Dr Bhargab Bhagawati
(Medical & Health Officer – I, Government of Assam)
The fragile saunter of a mother carrying her newborn into my OPD during my initial posting at Nalbari caught my attention. Her familiar, warm grin compelled me to enquire about the child’s name. “Bhargabi Das, Sir,” she replied, softly adding that the baby was named after me as I had delivered her. I was dumbstruck and grateful simultaneously. Such instances, being rare, attract mental affluence in our lives as doctors.
The National Doctors’ Day celebrates physicians, their magnanimity and the immense outpour of healing in society at large, annually. India observes it on 1st July in memory of Bharat Ratna Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the legendary physician and the first chief minister of West Bengal. It was officially recognized by the government and the Indian Medical Association in 1991. The 2026 theme, “Behind the Mask: Who heals the healers?”, reflects the earnest need for tenacity, grit and fortitude while fiercely advocating for better structural support for the caregivers. Various nations celebrate this day on different dates and commemorate their national milestones. The USA celebrates on March 30, recognizing the first use of general anaesthesia; Iran on 23rd August to mark the birthday of Avicenna, the eminent Islamic medical scholar; South Africa on 16th November, etc., with the core ethos remaining the same.
Since time immemorial, doctors have been deified, placing them on a divine pedestal as a supreme sign of respect. This portrayal of a “god complex” has both positive and negative implications. Medicine is a unifying profession, with gender-neutral perspectives being an archetype of gender empowerment and parity. Dr Elizabeth Blackwell was the first female doctor in modern medical history in 1849. Amidst all discriminations and prejudices, Dr Anandibai Joshi, Dr Kadambini Ganguly (India), Dr Ogino Ginko (Japan) and Dr Sabat Islambouli (Syria) were the first female doctors in modern medicine in the late 19th century, proving that medicine defies every demarcation.
Medical ethics hold a paramount position even in geopolitics. When the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte asked his Irish doctor, Dr Barry O’Meara, whether he would take his life because he was an Englishman, the doctor replied, ‘Let the Brits do that. I’m here for your service, and my only objective is to save your life.’ The doctor replied, ‘Let the Brits do that. I’m here for your service, and my only objective is to save your life.” The statement itself is an epitome of humble chivalry.
However, the pedestal is now on the brink of breaking. Doctors encounter a range of adversities in their line of duty, including physical violence, verbal abuse, psychological intimidation, sexual harassment, and cyberbullying. 75% of violence is verbal abuse, as per the National Medical Journal of India, most occurring in emergency and ICU settings. Shockingly, 82% of cases involve perpetrators who are family members of patients, and the causes include prolonged waiting times, high costs, misperceptions of the patient’s condition, and doubts about incorrect treatment.
Why the hullabaloo?
The root cause of public dissatisfaction and fatigue stems from systemic malfunctions, such as overcrowding, endless queues, numerous appointments, and rushed lab investigations. The disproportionate doctor-patient ratio exacerbates the issue. As per surveys, India stands at 1 doctor for every 10,189 persons in rural areas in contrast to the 1:1000 WHO recommendation. As per the Union MoH&FW, the combined doctor-patient ratio is 1:811 (allopathic doctors + AYUSH practitioners), surpassing WHO standards. Additionally, unaffordable healthcare costs push lower-income patients to fall into vicious debt traps even for minor procedures.
Meanwhile, the current social media trend makes the public prone to capturing unauthorized videos of hospital setups, degrading privacy and morphing reality in most cases. The hostility is escalating gradually. From the historic 1973 Aruna Shaunbaug case, who was in a vegetative state for 41 years following assault, to the horrendous murder of a 31-year-old female doctor in Kolkata in 2024 and violence in Assam, including a 73-year-old senior doctor at Teok Tea Estate being lynched in 2019, an on-duty doctor assaulted in Hojai during the Covid-19 pandemic era, etc., have created a frenzied atmosphere.
Despite the rising number of medical colleges, even Assam suffers from a 20% deficit of MBBS doctors and a 10.8% deficit of specialists required by the IPHS. Additionally, there is a significant shortage of allied services. This results in overburdening the premier tertiary care centres. Doctors end up serving as foot soldiers in a fragile public-private health infrastructure, sponging up public agony that rarely reaches the ears of policymakers.
Save the Saviours:
The Union MoH&FW promulgated guidelines to protect the healthcare ecosystem, including deploying trained security, installing CCTV networks, filing institutional FIRs against assaulters, establishing quick reaction teams, and so on. However, further updates must accompany the progress. It is important to create strict laws that treat violence against medical professionals as seriously as violence against police officers. The government should adopt a ‘glocalisation’ policy, particularly in Assam, by promoting competitive financial packages, faster career progressions, secure housing, and grievance redressals for medical officers who are committed to serving in rural areas, rather than enforcing mandatory, unsupported, and unsecured rural postings.
With 1,388,185 registered allopathic doctors in India as per MoH&FW, proper geographical distribution and deployment of personnel will suffice for the current system in the long term. Standard guidelines are a gross necessity to ensure humane duty hours and to stratify government hospitals based on patient load into 24x7 facilities and OPD service-only centres. The health services need to reify the hierarchy with proper stratification and decentralisation for better service delivery.
Doctors can heal with profound service only when backed by a robust, well-balanced system. The present theme is about shifting our focus to their overall wellbeing. Doctors and the public must trust and be kind to each other. Doctors, too, should have empathy and leadership in identifying the patient’s requisites with astute compassion and patience. The National Doctors’ Day should serve as a platform for concrete brainstorming to transcend empty platitudes, focusing on ground reality. Only when the healer is whole can the society truly heal.