MBBS intern doctors in Madhya Pradesh have taken to the streets over their monthly stipend of Rs 14,000, a figure that works out to less than Rs 500 for each 12-hour shift they put in.
The interns marched towards the Chief Minister's residence in Bhopal, calling on the state government to raise their monthly stipend to Rs 30,000. Their demand was straightforward: fair compensation for the medical work they carry out every day in government facilities.
The Madhya Pradesh government's response was not dialogue. Protesters were met with barricades, a police deployment and water cannons, a reaction that drew sharp criticism from medical circles.
The protesters and their supporters have questioned why the state chose force over conversation when dealing with trainee doctors raising a pay grievance. At Rs 14,000 a month, intern doctors in MP are among the lowest-paid medical professionals in the country, and the gap between their current stipend and the Rs 30,000 they are asking for remains a central point of contention.
