India Needs Men Like Sonam Wangchuk To Live, Not Die
· Free Press Journal
It is to the Cockroach Janta Party’s credit that they were able to get Sonam Wangchuk, a man of great integrity, to back their demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Wangchuk has chosen the Gandhian way and has been on a hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for nearly 20 days.
Many public figures, ranging from Arvind Kejriwal to Vir Sanghvi, Vishal Dadlani, Shobhaa De, Aamir Khan and Sonakshi Sinha, have urged Wangchuk to end his fast. As Kejriwal put it, we need men like Sonam Wangchuk to live, not die.
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A Fight Beyond Self
In the materialistic world in which we live, it is only once in a very long while that we come across people who are willing to emerge from their comfort zones and fight for a just cause. In recent times, we think of Anna Hazare as one such man, to whom Wangchuk has been compared. Whether the comparison is tenable or not, I cannot say.
But the fact is that Wangchuk is acting here from purely selfless motives. He has nothing but the interests of students at heart, who have suffered a great deal on account of examination malpractices that have gone on for long, with zero accountability on the part of the establishment.
But let’s face it, the government does not like Sonam Wangchuk. They arrested him under the punitive National Security Act in September last year, only for demanding statehood for Ladakh. Although his protest was peaceful, he was accused of making inflammatory speeches that instigated violence. Wangchuk remained in jail for six months until he was released in March this year.
Nor is the government amused by the man’s current fast. Subscribers to the BJP ideology are unsympathetic to his cause. Times Now had a panel discussion in which columnist Tavleen Singh called his fast "blackmail". Rajat Sethi accused Wangchuk of politicising the NEET paper leak issue. In such a scenario, it is highly unlikely that Education Minister Pradhan will actually resign.
Today’s ministers lack the conscience of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who, in 1956, resigned from his post as Railway Minister, taking moral responsibility for a train derailment in Tamil Nadu that killed more than 150 people. Besides, in the BJP’s centralised set-up, one can hardly expect Pradhan to resign on his own unless the high command orders him to throw in the towel.
Why The Issue Matters
The NEET paper leak scam is different from other examination scams. NEET is the examination that produces our doctors. If the wrong people become doctors, our lives, and the lives of those we love, and even of those we hate, are in danger.
There have been several OTT shows on the tragedies that ensue when our hospitals and clinics are taken over by quacks who have received their degrees through impersonation and similar fraudulent practices. If this leads to attacks on doctors, as has been reported in the media from time to time, can the public really be blamed?
Given his resilience and determination, it is improbable that Wangchuk will succumb to hunger. He seems to be fit even after 20 days of fasting. However, in the unfortunate event that he does succumb, he will become a martyr. The government will then have blood on its hands. But will that make a difference? After a few public statements by Modi and others condoling his death, it will be business as usual.
In their heart of hearts, our politicians might even be glad that one more troublemaker has been cast out of the way. Examination scams and paper leaks will doubtless recur in the future and, after an initial hue and cry, the matter will be laid to rest. The status quo will be maintained, not dismantled.
Call For Public Support
But while the iron is hot, we must strike. Wangchuk is preparing for his walk to Parliament on Monday and has urged members of civil society to join him, even providing a mobile number to confirm participation. We must go to Delhi in large numbers. After all, it is for the student community that Wangchuk is putting his life on the line.
One of the main catastrophes that students in India face is unemployment. Can our students then merely be content to be on their phones, in their college canteens, or on Grindr, Tinder or Bumble? Their slogan instead should be: Chalo Delhi.
I am not religious, but somehow I’m reminded of a stanza from the Bhagavad Gita:
Paritranaya Sadhuna, Vinashaycha Dushkritam
Dharmasamsthapanarthaya, Sambhavami Yuge Yuge.
This may roughly be translated as follows:
When good is on the wane,
And evil’s on the rise,
To rid the good of pain
And ensure evil dies,
To bring back laws long gone,
Age after age I’m born.
(The writer is a well-known author and former head of the English Department at Savitribai Phule Pune University)