Amidst the storm of controversies
The recent controversies that erupted in SMHS Srinagar and elsewhere have more to them than meets the eye. The reasons behind the frequent spats and altercations in and around the medical profession are not simply what they appear to be; there are many structural issues beneath the surface that need to be unearthed. To prevent suicides from happening, we cannot merely build high walls and expect the problem to go away. We need to dig deeper, to find and address the root causes, until we reach a point where human-to-human interaction is made resilient not just against physical, but even more importantly, against non-physical barriers.
Particularly in light of the recent controversy at SMHS Srinagar, I have a story to share; one that highlights a root cause of these conflicts and suggests possible solutions thereof.
I have spent a good part of my life living in hostels; in this regard, I have a few observations to share.
A few years back, due to some unforeseen events, I had to live with a dear friend in a medical college hostel. I was his senior by a couple odd years; he was very dear to me, he respected and adored me, and the feeling was mutual. When I started to live with him, naturally I felt all his mates would, if not respect, at least give regard on equal footing, but it was not to be until he introduced me to all of them.
During the early days of my stay, I was intercepted by a young boy while I was alone and on the way to the room. He started asking me weird questions probably a ragging of sorts. I felt like Sanjay Dutt of Munna Bhai MBBS. After a few minutes of him quizzing me, which I purposefully let him, I told him when he started to cross the line that I am Mr. A’s friend and very senior to you. I finished my graduation when this college wasn’t even established. He went silent and left.
The incident left me curious and partly disturbed. I shared the story with my friend. He, too, was unsurprised, though clearly troubled. He then began to recount stories of how demeaning, tough, and difficult it is to survive the initial years in a medical college hostel. I soon saw firsthand the ugly side of medical college hostels. Juniors are made to feel like gutters; they are subjected to both physical and verbal abuse, yet they remain silent. This silence is sustained by the unspoken understanding that, with time, as they go up the ladder of seniority, they will have their turn to humiliate their juniors, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle.
What I saw was a mini hierarchical structure: juniors weren’t allowed to sit with seniors in the mess; they had to eat food in their rooms. If a senior came in, they had to stand up, head down, and make way for them. If a senior passed by a corridor or alley, they had to stop and let the senior pass. Seniors talked to them in a humiliating and condescending tone, ordered them around, and delegated menial tasks, all of which I observed with deep disappointment.
Having studied at one of India’s most prestigious universities, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), and as a frequent visitor to other top-ranking campuses such as JNU and JMI, I have observed that, while conflicts may occur in any university, these sorts of extreme hierarchical ragging practices where juniors are routinely humiliated are largely absent. The type of systematic humiliation and hierarchical structures existing in many medical colleges was absolutely in contrast with how settings were in other non-medical universities. In fact, a friend of mine once shared how another friend from Bihar was compelled to drop out of medical college because of such relentless torture. More recently, a Kashmiri student at a medical college in Karnataka faced harassment severe enough to make headlines. All of these stories paint a telling picture.
I inquired with my friend: Why doesn’t the administration act? He was quick to say there exists an implicit consent for all such things; those who are at the helm of affairs have at some point been hostel dwellers, and therefore been victims and actors of this preposterous, vicious cycle.
What I conclude from this experience was that these young people are made to believe in the binary of junior (inferior) and senior (superior), and it is this culture of internalized inferiority and superiority that allows these humiliations to snowball into later life when they enter the market, where people and masses they believe are to be avenged for the humiliation they’ve been meted with. It’s a simple human conditioning phenomenon, where brain development takes place under the crisis of identity, where merit becomes obsolete and dignity rendered faceless. Therefore, any fight, spat, or altercation that emerges out of hospitals has a structural reason behind it. Without addressing it, the root and the seed remain, and therefore, the conflict remains.
Moreover, if we are to stem the tide of such conflicts, the government must step up and strictly enforce anti-ragging rules. This includes not only robust policies but also real accountability for violators. Equally crucial, hostel wardens and administrative staff should be drawn from outside of the medical profession to avoid bias or blind spots created by shared backgrounds and past participation in these practices. This break in the cycle can only occur if oversight is impartial, serious, and continually vigilant.
For a brighter and better future, medical students ought to be taught lessons of human dignity, the making and unmaking of abstract aspects of the human brain, and the history of hierarchical structures which breed fascism, inequality, and an unjust society. These conflicts between humans and doctors, to be avoided in future, ought to be addressed from the bud; the flower will bloom with dignity and harbour the shadow of dignity for those whom they treat.
I intend not to take away the huge contributions this profession has made towards our society; the appreciation, acknowledgement, and respect remain. What remains to be instilled is ethical, value-laden human conditioning in this profession from the scratch.
