Indian diaspora in UK hold rallies in support of doctors in India in wake of RG Kar horror
LONDON: Indian-origin men and women gathered in multiple cities across Britain on Thursday night to demand justice for the trainee female doctor raped and murdered at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. They called for safer working conditions for women – not just in Indian hospitals but all workplaces in India – and for the mindset towards women in India to change.
Many at the London protest-vigil, held in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, were Indian-origin doctors now working in the NHS, who had trained in hospitals in Kolkata.They said safety for women was far better in Kolkata decades ago and had gone downhill and that security and facilities for female doctors in hospitals across India was terrible. They also wanted to see swifter justice handed to the culprits.
One doctor spoke of how an on-call room at an AIIMS hospital in India that she visited earlier this year had a rickety bed with bed lice, rats, no lockable bathroom and no running water.
“There are no restrooms in Indian hospitals and security is not effective. The police disappear when needed. The CCTV needs to be monitored. We need proper restrooms for doctors,” said Dr Tina Gupta, who studied at Calcutta National Medical College. “We never felt unsafe 20 years ago. The attitude towards women in India has changed. Men were more respectful to women before.” She also said the culture of working 36 to 48 hour shifts in hospitals needs to change.
Rudra Baidyaray, an NHS surgeon, said: “When we were working in Kolkata, these things didn’t happen in the hospitals then.”
His daughter Ritisha (17) said: “Nothing has improved, it has got worse. We are here to show solidarity with people in India.”
India-born Sneh Sunny blamed it on the “mentality of men”. She said “They need to stop treating women as objects. I feel vulnerable in the evenings in India. I have a son and I taught him women are equal. It is our duty to teach them. We need more safety in the workplace in India, and the security cameras need to work and be monitored.”
Anurag Rag (36) from UP, said: “My family, especially my mother, taught me to respect women. I have seen women treated badly in my state and it has made me want to protect women more. We want the Indian government to do something. The culture in India needs to be improved.”
Dipti Jain, the organiser, said: “This is war cry – we want justice for the victim and the real culprits to be caught. We know how safe it was before in these hospitals and how much it has changed in 30 years unbelievable.”
India-born Dr Annapoorna Sharma said doctors in India needed safe private restrooms with running water and separate bathrooms. She said it was disgusting it was left to the doctor’s parents to file the complaint, which should have been done by the principal of the medical school and she was concerned forensic evidence had not been collected properly.
Many at the London protest-vigil, held in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, were Indian-origin doctors now working in the NHS, who had trained in hospitals in Kolkata.They said safety for women was far better in Kolkata decades ago and had gone downhill and that security and facilities for female doctors in hospitals across India was terrible. They also wanted to see swifter justice handed to the culprits.
One doctor spoke of how an on-call room at an AIIMS hospital in India that she visited earlier this year had a rickety bed with bed lice, rats, no lockable bathroom and no running water.
“There are no restrooms in Indian hospitals and security is not effective. The police disappear when needed. The CCTV needs to be monitored. We need proper restrooms for doctors,” said Dr Tina Gupta, who studied at Calcutta National Medical College. “We never felt unsafe 20 years ago. The attitude towards women in India has changed. Men were more respectful to women before.” She also said the culture of working 36 to 48 hour shifts in hospitals needs to change.
Rudra Baidyaray, an NHS surgeon, said: “When we were working in Kolkata, these things didn’t happen in the hospitals then.”
His daughter Ritisha (17) said: “Nothing has improved, it has got worse. We are here to show solidarity with people in India.”
India-born Sneh Sunny blamed it on the “mentality of men”. She said “They need to stop treating women as objects. I feel vulnerable in the evenings in India. I have a son and I taught him women are equal. It is our duty to teach them. We need more safety in the workplace in India, and the security cameras need to work and be monitored.”
Anurag Rag (36) from UP, said: “My family, especially my mother, taught me to respect women. I have seen women treated badly in my state and it has made me want to protect women more. We want the Indian government to do something. The culture in India needs to be improved.”
Dipti Jain, the organiser, said: “This is war cry – we want justice for the victim and the real culprits to be caught. We know how safe it was before in these hospitals and how much it has changed in 30 years unbelievable.”
India-born Dr Annapoorna Sharma said doctors in India needed safe private restrooms with running water and separate bathrooms. She said it was disgusting it was left to the doctor’s parents to file the complaint, which should have been done by the principal of the medical school and she was concerned forensic evidence had not been collected properly.
