“We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome, someday”
Protests are the only way for humanity to survive. People are the power; power is the people. Today, protests continue to change the world. They remain as powerful a weapon for change as ever. The junior doctors have chosen the path of protest, pledging to continue their struggle for justice and to fight against a culture of threats and other injustices, not only for their raped and murdered colleague at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital but also to reform healthcare and better serve the citizens.
They remained focused on their demands and confident in pursuing justice for their late colleague. After 42 days, there were no solutions from the government, except that they were asked to end the strike. It was not the administration, but the parents of the 31-year-old victim and concerned citizens who requested an end to the 17-day-long 'fast-unto-death' protest by the junior doctors. Their health was deteriorating, and people could no longer bear to see their suffering. This protest will go down in medical history. A hallmark on the street of ‘Rajpath’ (King's Way).
Image source: Debasish Bhaduri
The junior doctors are raising one of their most significant demands: the immediate removal of Health Secretary NS Nigam. As he leads the state-run hospitals, it is a no-brainer that corruption around him is obvious. A wicked and unscrupulous government denied this demand to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. It should be the vice versa; citizens can make demands of the government, not the reverse!
However, she dictated to us, as we all saw in the live-streamed event where she humiliated 17 junior delegates from the Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal. The world has witnessed her manipulative politics. It's open out there. She has once again failed, revealing dictatorship rather than leadership. How could this possibly happen under her watch? Their only significant demand is to seek justice for their raped and murdered colleague, who fell victim to the "threat culture."
Image Source: PTI
They are demanding the removal of NS Nigam and fair elections on their college campuses. But why is she so head-bent about their demands? Her demands were unheard. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains silent on the vicious crime at the state-run RG Kar hospital. The agitating doctors sent a detailed four-page letter to him, President Droupadi Murmu, with copies to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda. The victim’s parents are seeking intervention from Home Minister Amit Shah. It looks like the central and state governments are just two sides of the same coin.
The junior doctors gained unprecedented support from the people of Kolkata and beyond. The protest spread across the world, with people chanting "Justice for RG Kar" in rage. It is now only a matter of time before she crumbles when faced with the people’s unshakeable outrage.
We all know the saying about Roman Emperor Nero, who "played the fiddle while Rome burned"; our nations seem to follow the same path. The game is changing.
It is better to protest than to accept injustice. As Bob Dylan says, "A hard rain's a-gonna fall."
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