New Delhi: Climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk completes 20 days of an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Friday, July 17. With no response yet to his demands from the Union government, a number of academics and artists have urged that he call it off: “Sonamji – we appeal to you to end your fast. You are too precious to lose in this tragic way,” they write in a “heartfelt appeal”.Wangchuk is on an indefinite hunger strike against the education ministry’s repeated failures and the government ignoring Ladakh’s demands for constitutional safeguards.The appeal has been signed by a wide cross-section of public figures, including Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee, writers Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy and Anita Desai, filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, Mira Nair, Kiran Rao, Vikramaditya Motwane and Payal Kapadia, actors Nandita Das, Freida Pinto, Jim Sarbh and many others.They request that the government “initiate a dialogue with this committed citizen and honour thespirit of public service that Sonam Wangchuk represents”.Addressing Wangchuk, they say in their appeal that his sacrifice and courage have inspired people around the world.Honey Trehan, Salil Tripathi, Aatish Taseer, Nandana Sen, Konkona Sen, Dev Benegal, Vishal Bharadwaj, Angana P. Chatterji, Rana Dasgupta, Amit Chaudhuri, Kanu Behl and human rights activists, filmmakers, educators, screenwriters and journalists including Ajit Sahi, Shruti Ganguly, Siddhartha Dubey, Sabrina Dhawan, Timmy Grover, Kartiki Gonsalves and Raghal Bahl are among the signatories of the appeal.Anxiety is mounting over Wangchuk’s deteriorating health as there is silence from the government on his fast as well as his demands. Doctors monitoring his health have reported significant weight loss and declining vital parameters, sparking fears about the consequences of the prolonged fast. He is reported to have lost 9 kilos and weakened significantly.Describing the climate activist as “our collective conscience” and “a great protector and ally of the environment and of young people in India”, the signatories of the appeal also urge the government to honour “the spirit of public service that Sonam Wangchuk represents”.Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike began on June 28 at Jantar Mantar, where he joined the ongoing protest of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which began on 20 June. He announced that he would fast until the government responded to the movement’s demands.In a video message shared on X on July 15, he urged people to join the July 20 protest in large numbers and to not appeal he end his fast. “There are two things I want to say. First, even if I break my fast, what will change? And what message will that send? The only message the government will receive is that there is no need for it to be accountabile. People sit on a protest, and then they [cannot] simply leave,” he added.The Delhi High Court had on Wednesday, July 16, directed authorities to ensure Wangchuk receives daily medical monitoring and said that “every citizen’s life is precious”. The court said it is concerned over his health while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Rakesh Kumar Saini, an advocate, on Wangchuk’s condition.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia noted that every effort must be made to protect his life.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Union and Delhi government, told the court that Wangchuk was already undergoing medical check-ups and that private doctors had examined him at times. He added that appropriate treatment would be provides as per the doctors’ assessment.