Protests by West Bengal’s medical community persisted on Friday, coinciding with the 172nd birth anniversary of Radha Gobinda Kar, the founder of the institution now known as R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata.
Radha Gobinda Kar, a pioneering figure in Indian medical education, founded the Calcutta School of Medicine in 1886, the first non-government medical college in India and Asia. The institution underwent several name changes over the years, becoming the Calcutta Medical School and College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bengal in 1904 after merging with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bengal. Following its transition to a state-run entity, it was eventually rename R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital after Kar’s death in 1918.
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Ongoing Protests
The ongoing protests stem from the recent rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run hospital. Despite a Supreme Court directive on Thursday urging protesting doctors across the country to resume their duties and assuring that no disciplinary action would be taken against them, the medical fraternity in West Bengal, particularly those associated with R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital, vow to continue their demonstrations until justice is serve for the victim and the perpetrators are in punishment.
The protests have seen participation from both senior and junior doctors, as well as medical students.
On Friday morning, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, took to social media to commemorate the founder’s birth anniversary. In a post on platform X, Adhikari paid tribute to Radha Gobinda Kar, highlighting his contributions to medical education and his role in establishing the institution that would later become R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital. The message included a photograph of Kar and noted his legacy as a renowned doctor, social reformer, and philanthropist.
As the protests continue, the medical community remains steadfast in their demand for justice and accountability.
