Archive · 5 Aug 2026
'Please Drink Water': Sonam Wangchuk Urges Jharkhand Student Leader
A student leader named Devendra Nath Mahto in Jharkhand, India, stopped eating to protest.
He is upset because exam question papers have been leaking for 26 years.
He started a peaceful protest called Satyagraha on July 25.
On August 2, he began a hunger strike with no set end date.
He became very tired and weak during the protest.
A doctor warned that he would need to go to the hospital if he did not drink water.
A famous climate activist named Sonam Wangchuk called him on a video call.
Wangchuk said not drinking water is like ending your own life.
He asked Mahto to drink water, and Mahto did.
Mahto says he will only drink water and salt until the government listens.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk urged Jharkhand student leader Devendra Nath Mahto to drink water during his indefinite hunger strike in Ranchi.
Wangchuk told Mahto during a video call that refusing water on top of a hunger strike is 'tantamount to suicide.'
Mahto, on strike at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, has been on Satyagraha since July 25 and began his indefinite fast on August 2.
Mahto said exam papers have been leaking in Jharkhand for 26 years, and a doctor warned he would need hospital admission if he did not drink water.
On the third day of his fast, Mahto drank water at Wangchuk's request but said he would only take water and salt until the Jharkhand government responds.
- Who
- Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and Jharkhand student leader Devendra Nath Mahto.
- What
- Wangchuk urged Mahto to drink water during his indefinite hunger strike over alleged recruitment exam irregularities.
- When
- Wednesday, the third day of Mahto's fast, which began August 2; his Satyagraha began July 25.
- Where
- Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, Ranchi, Jharkhand.
- Why
- To protest alleged irregularities in recruitment exams, including reports of paper leaks in Jharkhand for 26 years.
- Event
- Video call between Sonam Wangchuk and Devendra Nath Mahto
- Activist
- Sonam Wangchuk
- Protester
- Devendra Nath Mahto, student leader
- Location
- Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, Ranchi
- Satyagraha began
- July 25
- Indefinite hunger strike began
- August 2
- Protest issue
- Exam paper leaks in Jharkhand alleged over 26 years
- Doctor's warning
- Hospital admission if Mahto did not drink water
