New Delhi:

Junior doctors protesting August’s rape and murder at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital are on a fast-unto-death, setting up another potential face-off with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Six people are on a hunger strike and this will continue for an “indefinite period (till) we get justice”, they said last night.

They will be joined this week by colleagues from Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences, who said they will hold a candlelight protest at the city’s JLN Auditorium on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to NDTV Monday morning, a doctor from AIIMS acknowledged his colleagues and he have a duty to their patients and the public and so could not strike indefinitely, but said, “The country has seen junior doctors of Bengal striking for 50 days. The demands have been clear since Day 1 – justice.”

#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal | On hunger strike called by Junior Doctors, Dr Aqeeb says, “…Six of our people are sitting on hunger strike right now and we will continue for an indefinite period..Our only demand is we want justice in the RG Kar incident…” (06.10) pic.twitter.com/P2Bhl0z60Y

— ANI (@ANI) October 7, 2024

“But we are seeing questions over the investigation (being led by the Central Bureau of Investigation) and it is so slow…” he said, also launching a fierce criticism of Ms Banerjee.

“Mamata Banerjee is not listening… she is just diverting the topic. Transferring some officails and not changing the ground reality. So how will doctors have a sense of security at the workplace?” he asked, also hitting out at the ‘threat culture’ red-flagged by Bengal doctors.

“It is high time that this ‘threat culture’ should end… not just in Kolkata but anywhere in India. If this is prevalent in any section of scoiety it should end,” he told NDTV, stating that resident doctors from AIIMS would hold a silent march and a candelight protest for their colleagues.

Doctors’ protests against the Bengal administration – over demands that include justice for their colleague, improved workplace safety and security, and a reshuffle of state officials to root out a “threat culture” – renewed last week with a sit-in protest in the heart of Kolkata.

The doctors indicated also the rest would fufill their responsibilities to the public by attending to patients but not eat anything. The state will be held responsible for their condition, they said.

On Friday the doctors had withdrawn a second ‘ceasework’ movement, which had, again, crippled healthcare services at state-run medical colleges and hospitals.

They had started their second ‘ceasework’ strike – which involves attending only to essntial and emergency services, but not working in outpatient departments – on October 1.

This was all after the doctors said the government had failed to act on assurances given during last month’s meeting with the Chief Minister. They also said CCTV cameras would be set up to “maintain transparency”. The reference was seen as a reminder to Ms Banerjee; one of the doctors’ demands is increased camera surveillance of hospital campuses across the state.

Significantly, the doctors’ fresh protests followed another horrific crime in the state.

The body of a 10-year-old girl was found in a canal in 24 South Parganas’ Kultani on Saturday. Ms Banerjee – already under heavy political fire from the opposition BJP and from civil activists – told cops to file a case under the POCSO Act and “ensure culprits get capital puishment”.

The young girl’s family has alleged neligence by the police.

The police – who also face questions over their handling of the RG Kar rape-murder horror, including the courts asking why there was a delay in filing a case – have detained a suspect.

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Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, on September 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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Doctors set to resume work but protests continue to rage in Kolkata

A day after junior doctors called off their ceasework agitation, healthcare workers and thousands of civil society protesters took to the streets of Kolkata seeking justice for the doctor who was raped and killed at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) last month. It has been 41 days since the female trainee doctor was raped and killed on duty at RGKMCH on August 9. So far, the Kolkata Police have arrested one person in connection with the case

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Gauri Seth, a resident doctor, on the sidelines of a protest. 
| Photo Credit: REUTERSRY

The rape and murder of a 31-year-old female trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) has, for the past 40 days, incited protests from doctors and several other sections of society, all of whom have been staunch in their demand for justice. But while the protests are primarily over women’s safety, it is male doctors who have ended up taking centre stage, say some female doctors.

Also read | Ready to work, but haunted by fear: West Bengal doctors tell Supreme Court

Many of them cite that on September 16, when a delegation of 42 doctors met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her residence to present their demands, the number of female doctors was in single digits, remaining underrepresented even in the midst of a movement stemming from the rape and murder of one of their own.

“Men are hogging the limelight, and the movement has become more about the rot in the medical system than women’s safety,” said Gauri Seth, a resident doctor from Medical College, Kolkata.

Expressing bafflement at the fact that even protest sites are not inclusive enough, Ms. Seth added: “One of the narratives is that Abhaya [the symbolic name given to the victim] died because she raised her voice against injustice. But now, men are taking away our voices and leading the movement. They have been playing saviour since Day 1, and we don’t need them protecting us from other men.”

Echoing Ms. Seth’s disappointment, a female MBBS graduate at city medical college told The Hindu that male doctors “with saviour complexes” have occupied the frontlines of the protests as well as leadership positions in Resident Doctors’ Associations across Kolkata. “We just need the men to listen and let us express what makes us feel unsafe in our workplace, as well as what we need as solutions,” she said.

“Nurses and female hospital workers face even more violence than the average female doctor, but they aren’t mentioned anywhere in the ongoing discourse,” added Radhikaa Sharma, a postgraduate trainee doctor.

Rape as a tool

Kavita Krishnan, a female rights activist, said the feminist purpose that initially fuelled the protest is now struggling to stay relevant amid other narratives. “What happened to the victim happened to her because she was a woman, not because she was a doctor. That is something that needs to be kept in mind,” she said.

Satabdi Das, a gender rights activist and convener of the ‘Reclaim the Night, Reclaim the Rights’ movement which facilitated the participation of feminist and queer activists in the protests, noted that many protesters no longer view the rape and murder of the doctor as a gender crime due to the larger political nexus allegedly behind the incident.

“Many believe that if a man had stood up to the political nexus, the same would have happened to him. However, rape is a tool of domination which is rarely wielded over other men. There is a lack of understanding about rape not being a crime of lust but a tool to exercise power over women,” she said.

Ms. Das also noted the lack of not just female, but also queer and transgender faces in the doctors’ agitation. “While I understand that the doctors’ five-point agenda is chiefly based on the health infrastructure and safety of health workers, they could have created a more compelling picture if more women were the faces of the protest,” she said.

Kolkata:

Junior doctors protesting in Kolkata against the rape-murder of a 31-year-old medico at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital said late last night that they will continue their ‘cease work’ agitation till the Mamata Banerjee government fulfills all their demands. They have said they will reach out to the state government for more discussions on the demands yet to be fulfilled.

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front said in a statement that many attempts were made to malign their movement. “Due to our movement’s pressure, the state government was forced to remove the Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner North, Director of Health Services and Director of Medical Education. This is a partial victory of our movement,” they said.

The doctors said that in their meeting with Chief Minister Banerjee on Monday, there was no decision on their demand to remove the Principal Secretary (Health). “The Chief Minister gave us a verbal assurance, but we have not seen any step in the direction so far.”

The doctors’ body also flagged the Supreme Court’s observations on the Bengal government’s notification that said state-run hospitals would avoid giving night shifts to women doctors. The doctors said it is not possible to provide security to women by creating a gender divide. Following the court’s observations that it is the state’s duty to provide security, the Bengal government’s counsel Kapil Sibal said the notification will be tweaked. The doctors also pointed to the court’s remarks on contractual staff being roped in to provide security at hospitals.

The doctors’ body has said that merely beefing up security at hospitals will not ensure the safety of doctors till health services are improved. It has pressed for adequate recruitment of healthcare staff and counselling services at hospitals. “Ordinary people face problems due to corruption in the allotment of hospital beds, and shortage of life-saving drugs. We want a solution to all these problems,” the doctors’ forum said.

The junior doctors said that during their meeting with the Chief Minister, they had demanded a college-level task force to address these problems. “We think more discussions are needed. It is not clear how these demands will be fulfilled.”

They have also underlined their demand for an end to the “politics of fear” in medical colleges and democratic student union elections. “The Chief Minister announced from our protest site that patient welfare committees will be dissolved, but we got nothing in writing and there is no clarity on how these committees will be set up again.”

The doctors’ body said that it wants the government to hold discussions and fulfill the demands. “We want to return to work,” the junior doctors said.

People gather outside American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) as more than 1,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, according to a security source, in Beirut, Lebanon on September 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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Members of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front told the Supreme Court that they would “in principle” want to rejoin work after over a month of protests against the brutal rape and murder of their young colleague at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata following assurances from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a meeting, but they were still haunted by a “fear psychosis”. Appearing before a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, senior advocate Indira Jaising, for the junior doctors, confided in the courtroom that those responsible behind the “cover-up” about the gruesome crime on August 9 were still “roaming” in the hospital and would subject them to victimisation on rejoining work.

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Kolkata:

The Mamata Banerjee government has extended its fifth invitation for talks to junior doctors protesting over the rape-murder of a 31-year-old medico at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The junior doctors have refused to rejoin work till justice is served in the heinous case and several top officials are shunted out. Earlier meetings between the state government and the doctors were called off due to disagreements on several issues, such as live-streaming.

In an email to the protesting doctors, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant said that the doctors must resume their duties, as per the Supreme Court’s September 9 directive.

“This is the fifth and final time we are reaching out to you for a meeting between the Honourable Chief Minister and your delegates. In line with our discussion from the day before, we are once again inviting you to a meeting with the Honourable Chief Minister at her Kalighat residence for a discussion with an open mind,” the letter states.

The chief secretary underlined that the meeting cannot be videographed or live-streamed — the point on which the earlier meeting fell through on Saturday.

“We trust that good sense will prevail, and as mutually agreed and as per your statement to the media day before – there will be no live streaming or videography of the meeting, given that the matter is sub judice in the highest court of the country. Instead, the minutes of the

meeting will be recorded and signed by both parties,” the email adds.

“The meeting is scheduled for 5 PM today ie 16th September 2024 at Hon’ble Chief Minister’s Kalighat residence. The same delegation which came for the last discussions is requested to arrive at the venue at 4:45 PM today. We look forward to your positive response and a productive and fruitful discussion,” it says.

Earlier meetings planned between the Chief Minister and the junior doctors led to dramatic scenes. On September 12, the doctors went to the state secretariat Nabanna to meet Ms Banerjee, but refused to join the meeting after they were told the proceedings could not be live-streamed. Visuals of Ms Banerjee waiting for the junior doctors went viral and she said she had waited for two hours.

Another meeting was planned on Saturday after the Chief Minister’s surprise visit to the doctors’ protest site at the state health secretariat. The junior doctors reached her residence at 6.45 pm. Again, the doctors’ demand for live-streaming and officials’ refusal proved to be the roadblock. The medicos waited outside the Chief Minister’s home in the rain. They demanded that they be allowed to videograph the meeting. The state government refused this and said it would record the meeting and the recording would be provided to the doctors later because the matter is sub-judice.

Ms Banerjee came out and invited the doctors inside. “You can trust me, I won’t mislead you. Even if you do not attend the meeting, at least have a cup of tea.” She also said the doctors are “insulting” her. The doctors stressed that they wanted the recording. She then said I “cannot accept all your demands”. Later that night, the doctors decided to join the meeting but state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and chief secretary Manoj Pant told them it was too late.