NEW DELHI - A New Delhi court ordered government doctors on July 16 to monitor activist Sonam Wangchuk’s health daily, as supporters fear for his life after nearly three weeks of hunger strike to protest India’s examination system.

Wangchuk, 59, has been fasting since June 28, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance and other reforms.

Angry students from across India have joined protests in recent weeks organised by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party online movement, with many saying repeated paper leaks have left them with little faith in the system.

Wangchuk, resting on a stage in New Delhi’s well-known protest site Jantar Mantar, appeared frail and weak on July 16 as he waved to supporters.

Following a petition, the Delhi High Court ordered on July 16 that “whatever medical intervention is needed to save Sonam Wangchuk’s life should be done”.

The “life of any citizen is precious”, the court said.

The petition filed this week by activist lawyer Rakesh Kumar Saini warned that Wangchuk may not survive for long if he did not break his fast.

Some of Wangchuk’s supporters and members of the protest movement have asked him to end his hunger strike.

An engineer by training, Wangchuk is best known for pioneering water conservation projects in the Himalayas.

He received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018 for his environmental work and contributions to reforming local school system in the Himalayan territory of Ladakh.

A group of about a dozen students have also been on a hunger strike alongside Wangchuk, including Bahadur Singh from the northern...