{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "A Court Plea To Force-Feed Sonam Wangchuk Reopens The Debate Over Human Survival Limits Without Food",
  "summary": "A Delhi High Court petition wants activist Sonam Wangchuk hospitalised and force-fed as his hunger strike enters its 19th day and his weight loss crosses 8.5 kg, reviving the debate on force-feeding and how long the human body can survive without food.",
  "content": "Activist Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike has now stretched into its 19th day, and a fresh petition in the Delhi High Court has turned his worsening health into a legal question with implications far beyond his own case: can a person who has chosen to stop eating be fed against his will once doctors and courts decide his life is genuinely at risk.\n\nHow the matter reached the courts\nOn 15 July, as the 59-year-old Wangchuk entered the 18th day of his fast, a public interest litigation landed before the Delhi High Court and set off a debate that goes well beyond politics. The plea was filed by advocate and activist Rakesh Kumar Saini, who has asked the court to have Wangchuk shifted to a hospital and given medical treatment, including force-feeding if it becomes necessary. The petition states that Wangchuk has lost around 8.5 kg since he began his fast, that his health is worsening by the day, and that his life could be at risk if the strike continues. It also describes him as having started losing muscle mass and being in immense pain. Saini's central argument is that the government cannot afford to sit back as a silent spectator while a citizen's life hangs in the balance.\n\nWhat force-feeding actually means, and whether it is even legal\nForce-feeding, in medical terms, is the practice of giving food or nutrients to someone who either refuses to eat or is no longer able to eat on their own. It is typically carried out through a tube passed through the nose into the stomach, with the sole purpose of preventing starvation and keeping the person alive. Whether the state actually has the power to do this to a hunger striker, however, is far from settled. Indian courts have historically had to weigh two competing rights against each other: an individual's right to make decisions about their own body, and the state's duty to protect human life. There is no blanket law that automatically permits force-feeding a hunger striker. Courts instead tend to examine each case on its own facts, looking closely at the person's medical condition and how serious the danger to their life has actually become.\n\nWhy Wangchuk is fasting in the first place\nWangchuk joined a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar that is demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in examinations, including NEET. The protest itself began earlier in June, and Wangchuk began his own indefinite hunger strike on 28 June, continuing it without a break since then. His supporters say the fast is meant to draw national attention to the examination irregularities and to push for accountability from those in charge.\n\nCould the body survive without both food and water\nNot for very long, according to medical experts. A person can typically survive for several weeks, and in some cases even a few months, without food, provided water is still available. The moment both food and water are withheld together, however, survival time collapses sharply. Most people cannot last much beyond roughly a week without water at all, though the exact number shifts depending on the person's age, underlying health and the surrounding environment, such as heat or humidity.\n\nHow long the body can keep going on water alone\nThe body does not simply shut down the moment food intake stops. For the first day or two, it draws on glucose and stored glycogen for energy. Once those reserves run out, it switches to burning stored fat instead. Neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar explains that after roughly three days of fasting, the brain begins running on ketones produced from that fat, a shift that helps the body spare its muscle and keep functioning for longer. For close to two weeks, stored fat continues to serve as the body's main fuel source. It is only after the two-week mark that the body starts breaking down muscle tissue itself for energy, at which point overall energy reserves fall sharply and the risk of damage to organs such as the heart, kidneys and liver climbs. Recorded cases show some hunger strikers surviving anywhere from 28 to 40 days, while during the 1981 Northern Ireland hunger strike, the men who died did so only after 46 to 73 days without food. Broadly, with adequate water intake, a person can survive somewhere between roughly 45 and 70 days without food, the exact figure depending on their health, body weight and hydration levels. Take away the water as well, and that window shrinks drastically to just 3 to 7 days.\n\nWhy water matters even more than food\nFood supplies the body with energy, but it is water that keeps its essential systems running at all. Water regulates body temperature, carries nutrients around the body, sustains blood circulation and flushes out waste. When someone stops eating, the body can adapt by drawing on stored fat and, eventually, muscle for fuel. But when water is also withheld, dehydration sets in fast: blood volume drops, organs start receiving less oxygen and fewer nutrients, kidney function declines, and the odds of organ failure rise sharply. That gap explains why a person can hold out far longer without food than they ever could without water.\n\nWhy hunger itself fades during a long fast\nA common assumption is that hunger keeps intensifying the longer a strike goes on, but doctors say the opposite tends to happen: it usually fades after the first few days. Dr Sudhir Kumar notes that hunger is typically at its strongest during the first one or two days of a fast. As the body adjusts to starvation, hormone levels shift and appetite gradually drops off. Once a person gets past the initial phase, the body adapts. Because of hormonal changes, appetite decreases, he says. A person may not feel very hungry, but they are likely to feel increasingly weak. Activities such as walking, climbing stairs or any physical exertion become more difficult, he adds. According to Dr Kumar, the brain keeps functioning throughout because it switches over to using ketones as an alternative fuel source, so a person can generally remain conscious and continue making decisions normally, even though concentration, attention span and reaction time tend to decline gradually as the fast wears on.\n\nThe scene at the protest site\nAt one point during his fast, with 17 days already behind him, Wangchuk was surviving on nothing but salt water and had already lost 8.5 kg. Behind him at the protest site hung a banner of the Cockroach Janata Party, demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. Abhijit Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janata Party, said, the government is not even willing to talk. They have left him to die.\n\nWhat this means for you\nThis story is not tied to markets or money directly, but it touches issues that affect ordinary people.\n\n• Across India: the protest over alleged NEET and exam irregularities matters to lakhs of students and parents, since a court-driven push for accountability could shape how future exams are audited.\n• In Delhi: the ongoing demonstration at Jantar Mantar and the High Court hearing could increase pressure on the city administration and police to manage the situation.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. When did Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike begin?\nHe began an indefinite hunger strike on 28 June, and today marks its 19th day.\n\n2. How much weight has Wangchuk lost so far?\nAccording to the petition, he has lost around 8.5 kg since starting his hunger strike.\n\n3. Who filed the petition in the Delhi High Court?\nThe petition was filed by advocate and activist Rakesh Kumar Saini.\n\n4. What does the petition ask for?\nIt asks the court to have Wangchuk hospitalised and given treatment, including force-feeding if necessary.\n\n5. What is force-feeding?\nIt is the practice of feeding someone who refuses or is unable to eat, usually through a tube passed via the nose into the stomach, to prevent starvation.\n\n6. Why is Wangchuk on a hunger strike?\nHe is part of a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in exams including NEET.\n\n7. How long can a person survive without water?\nMost people cannot last much beyond about a week without water, though this varies with age and health.\n\n8. How long can a person survive without food if water is available?\nExperts say a person can survive roughly 45 to 70 days without food as long as they have adequate water.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/investigations/sonam-wangchuk-ko-jabarana-khilane-ki-manga-vali-yachika-ne-khara-kiya-bara-savala-bina-bhojana-kitane-dina-jinda-raha-sakata-hai--8024",
  "category": "Investigations",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-16",
  "tags": [
    "Sonam Wangchuk",
    "Hunger Strike",
    "Force Feeding",
    "Delhi High Court",
    "NEET Exam",
    "Dharmendra Pradhan",
    "Jantar Mantar Protest"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}