West Bengal doctors end hunger strike while keeping fight alive for systemic change

The 17-day hunger strike proved that sustained civil resistance can penetrate even the most fortified corridors of bureaucratic indifference.

Junior doctors address the media after meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on October 21. | Photo Credit: PTI

For 17 days, the attention of West Bengal’s civil society was fixed on the condition of the six junior doctors who started an indefinite hunger strike on October 5, as part of the ongoing protest against the gruesome rape and murder of an on-duty doctor inside the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in the early hours of August 9. Their deteriorating health, and the persisting deadlock between the agitating junior doctors and the State government was threatening to create a major medical crisis in the State. The doctors had set an ultimatum of a “medical strike” from October 22 unless the doctors’ 10-point charter of demands was not met.

Finally, on October 21, a partial resolution of the impasse was achieved when the doctors, after a lengthy and long-overdue meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who holds the health portfolio, announced an end to their fast-unto-death, and said they would not proceed with the “medical strike”. They made it clear, however, that the agitation demanding justice for Abhaya (the name given to the rape and murder victim) would continue as before. They also clarified that their decision to call off the fast and the medical strike was not a fallout of the meeting with Mamata but was in response to requests from Abhaya’s parents.

The meeting between the doctors and Mamata, which was telecast live, also brought to the fore the systemic ills in the medical sector, which the doctors felt was ultimately responsible for the murder of their colleague.

Keeping the protest alive

October 9, the first day of the Durga Puja—the biggest festival in West Bengal—also marked the completion of two months of continuous protests by doctors and the civil society. If the Trinamool Congress government had harboured any hope that the three days of the Puja celebrations would dampen the fires of protest, that hope was dashed by the six junior doctors who went on an indefinite hunger strike days ahead of the Durga Puja. Other junior doctors also joined the hunger strike, and many senior doctors across the State resigned en masse to show their solidarity with them. Even though there was a lull in public protests during the three days of the Durga Puja, the doctors’ refusal to pause their agitation, in spite of Mamata’s request to “return to the celebrations”, fanned the embers and paved the way for renewed public demonstrations soon after the Pujas were over. Having prevailed upon the State government earlier to remove the Kolkata Police Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), the Director of Medical Education, and the Director of Health Services, the doctors were adamant that their 10-point charter of demands should now be met.

Demands of the doctors:

1. Justice for the R.G. Kar victim.
2. Removal of State Health Secretary N.S. Nigam, and holding the Health Department accountable for administrative failures and corruption.
3. A centralised referral system in all hospitals and medical institutions.
4. A digital system to monitor bed vacancies in every medical college and hospital.
5. Setting up of task forces, with elected junior doctor representatives, in all hospitals and medical colleges to ensure that there are CCTVs, on-call rooms, and proper bathroom facilities.
6. Strengthening police presence in hospitals by hiring permanent male and female officers in the place of civic volunteers.
7. Immediate action to fill all vacant positions for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers in hospitals.
8. Investigative committees in each medical college to probe individuals involved in “threat activities”, with the establishment of a State-level inquiry committee.
9. Student council elections in all medical colleges without delay, with recognition of RDAs (resident doctors association), and elected student and junior doctor representation in decision-making bodies.
10. Immediate investigation into the widespread corruption and disorder within the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) and the West Bengal Health Recruitment Board (WBHRB).

The doctors insisted that all their demands should be met. But though the State government agreed to meet most of their demands, Mamata made it clear that the State Health Secretary would not be removed.

Protestors marching at the “Droher Carnival” along with a doll representing Abhaya. | Photo Credit: Jayanta Shaw

In a status report emailed by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to the junior doctors on various initiatives and interventions undertaken by the State government in the State’s health care services delivery system to enhance the safety and security of medical professionals, the State government claimed that “all tasks have been prioritised, and over 90 per cent of the sanctioned projects are nearing completion”. A source in the State Health department admitted that there were many issues that need to be addressed but added that “the doctors must understand that it is not possible to bring about a change overnight”.

Highlights

• The stalemate over the doctors’ agitation ends in West Bengal as junior doctors end hunger strike and withdraw strike call but make it clear they are not giving up the larger fight for justice.
• Their meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee brings no new development save assurances from the government; the demand for Health Secretary’s removal is rejected.
• In the meeting, which was live-streamed, junior doctors bring up the atmosphere of intimidation prevailing in medical colleges and the need for transparency in the examination system.

On October 15, the day of the Durga Puja Carnival, one of the most prestigious annual events organised by the State government, agitating doctors were joined by thousands of people in a “Droher Carnival” (Protest Carnival) a stone’s throw away from the venue of the Durga Puja Carnival presided over by Mamata. As the Chief Minister danced on stage with her party leaders and MPs to the music of her own compositions, civil society’s peaceful demonstration demanded justice for Abhaya and punishment for those who allegedly tried to cover up the crime. The spontaneous, apolitical nature of the Droher Carnival showed that the masses were not through with their protest just yet.

For ‘the greater good of society’

The government’s attempts to clamp down on the protests, and the mocking attitude of the leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress towards the doctors served to further outrage the people. During the Pujas, nine people were arrested for raising the slogan of “Justice for R G Kar” inside a Puja pandal. Dr Tapabrata Roy, a medical officer of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, was detained by the police while on duty at the Durga Puja Carnival for wearing a tee-shirt and badge expressing solidarity with the protesting doctors. The police tried to stop the Droher Carnival by imposing Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which the Calcutta High Court struck down with a sharp rebuke. On the day of the carnival, the State government also drew criticism from the Supreme Court with its decision to use civic volunteers for its new Rattirer Saathi (Helper at Night) scheme aimed at providing protection to women at night (the main accused in the Abhaya case is a civic volunteer). Two days later, on October 17, the State government withdrew all civic volunteers posted at medical colleges and government hospitals.

Protesters at the “Droher Carnival” in Esplanade, Kolkata, on October 15, 2024.  | Photo Credit: Jayanta Shaw

Adding fuel to the fire were the constant jibes levelled at the protesting doctors by top leaders of the Trinamool. They made fun of the hunger strike, questioned the agitating doctors’ real intentions, and accused them of being political pawns. Influential Trinamool leader Debangshu Bhattacharya even likened the protesting doctors to Maoists. “We are doing it for the greater good of the society. People have understood that and are giving us their support,” countered junior doctor Trinesh Mandal.

The doctors have also expressed their disappointment over the perceived slowness of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) in the R.G. Kar case and the naming of only Sanjoy Roy in the first charge sheet. “We cannot accept what the CBI has stated in its charge sheet, that only one person was behind the crime. We demand a quick and transparent investigation of the rape and murder of our sister at RG Kar Hospital,” said Debasish Halder, a junior doctor spearheading the protest movement.

A man at the Protest Carnival holding a Rabindranath Tagore poster that reads “Free thyself of fear”. | Photo Credit: Jayanta Shaw

On October 19, the doctors finally spoke to Mamata over phone when Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Home Secretary Nandini Chakravorty met them at the fasting site. Just the previous day, the doctors had interpreted her perceived aloofness as “cruelty”. In the course of the conversation, the doctors reiterated their 10-point charter of demand. “Most of your demands have been met, give me three to four months more to meet the rest,” Mamata assured them. However, she categorically rejected the demand for the removal of State Health Secretary N.S. Nigam. “This will not happen. I have already removed a number of people. Who will do the work if I remove everyone? If there are allegations against him, there will be an investigation,” she said. Though she agreed to talk to them on the condition that they end their hunger strike, the junior doctors nevertheless continued with their fast.

The October 21 meeting brought about no significant development other than reiteration of assurances from the government’s end, and presentation of grievances from the doctors’. However, the meeting did provide the scope for the doctors to lay bare before the Chief Minister, in front of a live camera, all the ills that presently plague the health system, including the “terror culture” in the colleges perpetrated by those close to the ruling party; the rampant corruption and cheating in examinations; and the helplessness of the students in the face of oppression and injustice.

As veteran political commentator, Biswajit Bhattacharya, put it: “The meeting showed how the doctors through their agitation could compel a strong and wilful leader like Mamata Banerjee to not only hold a meeting with them, but also hear out their complaints against the state and promise to address them.” The doctors also brought to Mamata’s notice how that very day the principal of Diamond Harbour Medical College had faced harassment over his attempt to discipline those found engaging in what has come to be called “threat culture” in common parlance.