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[Text/Observer.com Xiong Chaoran] In early August, a female intern doctor in India was brutally raped and killed in a hospital. This vicious incident completely ignited the anger of Indian society. Following the "unprecedented" female demonstration on Independence Day, large-scale protests in the Indian medical community have not stopped, but have intensified.

According to a Reuters report on August 17, local time, hospitals and clinics across India refused to receive patients except for emergency cases that day, and medical professionals held a 24-hour strike to protest the rape and murder of a female doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata this month. It is estimated that this strike, in which more than 1 million doctors participated, will paralyze India's medical services. For this reason, several hospitals said that faculty and staff of their medical schools have been forced to participate in emergency services. Some patients said that they were unable to see a doctor and receive treatment that day because they did not know about the strike in advance or that the consultation quota was reduced.

As protests continue over the rape and murder, the Kolkata police have imposed a ban around the scene, which will ban illegal gatherings of five or more people for seven days and prohibit the public from carrying dangerous weapons such as sticks or doing anything that may disrupt peace and disturb public tranquility.

According to reports, after a meeting with representatives of the Medical Association, the Indian government urged doctors to return to work in the public interest in a statement issued on August 17 local time. To this end, the government will set up a committee to propose measures to strengthen the protection of medical staff.

In response, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), India's largest professional group, said it was studying the government's proposal but had not canceled the strike, which has led to the suspension of elective medical procedures and outpatient consultations. The strike will end at 6 a.m. local time on August 18.

However, due to the strike, some patients had to wait in line at the hospital, and some patients were unable to receive medical care. At SCB Medical College in Cuttack, Odisha, a patient said that he had muscle loss and burning sensation in his feet, head and other parts of his body, but he did not know there was a strike that day, and he had to go home after spending money to come to the hospital.

Raghunath Sahu, 45, said the daily quota for seeing patients at SCB Medical College was gone before noon and he had to wait another day to see a doctor with his sick grandmother.

Indian media Asian News International (ANI) reported that outside the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, where the rape and murder took place, a large number of police are now stationed, and the hospital building has been abandoned. In Kolkata, there were protests all day on August 17, led by doctors, members of civil society groups and political leaders, which led to the closure of many private clinics and diagnostic centers.

In cities such as Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Guwahati in Assam and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, local hospitals and clinics have also joined the strike, which will be one of the largest hospital service disruptions in India in recent years.

In West Bengal, where Kolkata is located, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed support for protests throughout the state. On the evening of August 17, local time, the local government led by her announced some measures to improve the safety of women working night shifts, including setting up special rest rooms and security areas monitored by cameras. At the same time, the government also asked private institutions to consider taking measures such as night patrols to make the working environment safer for women.

ANI also reported that due to the continued protests against the rape and murder incident and the RG Kar Medical College where the incident occurred, the Kolkata police have invoked Section 163 of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code, 2023 to impose a seven-day ban around the medical college, effective from August 18 local time.

The content of the ban is mainly that from August 18 to August 24, the Commissioner of Kolkata Police, based on the powers granted by relevant laws, prohibits illegal gatherings of five or more people in designated areas of Kolkata, carrying sticks, any deadly or other dangerous weapons, or any acts that may disrupt peace and disturb public order.

In early August, a vicious incident occurred in India. A 31-year-old female intern was raped and murdered while resting in a seminar room at the affiliated hospital of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. The body of the female intern was found in the seminar room of the hospital on the morning of August 9 local time. According to the New Delhi Television (NDTV), the preliminary autopsy report showed that the intern was killed after being sexually assaulted between 3 and 6 a.m. that day, and she was also violently attacked before her death.

After the incident, Indian police took away the 33-year-old suspect Sanjoy Roy. It is reported that the man is a volunteer of the local police station and was stationed at the police post of the hospital where the incident occurred. The man has been married at least four times and has abused his wife. He showed no remorse when he was taken away by the police. Kolkata police sources said that as part of the investigation, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation also summoned some medical students of the college. The agency also questioned the dean of the hospital on August 16 local time.

This rape and murder incident has completely ignited public anger. Earlier this week, many public hospitals in cities across India suspended all services except the emergency department, and many doctors sat on the ground to protest and demand justice for the victim. On August 12, local time, more than 300,000 doctors in India took to the streets to strike for justice for the deceased and demanded that the Indian government strengthen protection for medical staff.

On the evening of August 14 and the early morning of August 15, local time, when India's Independence Day was approaching, tens of thousands of women in West Bengal, where the hospital was located, took to the streets to hold a "Take Back the Night" march, bringing the week-long protests to a climax. It is reported that this is not the first time that India has held a "Take Back the Night" march, but the march in Kolkata is the largest so far.

The "Take Back the Night" march originated in the UK in 1977 to protest against rape and violence against women and allow women to move freely in public spaces at night. The British newspaper The Guardian said that the anger of the Indian people stems not only from the horrific experience of the murder of the intern, but also from the daily struggles faced by Indian women to live freely. The organizers of the march said that they chose Independence Day to raise the question: When will women gain independence?

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) described that in Kolkata, women firmly participated in the march, holding protest placards, their faces illuminated by the light of mobile phones, candles and burning torches, and some held the Indian flag. Men also joined in. At many rallies near universities, theaters and bus terminals, demonstrators held hands and united, and the humid air echoed with loud and powerful shouts of "We want justice."

As protests continued, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of growing discontent in the country at an event marking India's Independence Day on August 15, but did not directly mention the rape and murder in Kolkata. He said that as a society, Indians should "think seriously about the atrocities against our mothers, sisters and daughters."

"The whole country is angry about this. The common man is angry and I feel the anger," Modi said. "Our country, our society and state governments need to take this issue seriously. Crimes against women should be investigated more urgently."

Sexual violence against women is a widespread problem in India, with an average of nearly 90 rapes reported every day in 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

India's government overhauled its criminal justice system after the shocking 2012 gang rape, including tougher sentences, but activists say the changes have had little effect and the government is not doing enough to stop violence against women.

"In our country, women constitute the majority of our industry (medical profession) and we have time and again demanded that their safety be guaranteed," said RV Asokan, president of the Indian Medical Association.

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