The Daily Populous Saturday July 18th, 2026 day edition
Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by Man_from_Bombay

Man_from_Bombay on July 18th, 2026 at 05:57 UTC »

Context & Background on the Situation

The individual depicted being forcefully removed by police is Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent Indian engineer, educator, and environmental activist from Ladakh region of India

Origin of the Protest

Wangchuk was on an indefinite hunger strike for 21 days at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi as reported by The Guardian. He joined a wider student-led demonstration organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satire political group created after an indian minister called students who are unemployed as "cockroaches"

The protest targets systemic corruption within India's national education system. Specifically, the demonstrators demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following widespread paper leaks and irregularities in nationwide competitive exams, including the NEET-UG medical entrance test. Because of the intense compeietion and hardwork needed to pass this exams many students across the country committed suicides as they country failed to protect them.

Details of the Police Action Visual Blocking: During the early morning extraction, Delhi Police personnel deployed white bedsheets and cloths to systematically obscure the view of bystanders and prevent the independent media from filming the operation. Medical Status: The police cited a Delhi High Court directive regarding deteriorating health to justify the removal. Wangchuk was forecefully admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, where doctors reported he is being treated for hypotension and hypoglycaemia after losing roughly 9 to 10 kilograms according to Hindustan Times coverage. Family Position: His spouse, Gitanjali J Angmo, issued a formal public statement stipulating that hospital staff must not administer any oral or intravenous medical interventions without explicit consent from the family and their personal physician via The Hindu. Current Escalation

The clearance of the protest site has accelerated tensions. The founder of the protest Abhijeet Dipke reported being assaulted and briefly detained by law enforcement during the sweep.

Following his release, Dipke announced that he has initiated his own indefinite hunger strike, expanding the core demands to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi according to The Times of India. Organizers maintain that a planned march to India's Parliament remains scheduled for Monday, July 20.

BreakerOfBits on July 18th, 2026 at 08:24 UTC »

The protest is literally about safeguarding the authenticity of the highest level of examinations that students have to pass to be admitted as doctors.

This not only reduces the quality of medical professional which has reverberating effects on the country’s healthcare system but also impacts lives of millions of students who prepare for 3-4 years diligently studying 10-14 hours a day.

The shocking part is the audacity of a democratically elected governor which will not take any accountability and yet not even participate in dialogue of what is a non partisan issue.

That is the absolute absurdity of the situation. I urge you to read about it - the quality of Indian healthcare system impacts not only India but the global west where India serves as a medical tourism hub.

TheGrumpyPepper on July 18th, 2026 at 09:09 UTC »

He was kidnapped