Sonam Wangyal, former Congress leader and activist Sonam Wangchuk's father, undertook a five-day hunger strike in Leh in 1984 to demand Scheduled Tribe status for Ladakhis. Ex-PM Indira Gandhi then visited Leh, assured him the demand would be met and ended his fast with a soft drink. Wangchuk has now been fasting for almost three weeks at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.