Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Activist Sonam Wangchuk is continuing his hunger strike from hospital
- CJP announced strict non-violence during the July 20 march
- Dipke says to call for Modi’s resignation, announces indefinite hunger strike
- Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to a hospital by the police on the 21st day of his hunger strike
- Wangchuk has been fasting since June 28 in solidarity with students demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
Here is a roundup of the latest news from India for the weekend of Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19:
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Skip next section Police break up protest in Madhya Pradesh07/19/2026July 19, 2026
Police break up protest in Madhya Pradesh
In news of other protests in India, in the central Madhya Pradesh state on Sunday the police cleared the site of a 15-day protest and sent demonstrators back to their villages, media reports said.
The villagers were protesting a planned project to transfer water from the Ken River to the Betwa River and other development projects in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district.
The protest, led largely by tribal women, began on July 3 with demonstrators alleging irregularities in land acquisition, rehabilitation, environmental safeguards and project implementation.
According to the Times of India newspaper, protest leader Divya Ahirwar alleged that police arrived early Sunday and detained activist Amit Bhatnagar, who had been on hunger strike for 11 days, along with several protesters.
Elsewhere in the northern Uttarakhand state, the government relented and suspended the felling of more than 4,000 trees for a road widening project in Dehradun city after massive public protests.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HNiJSkip next section Police says CJP Parliament march not approved: report07/19/2026July 19, 2026
Police says CJP Parliament march not approved: report
The Delhi Police said on Sunday that the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protesters had neither obtained permission to continue their demonstration at Jantar Mantar nor sought approval for the planned march on Monday, according to the Indian Express newspaper.
The CJP is planning a march to Parliament on July 20 in protest of student deaths due to suicide over exam irregularities. The protesters are calling for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to step down.
However, according to police, the march cannot be allowed as prohibitory orders are in force around Parliament due to the start of the Monsoon Session, the report said.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and activist Sonam Wangchuk have called on supporters to march to Parliament on Monday, the first day of the Monsoon Session.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HNgQSkip next section CJP claims ‘infiltrators’ plotting to disrupt protest07/19/2026July 19, 2026
CJP claims ‘infiltrators’ plotting to disrupt protest
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday claimed that 30-40 people linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Delhi Police had infiltrated its protest and planned to make provocative statements to disrupt the demonstration.
In a post on X, the group urged protesters to identify these “goons” and distance themselves from such individuals, saying they were not supporters of CJP or activist Sonam Wangchuk.
CJP also said a heavy police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) presence was building up at the protest site, with multiple police vehicles and detention buses deployed in the area.
It claimed tear gas launchers had also been readied at the scene.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HNbUSkip next section Wangchuk’s wife moves court to shift activist to another hospital07/19/2026July 19, 2026
Wangchuk’s wife moves court to shift activist to another hospital
Gitanjali Angmo, the wife of Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk, said on Sunday that she has approached the Delhi High Court for an urgent hearing seeking permission to move her husband to a hospital of the family’s choice.
Earlier, she said she had lost faith in the hospital where her husband is being treated and warned that the hospital and the government would be responsible if anything happened to the activist.
“Despite repeated requests, the hospital has refused to discharge him or allow us to shift him to a private hospital of our choice,” she wrote on X.
“With around 30 police personnel stationed on our floor and well over 100 across the hospital, our movement is severely restricted. It is not medical care. It is illegal detention.”
Angmo alleged the hospital told the family that Wangchuk’s potassium level had fallen to a life-threatening 2.9 but did not disclose the figure in its public health bulletin. She said an independent test put the level at 3.5, which she described as normal.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HNSySkip next section Wangchuk calls for ‘India’s second freedom movement’ on Monday07/19/2026July 19, 2026
Wangchuk calls for ‘India’s second freedom movement’ on Monday
Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk who is continuing his hunger strike from hospital, where he was forcibly shifted, urged people to attend the July 20 march to Parliament, calling it “India’s second freedom movement.”
On Saturday, Wangchuk was moved to a hospital by the Delhi Police on the 21st day of his hunger strike in New Delhi ahead of a planned march on Monday.
The police said that Wangchuk was shifted to a hospital from his protest site on orders of the court and on medical grounds.
Wangchuk, 59, has been fasting since June 28 in solidarity with supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) who are protesting an entrance exam scandal and demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Among the rules for the march posted by CJP on X was a strict prohibition on violence under any circumstances: “No matter the provocation, we will not raise our hands.”
Incidentally, one of the defining moments of India’s independence movement was Mahatma Gandhi’s 24-day Dandi March in 1930, which challenged the British monopoly on salt.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HNRUSkip next section WATCH: Cockroach party supporter Sonam Wangchuk hospitalized07/19/2026July 19, 2026
WATCH: Cockroach party supporter Sonam Wangchuk hospitalized
Delhi Police forcibly moved Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital on the 21st day his hunger strike. Authorities said there had been a “much-needed medical intervention,” but the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party says he was “kidnapped.”
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HNQ2Skip next section Welcome back!07/19/2026July 19, 2026
Welcome back!
Hello! This is Shakeel from DW’s New Delhi Studio welcoming you back to our coverage of the top stories in India.
On this cloudy Sunday morning we are following the updates from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar.
Meanwhile, leader of the opposition in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling his silence over the theft of donations from the Ayodhya temple as “unacceptable.”
For all this and more — stay tuned to our blog!
https://p.dw.com/p/5HNPTSkip next section We’re pausing our coverage07/18/2026July 18, 2026
We’re pausing our coverage
We’re pausing our news blog coverage of India for today.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more tomorrow!
https://p.dw.com/p/5HMq5Skip next section Opposition leaders speak in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk, Modi silent07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Opposition leaders speak in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk, Modi silent
Political leaders across the spectrum spoke in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday after Delhi Police forcibly transferred him to a hospital on the 21st of his hunger strike demanding accountability from the government.
- Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi said it was “wrong” to remove Wangchuk while he on a non-violent hunger strike. Gandhi also highlighted paper leaks, the rising cost of education, and student suicides in a post on X, the issues Wangchuk is on hunger strike against.
- Congress party President Mallikarjun Kharge called Wangchuk’s removal “yet another black stain on democracy and the Constitution.”
- Trinamool Congress (TMC) party head Mamata Banerjee posted on X saying public trust can’t be earned by “suppressing peaceful protests or refusing dialogue.”
- TMC parliamentarian Mahua Moitra said Wangchuk’s removal ahead of the July 20 march to Parliament and changing of the Delhi police chief highlighted the government’s fear. “Education minister must go!” she said.
- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Anish Gawande said, “His own wife is not allowed to meet him at Safdarjung Hospital without a phone. No warrant has been produced for his arrest. This is illegal detention, plain and simple.”
- Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal posted a video on social media calling people to “unite and take to the streets.” “Only then will something change in this country,” he said.
- Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi called the incident “Shocking and shameful!”
- Member of Parliament and Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad posted on X saying, “Democracy is once again disgraced!”
Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Union Home Minister Amit Shah have released a statement on the incident.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HMP2Skip next section IMAGES: Scenes from Jantar Mantar after Sonam Wangchuk’s removal07/18/2026July 18, 2026
IMAGES: Scenes from Jantar Mantar after Sonam Wangchuk’s removal
Here is a collection of photos from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday:
https://p.dw.com/p/5HMQKSkip next section Three people launch indefinite hunger strike after Soman Wangchuk ‘brutally’ moved07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Three people launch indefinite hunger strike after Soman Wangchuk ‘brutally’ moved
Syamantak Ghosh in New Delhi | Wesley Dockery Editor
DW spoke to three people who said they began an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday.
Two of them, who had travelled from Rajasthan, said they started fasting Saturday morning in protest over activist Sonam Wangchuk being taken to the hospital.
Bharat Bhushan, who identified himself as a student, said he had recently joined the protest.
Tezveer, who was seated surrounded by posters, said he had witnessed police taking Wangchuk away. “The police took him away brutally,” he said.
The third protester, Yash Mishra, said he had been on a hunger strike from the first day of the protest but stopped after falling ill. He returned on 16 July and resumed the hunger strike for one day. From Saturday on, he said, he would continue his hunger strike “until death.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5HMG8Skip next section Sonam Wangchuk to continue hunger strike from hospital07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Sonam Wangchuk to continue hunger strike from hospital
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) announced on Saturday that activist Sonam Wangchuk will continue his hunger strike from the hospital.
Wangchuk, who began the 21st day of his hunger strike in the national capital on Saturday, was picked up by police and transferred to a hospital from the protest site.
In a post on X, CJP said that Wangchuk “will continue his fight from the hospital.”
CJP asked people to pray for the 59-year-old activist.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HMJcSkip next section Commotion at Jantar Mantar after woman throws ink at Dipke07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Commotion at Jantar Mantar after woman throws ink at Dipke
Shalu Yadav in New Delhi
A woman threw what appeared to be ink at Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday as he was addressing supporters at Jantar Mantar, DW correspondent Shalu Yadav said.
Yadav said Dipke was speaking about activist Sonam Wangchuk’s decision to continue his hunger strike from the hospital when the incident occurred.
“As soon as he finished talking, we heard commotion around him,” Yadav said, as the incident briefly disrupted the event.
According to Yadav, Dipke called for the Delhi Police, who arrived within minutes and escorted the woman away.
Later, Dipke called the incident “a mark of pride” for him, adding that he would not back down or be demotivated by such attacks, Yadav said.
A witness told DW the woman was chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (“Glory to Lord Ram”).The slogan is widely used in religious contexts and has also been co-opted by India’s rightwing under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist government.
There are no details known about the identity of the woman.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HM9ASkip next section Sonam Wangchuk’s wife accuses authorities of moving him without informing family07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Sonam Wangchuk’s wife accuses authorities of moving him without informing family
Gitanjali Angmo, activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, on Saturday accused authorities of shifting him to a hospital without informing either him or his family after police moved the hunger striker from New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest site.
Wangchuk was taken to Safdarjung Hospital on the 21st day of his hunger strike after police said the move was as per orders of the Delhi High Court and based on expert medical advice due to his deteriorating health.
Angmo questioned the authorities’ explanation, saying doctors from Safdarjung Hospital had examined Wangchuk at the protest site on Friday evening and found his vital signs to be normal.
“They’re now telling us his potassium has dropped and it’s life-threatening. But when we asked to see the report, they are not giving it to us,” she told reporters outside the hospital.
She said the planned protest march to parliament on Monday would go ahead even if Wangchuk was unable to participate.
“Even if Sonam can’t join the march, I will represent him and lead that march, and it will happen on Monday as planned,” Angmo said.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HM0CSkip next section Delhi police action inconsistent with court order07/18/2026July 18, 2026
Delhi police action inconsistent with court order
Delhi Police on Saturday said that Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to a hospital from his protest site on orders of the court and on medical grounds.
“As per orders of Hon’ble High Court and on expert medical advise due to the deteriorating health condition of Sh. Sonam Wangchuk, he has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care,” the Delhi Police posted on X.
While the CJP said Wangchuk’s health had been deteriorating, the police statement appeared to differ from the Delhi High Court’s order on Thursday, which directed authorities to monitor his health daily amid concerns about his condition.
Furthermore, the police also alleged that protesters on site “tried to create obstruction, in which slight commotion ensued,” while saying that authorities exercized “maximum restrain and undertook the exercise safely.”
Police told protesters camping at the historical Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to vacate the grounds.
Incidentally, Delhi Police — which falls under the purview of Union Home Minister Amit Shah — got a new chief on Friday: Anurag Kumar.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HLlfShow more posts
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