Nibeditaa Speaks
At Delhi’s prestigious Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), more than 3,200 students are struggling to survive in hostel facilities designed for just 200. The numbers alone are shocking — but what they reflect is far worse: a systemic disregard for the welfare of India’s future doctors and engineers.
Imagine aspiring medical professionals, already battling grueling schedules, forced to squeeze six to seven people into a room meant for two. No space for a study table, no peace to rest, and at times, not even a bed — just a corridor floor or the corner of a nursing station. This is not just poor planning. It’s a failure of basic human decency.
To make matters worse, the college can’t even carry out proper repairs. Bureaucratic roadblocks, ASI restrictions, and land encroachment by mafias have turned the campus into a maze of delays and danger. So dire is the situation that students have had to crowdfund for small repairs.
Now place this beside some of India’s top tech campuses — IITs, VITs, BITS Pilani — where polished infrastructure, reliable power, and secure hostels are often the norm. Yet even here, many students voice concerns about water shortages, ventilation issues, and hygiene lapses. The problem isn’t just limited to one domain — it’s spread across our educational landscape.
The core issue? We glorify innovation, but neglect the innovators. Whether in medicine or engineering, students are paying the price of broken systems. Our future surgeons, coders, scientists, and caregivers deserve better.
The recent intervention by the Delhi L-G and CM, directing emergency expansion and stricter campus security, is a welcome move — but far from enough.
It’s time we shift the focus from cosmetic fixes to a deeper reckoning: Why must the young minds that build our nation sleep in overcrowded rooms and unsafe conditions?
India’s future deserves dignity — not dormitory distress.
Miss Kanishka
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