The Cognizant Citizen- What Happens After R.G. Kar?
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault, violence
9th August, 2024. A dark day in history; so incredibly dire that the entire nation is ablaze in fury. Together, we cry out for justice, on behalf of a voice that can no longer be heard.
For this young doctor, a second year Post Graduate Trainee in the Chest Medicine Department of R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata- it was just another grueling night at work. At 2 A.M. she, along with some of her juniors, had just gotten a chance to have dinner after a tiring 36-hour shift. In the hope of some respite, she later retired to a seminar room in the hospital. The hospital had no accesible room for on-call doctors to take rest. The series of crimes that followed were so heinous that they cannot be documented. She was left in the seminar room with multiple injuries, and breathed her last. She was found by her aggrieved father (and other authorities), who had to witness his own daughter lying there helpless. Lifeless.
This horrendous incident has left Kolkata in uproar. There are protests everywhere, especially in RG Kar Medical College itself. Their voices are getting louder, and demand to be heard relentlessly. The whole state (and country) is shaken; students and teachers especially are uniting in large numbers to raise their voices against this injustice and honor her memory and life. The rest of India is following suit and joining forces to hold protests and candle marches to fight for this cause. All these voices, all these posters, all these candle flames are crying out for one thing- justice.
Our only option is to keep fighting and pushing relentlessly until justice is delivered to the victim and her family at the earliest. Justice delayed is justice denied. I know feeling triggered and helpless encompasses most people's current state, but we owe it to her and countless others to fight. Things need to change. These abominable crimes need to be punished. The only way to bring about this change lies in our unity. Our only hope to find some amount of solace lies in fighting together.
There is a massive nationwide outrage, as there rightfully should be. Unspeakable incidents are a daily occurrence in this country, and it’s high time we come together and do something about it. It chills my blood to think about all the people who have suffered such atrocities with no voice bringing them to light. I’m sure I’m not alone when I pray that this outrage does not die down. So many people have been rattled to the core by this incident, and I hope we use these overwhelming feelings of hurt, sorrow and rage to ensure that this truly never happens again. To ensure more stringent safety measures for doctors and working professionals, so that no one should ever have to earn a living while fearing for their security. Some nascent measures are in progress, like the 'Raatirer Shaathi' programme (translates as: 'Companions of the Night'), with the installment of CCTVs in every nook and cranny of hospitals. I pray that such measures can actually be effectively implemented. That we never have to see such dark days again. That no working professional, no human being, should ever suffer like she did.
Gone far too soon. It breaks my heart to think about how much she must've been through to get to where she was, the countless hours of studying and toil, the sacrifice of certain aspects of her youth just to serve people. And she died doing what she worked so hard for, it was just supposed to be another night at work. How could we let this happen to her? Or anyone? How can one's workplace, a shrine to embody the nobility of one's career, be so unsafe and brutal? To think of how her family must have felt on receiving the news- their grief, anguish, and anger. How can they ever heal from this, how can any of us heal from this?
This tragic occurrence has brought the medical fraternity together, but I hope we realize that this is not a battle for the medical community alone. It is not just women or doctors vs. the problem, it is EVERYONE who champions human rights vs. the problem. It is a battle for a basic human right- to feel safe and secure. The fact that we've reached a point that something so fundamental needs to be fought for is a catastrophe in itself.
In the midst of all this rage, uproar, turmoil, and horror, I hope we remember to be respectful. To be mindful of the rampant misinformation flying around, and not spread it further. To not disclose her identity, to respect this woman who lost her life because no one could protect her, and to be respectful to her grieving family. May we not let her be forgotten, and may we do our parts to ensure that the culprits never breathe easy for what they did.
Our bravest doctor, you will never be forgotten, and I hope you're in a much better place now, far from this cruel world that failed you.
Written by Dhriti Bharadwaj for MTTN
Edited by Simran Singh for MTTN
Featured artwork by Alina Grace for MTTN
