India, July 15 -- Social activist Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike entered its 18th day on Wednesday, with his parameters stable but dipping. Relaying his message to those pleading with him to stop, Abhijeet Dipke of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), the satirical outfit that started the protest, said Wangchuk had told him: "Ask the government why they won't even have a dialogue."

That refusal to engage - over a demand for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation - is the latest chapter in a relationship that had once been warm enough for the minister to call it "wonderful".

On March 15, 2023, Wangchuk and his wife, Gitanjali Angmo - co-founder with him of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) - met Pradha...