West Bengal witnessed mass protests on an unprecedented scale on the eve of India’s 78th Independence Day—the midnight of August 14—when tens of thousands of people, overwhelmingly women, took over the main squares across the state’s cities and towns. Five days ago, on August 9, the bloodied body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was discovered in R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. Sexual assault and murder were suspected right from the beginning but the mishandling of the case by the hospital authorities and the state government shocked and angered people. The protesters’ call for women to “reclaim the night” spread beyond state and international borders.
Responding to the crime, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) called for a nationwide strike of all medical professionals. They staged walkouts across the country. The IMA organised a rally that stretched from the entrance of R G Kar Hospital to Esplanade—a six-kilometre distance—underscoring the vulnerability of women in the medical profession. They are demanding immediate action to ensure their safety. The protests, fuelled by grief and frustration with the ever-rising crime rate against women and medical professionals, are a reminder of the systemic issues plaguing India’s justice system and the way in which it deals with cases of crimes against women.
The streets of Indian cities are filled with women’s voices—who are “reclaiming the night”—demanding justice, as the R G Kar Hospital incident reignited the debates around the country’s women’s struggle against gender-based violence. In North Kolkata, signs bearing messages of accountability and pleas for safety fluttered in the hands of protestors whose resolve remained unshaken despite a crackdown from police. In Kolkata, the police and protestors clashes have prompted the Supreme Court to issue a warning to West Bengal, saying, “Let not the mighty powers of the West Bengal State be unleashed upon peaceful protestors.” In Delhi, the government has prohibited gathering of more than five persons at several locations.
(This appeared in the print as 'The Endless Night')
