Indian Junior Doctors Continue Protests Despite End of Strike, Demanding Justice for Raped and Murdered Colleague
Medical staff shout slogans while holding placards during a protest at a hospital in Mumbai, after a nationwide strike was declared by the Indian Medical Association to protest the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a government-run hospital in Kolkata, India, August 17, 2024. — Reuters
Some Indian junior doctors remained off the job on Sunday, demanding swift justice for a colleague who was raped and murdered, despite the official end of a 24-hour strike called by the country’s largest association of doctors.
The murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate student in chest medicine on August 9 in Kolkata has sparked nationwide protests and candlelight marches by doctors, who have refused to treat non-emergency patients in the past week.
Women activists say the incident at the British-era R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital underscores the ongoing plight of women in India, despite stricter laws introduced after the 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a Delhi bus.
“My daughter is gone, but millions of sons and daughters are now with me,” the victim’s father, who cannot be named under Indian law, told reporters, expressing gratitude for the support from protesting doctors. “This has given me a lot of strength, and I feel we will achieve something from this.”
India implemented sweeping changes to its criminal justice system, including harsher sentences, following the 2012 attack, but campaigners argue that these measures have done little to deter violence against women.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), whose strike ended at 6 a.m. on Sunday, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, noting that 60% of India’s doctors are women and emphasizing the need for enhanced security protocols in hospitals, akin to those at airports.
“All healthcare professionals deserve a peaceful ambiance, safety, and security at the workplace,” the IMA wrote in a letter to Modi.
Despite the strike’s official conclusion, more than 6,000 trainee doctors in government hospitals in Gujarat continued to boycott non-emergency medical services on Sunday for a third day, while private institutions resumed normal operations.
“We have unanimously decided to continue our protest to press for our demands,” said Dr. Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors’ Association at B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad. “In the interest of patients, we are providing emergency medical services but are not participating in outpatient department or routine ward work.”
Read More: Indian Doctors Strike Nationwide to Protest Brutal Rape and Murder of Kolkata Doctor
The government has urged doctors to return to duty to address the rising cases of dengue and malaria, promising to set up a committee to suggest measures for better protection of healthcare professionals.
Most doctors resumed their usual activities, according to IMA officials, although Sunday is typically a day off for non-emergency cases. “The doctors are back to their routine,” said Dr. Madan Mohan Paliwal, IMA head in Uttar Pradesh. “The next course of action will be decided if the government does not take strict steps to protect doctors… and this time we could stop emergency services too.”
However, the All India Residents and Junior Doctors’ Joint Action Forum announced on Saturday that it would continue its “nationwide cease-work,” giving authorities a 72-hour deadline to conduct a thorough investigation and make arrests.
In Bhubaneswar, junior doctors and interns at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences had not resumed duty, according to Dr. Prabhas Ranjan Tripathy, additional medical superintendent. “The demonstrations are ongoing today as well,” he said. “There is a lot of pressure on others because manpower is reduced.”
R.G. Kar Hospital has been a hub of agitation and rallies for over a week. To maintain order, Kolkata Police banned gatherings of five or more people around the hospital for a week starting Sunday, deploying police in riot gear.
Blocking meetings, demonstrations, and processions was necessary to prevent “breach of peace, disturbances of the public tranquility,” Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal stated in an order.
Despite the ban, Reuters reporters observed that no doctors were at their usual protest site around the hospital gates on Sunday, as rain fell in the area.