New Delhi: More than 1821 artistes, writers, academics, social activists and other concerned citizens have released a letter appealing to those sitting on hunger strike at the Cockroach Janata Party protest site at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for the last 17 days, to withdraw their hunger strike.The signatories, including Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Arundhati Roy, Jean Dreze, Anuradha Chenoy, Jayati Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, Nivedita Menon, Radha Kumar, Madhu Bhushan, Sanjay Kak, Lalita Ramdas, Kavita Srivastava, Aditya Nigam, and Arundhati Ghosh, have appealed to environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk and all the student hunger strikers to withdraw.Saying that the “government does not have a heart or a conscience,” the signatories underlined their support to the demand of the protesters for the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. They and urged the protesters to recognise that this is a longer fight.The full text of their letter is below.§Dear Friends who are sitting in Hunger Strike at the Jantar Mantar, Delhi, demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Cabinet Minister for Education in the Government of India,We, the undersigned citizens of this country, fully support your demand and are immensely grateful to you for being our voices of protest, fighting this battle against a fascist government from the frontlines. We salute your sense of purpose, the determination, and courage with which you are spearheading this movement for students and youth across the country. But we are also very concerned for your health and well-being and the impact that this indefinite hunger strike can have on all of you.We make this appeal because we all know that this government does not have a heart or a conscience. We have seen time again how they have behaved in the most inhuman and dastardly manner with protesters be they the women wrestlers, the farmers, Father Stan Swamy, wrongly jailed who requested for a straw to drink water, or GD Agarwal the IIT Professor and environmentalist who died in Rishikesh following a hunger strike to clean the Ganga and ban hydroelectric projects. We worry that their negligence in responding to your demands will only further worsen the already fragile state of health that many of you are in.We request you to please consider ending this hunger strike immediately in the interests of the longer and more difficult struggle ahead. This battle is a marathon not a sprint and we need you, your strength and leadership in the days to come. We are also requesting all those in Delhi to join the Cockroach Janata Party’s March to the Parliament on July 20, 2026. We hope you will understand that our appeal to you is a testament of both our unconditional love and deep respect for each one of you and what you stand for. Zindabad to your spirit.With love,Concerned Citizens