India – RSF Statement in Support of Sonam Wangchuk’s Democratic Demands
We hereby share a statement published by the Revolutionary Student’s Front (RSF) on the 17th of July.
Statement from the Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF) in support of Sonam Wangchuk’s democratic demands on hunger strike
Scientist, and social activist Sonam Wangchuk has been on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in Delhi since 28th June, continuing for more than twenty days. One of the key democratic demands behind his hunger strike is the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has failed to ensure the proper functioning of the country’s education system. At this stage, Wangchuk has lost more than 9 kilograms, and is beginning to suffer from multiple health deteriorations. With every passing day, he is moving closer to death. Yet, the central government run by the brahminical hindutva fascist RSS-BJP remains completely indifference.
During Dharmendra Pradhan’s tenure, allegations of paper leaks, irregularities, mismanagement, and examination fraud have repeatedly surfaced in entrance, recruitment, and other nationwide examinations. In most cases, these allegations have also been proven true. These incidents are not merely examples of a decaying education system, rather, it is a well-planned agenda. And this has subjected millions of aspirants to relentless psychological distress. Most recently, the 2026 NEET-UG [Editor’s note: is an Indian nationwide entrance examination conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission in undergraduate medical programs, the biggest examen in India in terms of numbers of applicants] examination was marred by reports of a question paper leak. In its aftermath, more than thirteen students were driven to suicide as a consequence of this systemic failure — an outcome that amounts to institutional murder. Nor is NEET-UG an isolated case. In 2026 alone, allegations of irregularities and paper leaks emerged in CUET-UG, CUET-PG, UGC-NET, the UPSC Preliminary Examination, SSC GD, and even the CBSE Class XII examinations. The country had already witnessed large-scale examination fraud during the 2024 NEET-UG examination. Even after the National Testing Agency (NTA) repeatedly failed to conduct examinations fairly, and despite facing allegation after allegation, the government has done nothing beyond displaying indifference. Following the 2024 scandal, it only transferred the Director General of the NTA without any punishment. Meanwhile, NTA Chairperson Pradeep Joshi, who is closely associated with the RSS, has himself faced allegations of involvement in corruption linked to the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission. In BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, such irregularities have become routine. In the field of higher education, various educational institutions including IISER, IIT are also not exempt from this complaint. On one hand, recruitment examinations are held far too infrequently; on the other, repeated cancellations and postponements caused by examination fraud continue to devastate the mental health of candidates. Student and aspirant suicides are rising steadily across the country. Responsibility for each of these tragedies rests squarely with the Union Education Minister and the RSS-BJP government.
The purpose behind this organised pattern of mismanagement across the country is to ruin education and employment in the interests of imperialism. These manufactured failures are being used as a pretext to gradually hand over the education system to private capital. We have already witnessed the implementation of policies and measures such as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and HEFA, which have opened the doors for the unrestricted penetration of imperialist capital into education. In alliance with comprador bureaucratic capital, the education mafias continue to expand their influence. Anti-student measures, including repeated fee hikes, are forcing a large section of students to drop out from the education system. Simultaneously, shrinking employment opportunities, irregular recruitment, and a host of related factors continue to deepen unemployment. The BJP government seeks to exploit this growing reserve of unemployed labour force both to advance its fascist agendas and to supply cheap labour to its imperialist masters. That is precisely why the government has shown no willingness to intervene and resolve the present crisis.
In this situation, we, the Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF) extend our support to Sonam Wangchuk and the democratic demand raised by the movement for the resignation of the Union Education Minister. At the same time, we want to clarify: the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan alone cannot place the education system on the right path. Education is inseparable from the class character of the state itself. Today, the Indian state remains under the rule of brahminical hindutva fascism. Therefore, unless the semi-feudal semi-colonial character of this state is fundamentally transformed, it will be impossible to build a truly mass-scientific education system free from corruption. And the first task in advancing towards that objective is, without any question, the defeat of fascism.
Today, the BJP government is determined to brand every democratic voice of dissent as criminal. To further this objective, the BJP IT Cell, along with the compliant ‘godi’ media [Editor’s note: media serving the interests of the ruling classes], has launched a relentless campaign of conspiracy theories and disinformation. Sonam Wangchuk has long been associated with several people’s movements, including the environmental movement in Ladakh. For this, he has repeatedly faced state repression and imprisonment. Today, he is risking his life in the interests of students across the country. We acknowledge and salute this sacrifice. At the same time, we believe it is important to state clearly that, within the steadily shrinking democratic space in our country, fascism cannot be defeated through hunger strikes alone. During British rule, revolutionary comrade Jatin Das died after being force-fed in an attempt to break his hunger strike. To this day, the anniversary of his martyrdom is observed as a day dedicated to the rights of political prisoners. Even after the transfer of power, the Indian state has repeatedly responded to indefinite hunger strikes — including those of Irom Sharmila and many other protesters — with either repression or complete indifference. When the state has, in effect, declared war on its own people, it is no longer possible to compel the government to concede democratic demands through fasting alone.“It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear.” Against fascism, what is needed is the broadest possible united mass movement of all democratic and progressive forces. Such a movement must necessarily possess a militant character. The Revolutionary Students’ Front calls on Sonam Wangchuk not to exhaust his strength through hunger strike and exposing himself to death, but to join the larger movement of students across the country in the interest of mass-scientific education free from corruption. Again, students are the messengers of revolution. The student movement must therefore fulfill its social responsibility by taking part in this fight against fascism and to change society.
