Delhi docs join Bengal colleagues with hunger strike and candle march

New Delhi: Doctors at Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi on Wednesday began a one-day hunger strike to show solidarity with junior doctors in West Bengal who are protesting the brutal rape and murder of a female medic.

Doctors at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital also joined in on Wednesday, wearing black ribbons as a symbol of solidarity and remembrance for their murdered colleague, while the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) of AIIMS-Delhi announced a candle march scheduled for 6 pm at JLN Stadium.

Aparna Setia, president of Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) RDA, said doctors are holding a symbolic hunger strike during working hours from 9 am to 4 pm on Wednesday. “During this period, we will abstain from eating or drinking to express our support for the junior doctors in West Bengal who have been on a hunger strike,” Setia said.

The MAMC is also organising various activities in support of the doctors’ cause.

The GTB doctors, in a statement, said the black ribbons they wore signify their grief and serve as a reminder that the medical community will not remain silent in the face of such brutal violence.