“I will stay alive until July 20 at any cost. If you don’t come [for the march] and July 20 is not successful, I will come back as a ghost,” he said in a lighter vein.

Wangchuk’s personal physician Dr Satish Lamba told reporters that he continued to lose weight and show “signs of mild dehydration” but was mentally alert and his parameters were normal.

“We are worried about his health. This is an apathetic government that does not understand the language of democratic protest. And if we are protesting against such a government, our protest techniques should also evolve,” Khera said.

On Thursday, Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal had said the party shared “the anguish and outrage” that Wangchuk felt, and appealed to him to end his fast. Wangchuk’s “concerns are our concerns and that of other Opposition parties as well”, Venugopal posted on X. “Rest assured, we will continue to confront the Modi government and demand the Education Minister’s resignation.”

Wangchuk and the activist group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have been demanding that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should take responsibility for the leak of the NEET-UG question paper in May, and leave his post.

Sule said on Friday that “the fight” would be fought in “Parliament as well”, and that the Opposition would raise the concerns of students in the House. “This issue is above politics, it is about our children. We shall remain united,” she said.

The CPI(M) expressed concern over Wangchuk’s health and criticised the government for not opening talks with the protesters.

“The Union Government’s refusal to interact with the protesting leaders and students underlines its great insensitivity and authoritarian character… The CPI(M) reiterates its demand for the immediate resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, scrapping of the NTA and NEP 2020,” the Politburo said in a statement.

On Friday evening, the size of the crowd at the protest site at Jantar Mantar was roughly the same as when Wangchuk began his fast 20 days ago. A good number of YouTubers and students mobilised by the leftist students’ organisation AISA were present, who sang protest songs and raised slogans periodically.

A 16-year-old girl who gave her name as Srishti said she had skipped  school to be at the protest site. She was making flowers with tempera paint on a poster. “There is corruption in this country, and the education system needs to be cleaned. I want the system to be fair and transparent; that is why I am here,” she said.

Mohammad Aslam (72), said he sells nimbu-pani near Daryaganj, and had been coming to Jantar Mantar every day since Wangchuk started his hunger strike.

Following a directive from the Delhi High Court on Thursday that Wangchuk’s health should be monitored by government doctors, the Centre has designated Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Safdarjung hospital for the job. “We have been directed to start the services Saturday onwards. A team of doctors will visit the concerned person and monitor his health closely,” a source said.

Dehydration is a serious challenge for the body during a long fast, and can lead to salt imbalance, which impacts other organ systems. “Dehydration can affect all organs. Malnutrition and lack of energy can lead to these systems slowly shutting down,” Dr B K Tripathi, former head of the department of medicine at Safdarjung hospital, said.

Also, long fasts can lead to a condition called starvation ketoacidosis which, if it is not reversed quickly, can turn serious. “When there is a lack of calories, the body starts utilising protein reserves. When the proteins are broken down, ketones are produced as a byproduct. This changes the pH of the body, which is linked to several bodily processes, all of which get affected,” Dr Tripathi said.

Dr Hans Raj, former head of the medicine department at RML too spoke of potential starvation ketoacidosis. “In such a state, the patient requires immediate hospitalisation. They have to be given nutrition through a nasal tube and hydration through IV fluids. The salts have to be balanced immediately,” he said.

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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