Medical interns across Jammu and Kashmir have resumed their agitation, alleging that the government failed to honour its commitment to resolve their stipend hike demand within 30 days. The protest follows a meeting with health department officials in which interns claim they faced humiliating remarks.

Medical interns in Jammu and Kashmir resumed their strike on Tuesday, 42 days after the government gave them a written assurance that their long-pending demand for a stipend hike would be addressed within a month.

The interns had launched their agitation in September, seeking an increase in the monthly stipend paid to MBBS and BDS interns. On September 8, the government asked them to call off the strike and allow 30 days to resolve the matter. Trusting the assurance, the interns agreed to suspend their protest. They now say the promised deadline has passed without an official order implementing the hike.

“The 30-day period — it was actually they who asked us for a 30-day timeframe. Even back then, we demanded an order, and today as well, we are demanding an order. Back then, we negotiated based on trust,” medical intern Dr Faraz Ahmad told reporters.

According to Ahmad, the meeting on September 8 was attended by Health Minister Sakina Masood Itoo, Srinagar Government Medical College Principal Dr Iffat and the Deputy Director of Planning. The minutes recorded that the issue would be finalised within 30 days.

“Today is the 42nd day. Forty-two days have passed, yet the matter remains unresolved,” he said.

Ahmad also alleged that interns were humiliated when they visited the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the health minister’s office at the Civil Secretariat on Monday to enquire about the status of their file.

Interns allege humiliating remarks during meeting

The dispute intensified after a delegation of interns met officials from the Health Department on Monday to seek an update on the proposed stipend revision.

Mohammad Tasadduk Kawser, joint secretary of the All India Medical Students Association’s Jammu and Kashmir chapter, alleged in a post on X that the delegation was met with humiliating remarks instead of a concrete resolution. He claimed the OSD told the interns that the government was doing them a favour by providing free medical education.

Questioning the alleged remark, Kawser said public expenditure on medical education was funded by taxpayers and should not be portrayed as a personal favour by ministers or bureaucrats.

“We earn our degrees through merit, sacrifice and relentless hard work,” he said.

Kawser added that the interns had waited an additional week beyond the promised deadline without receiving an implementation order. He demanded accountability and an immediate resolution, saying the interns would not accept another assurance without concrete action.

Strike to continue until demands are addressed

Following Monday’s meeting, the interns held a candlelight protest. On Tuesday, they resumed their strike, with agitation calls issued across medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir. A candle march was also scheduled for Tuesday evening.

Ahmad said the interns would continue their agitation until they received appropriate compensation for their work.

The renewed protest highlights the growing frustration among medical interns over the delay in revising their stipends. For the protesting doctors, the issue is not merely the amount they receive each month but also the government’s failure, as they see it, to honour a commitment made during negotiations.

The interns are now demanding a formal order and its immediate implementation, insisting that further assurances will not be enough to end the strike.