law are a direct but partial response to a crisis tied to student suicides and mass protests. The movement has drawn people from different backgrounds who refuse to accept small fixes, which signals that exam fairness has become a politically charged issue. Organizers' continued demand for Pradhan's resignation and their calls for nationwide demonstrations suggest the conflict will continue even though Wangchuk has ended his fast.

Looking at what this means for politics right now, the use of tear gas and batons against thousands of marchers near Parliament shows a tougher security response to the protests. The fact that two senior government ministers helped negotiate the end of Wangchuk's strike suggests the government sees the protests as a real political threat. The question now is whether the promised legislation will satisfy the public's demand for accountability, or whether the movement will grow its protests before any vote in Parliament.