Doctors Strike Opens Fissures In Bengal

'The Bengali middle class, who never fully embraced Mamata Banerjee's policies, are now expressing their deep-seated frustration by spilling out on to the streets.'

IMAGE: A torch rally from Hiland Park to Shyambazar in Kolkata, September 20, 2024, expressing solidarity for the junior doctors protesting over the R G Kar Hospital rape and murder case. Photograph: ANI Photo

About a hundred metres from Swasthya Bhavan, the headquarters of West Bengal's health department in Salt Lake, the protest ground of junior doctors took centre stage in state politics.

The walls in the area, covered in graffiti, scream for 'justice'.

Slogans like 'Swasthya Bhaban safai koro' (clean up the health department) rend the air.

People from different walks of life -- teachers, technology employees, doctors, homemakers -- gather in solidarity.

A sense of irreverence hangs heavy.

On Saturday, September 14, 2024, the mood shifted dramatically when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made an unexpected visit to the protest site.

She urged the doctors to return to work and asked for time to address their demands.

However, a later attempt at resolving the impasse failed over the junior doctors' demand to livestream or videograph the meeting proceedings.

When they eventually agreed to accept a signed copy of the minutes of the meeting instead, the meeting was called off.

Junior doctors in West Bengal were on strike for over 40 days, protesting the alleged rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.

They are also demanding a clean-up of the state's health care system.

Despite a Supreme Court directive to return to work by 5 pm on September 10, the doctors continued their strike.

Around 7,500 junior doctors across the state were on cease work, which severely affected health care services.

Both government and private health care workers acknowledge the critical role junior doctors play in hospitals.

The state government and the Trinamool Congress have repeatedly highlighted the widespread disruption in services.

During a Supreme Court hearing on September 9, the Bengal government outlined the disruptions facing the health care system due to mass absentions by resident doctors across the state.

At a press conference on Se[tember 12, 2024, Banerjee said that over 700,000 patients have been denied treatment.

The next day, she posted on X: 'It is sad and unfortunate that we have lost 29 precious lives due to disruption in health services caused by the long-drawn cease work by junior doctors. To extend a helping hand to the bereaved families, the state government announces a token financial relief of Rs 2 lakh to the families of each deceased person.'

The ruling party has consistently described the plight of the common man affected by the protests.

So, what were the junior doctors' demands?

Their five point charter included the removal of the Kolkata police commissioner (conceded by the state government), the health secretary (not conceded), the director of health services (conceded), and the director of medical education (conceded), in addition to justice for the R G Kar victim.

A junior doctor, who requested anonymity, said, "The threat culture in medical colleges and hospitals must end."

IMAGE: Junior doctors take out a protest march to the CGO Complex at Salt Lake in Kolkata against the sexual assault and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor of the R G Kar Hospital. Photograph: ANI Photo

The junior doctors drummed up support from senior doctors and citizens, as the brutal rape and murder at RG Kar highlights an alleged health care syndicate run by an influential 'North Bengal lobby'.

"This is a mass movement. The Left ecosystem is being revived through music, slogans, and street art," said Mohammed Salim, Communist Party of India-Marxist West Bengal state secretary.

"The format and content of the protest are unfamiliar to the current government, which is attempting to create divisions between doctors and patients," Salim added.

Will this situation deepen existing fault lines in Bengal?

IMAGE: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses the protesting doctors at Swasthya Bhawan in Kolkata, September 14, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

Government hospitals in Kolkata serve as referral centres for district hospitals, meaning many of those affected by the junior doctors' absence are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Political observers believe the ongoing stalemate may lead to deeper fissures in the state.

Political analyst Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury observed, "The protest movement is largely concentrated in the city, districts, and sub-divisional towns, led by the middle class.

"But government hospital users are primarily the poor and subaltern. This disparity may cause further grievances."

Abhirup Sarkar, former professor of economics at the Indian Statistical Institute, explained that Banerjee's policies are focused on the economically backward.

"The junior doctors' protest is depriving these groups of health care.

"The Bengali middle class, who never fully embraced Banerjee's policies, are now expressing their deep-seated frustration by spilling out on to the streets," he added.

Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty believes the tension between the middle class and Banerjee's welfare-driven politics is likely to persist in Bengal.

Regarding the compensation announcement for families of those affected by the health care strike, he said, "It serves a dual purpose: Banerjee is connecting with her voter base while also mounting pressure on the junior doctors."

The coming days and weeks will determine just how deep these divisions will run.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com