YOUTH FOR EQUALITY (WEST BENGAL CHAPTER)

24TH AUGUST - SHAMEFUL USE OF MUSCLE POWER BY THE ADMINISTRATION

2006-08-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

The anti – reservations protests in Kolkata suffered a jolt today when the administration used its muscle power to intimidate the protesters. This weapon had never been used by the administration during the first phase of the protests in the month of May. The students and junior doctors of the different medical colleges and the students from the engineering, management and general colleges

23RD AUGUST - PROTESTS BEGIN ONCE AGAIN

2006-08-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

As the Government stuck to their newly proposed reservation and the bill was passed in the ministry, protests geared up once again spearheaded by Delhi. The students of Kolkata followed their colleagues of the capital as today they launched the second stage of the anti-reservation protests in the city. Students of different institutions of the city along with the students and junior doctors of

RESUMPTION OF WORK

2006-06-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

We are grateful that the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has rightly intervened in this ongoing agitation, and directed the Government of India to explain the reasons for seeking these reservations. The court has also observed that the strike by doctors should be withdrawn in the interests of patient care. To honour the verdict of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and to show that we have full faith

A LETTER FROM MR. RAJIV GANDHI

2006-06-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

29th MAY - HUNGER STRIKE SHIFTED

2006-05-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

The hunger strike has been shifted to Calcutta Medical College from Calcutta National Medical College.

OUR DEMANDS

2006-05-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Deferral of implementation of the bill under discussion in its present form. Formation of authentic and independent commission to review the existing and on going reservation policy. Implementation only after the commission submits its reports. Implementation only after increase in seats ensuring that not a single seat is decreased for any class of students in

27th MAY - COLLEGES & ORGANISATIONS PRESENT IN THE RALLY

2006-05-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

In the mass rally today, students from the following colleges were present: Calcutta Medical College Calcutta National Medical College R.G. Kar Medical College Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research Burdwan Medical College North Bengal Medical College Midnapore Medical College Dr. R.

27th MAY - THE MASS RALLY

2006-05-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

The mass rally organised by the West Bengal Chapter of Youth For Equality took place today afternoon in Kolkata (Calcutta). About 8000 protesters gathered at Calcutta Medical College. The protesters started arriving in groups from noon only. At 3 pm IST, the protesters started marching out onto College Street. They reached Chittaranjan Avenue via Mahatma Gandhi Road and marched towards Shaheed

27th MAY - THANK YOU

2006-05-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT - COMMENT MODERATION

2006-05-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Dear visitors,There has been a recent surge in the number of comments received on our blogs. We thank our viewers for spending their valuable time interacting with us. Most of the comments have been inspirational and very interesting. Unfortunately, some of the comments have been drawing criticism due to use of foul language. Hence, we have been forced to introduce a COMMENT MODERATION system

PLAN FOR 27TH MAY - A MASS RALLY

2006-05-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

A mass rally has been arranged on the 27th of May from Calcutta Medical College to Shaheed Minar. The rally will start form the administrative block of Calcutta Medical College at 2:00 pm. People from every corner of the society are requested to join the rally and make it a grand success in order to help us strengthen our voice against reservation. Your whole-hearted participation is

25TH MAY - PROTESTS GO ON AS PER THE PLAN

2006-05-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

As declared earlier, the junior doctors of all the medical colleges and even some non-teaching hospitals of the state started the cease work. There was hardly any junior doctor in the out patient departments and the wards. However the Emergency, Labour Room, Ad-day and On-call services were excluded from the span of this cease work. The visiting faculty, medical officers and the residents tried

PLAN FOR 25th MAY

2006-05-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

¨ There will be total cessation of work in all the medical colleges of West Bengal tomorrow. However, Emergency Departments, Labour Rooms and On-Call services will function normally to cause minimal inconvenience to the patients. ¨ At 5 pm tomorrow, there will be a mass gathering comprising students and doctors from

24th MAY - PROTESTS INTENSIFY

2006-05-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

¨ Burdwan Medical College students continued their hunger strike. Five students collapsed during the hunger strike and needed medical attention. ¨ Protesters from Calcutta National Medical College, Dr. Rafi Ahmed Dental College, Guru Nanak Institute of Dental Sciences, NRS Medical College, Presidency College and

2006-05-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

An interesting newspaper article sent to us by Ms. Radhika Kapur.(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW IT)

IMPORTANT - RUMOUR ALERT

2006-05-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

A lot of rumours have surfaced lately regarding students in Bhubaneswar dying due to police atrocities and doctors in Delhi dying of hunger. These rumours are spreading like wildfire via sms and emails. We request citizens to verify the validity of the "news" before they forward these messages/mails. Forwarding these unsubstantiated messages will ultimately harm the integrity of our movement.

22nd MAY - BLACKOUT AND CANDLELIGHT

2006-05-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

To show solidarity with the rest of India in showing disapproval of the methods of the present Government, the hostels of various colleges observed a blackout for 10 minutes at 8pm IST today. Students and doctors from various colleges took out a candlelight march at 4pm from the CNMC campus. The march was a silent one with

22nd MAY - BLACKOUT ALL OVER INDIA AT 8 PM IST

2006-05-22T03:32:00.000-07:00

On the 22nd of May, 2006, the UPA Government completes two years in power. On this day, we appeal to the general public to come out in support of us to observe a blackout by switching off all lights for 10 minutes from 8pm IST. We need your support in our agitation against caste-based reservations.

21ST MAY - FUTURE PLAN OF ACTION

2006-05-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

A meeting was held at the Calcutta National Medical College today afternoon involving representatives from all the colleges assembled there. The following plans of action were passed there :- A team will be sent to the Chief Minister of West Bengal to request for an appointment with him in order to know about his viewpoints on this issue. The venue of hunger strike may be shifted to

21ST MAY - A UNIQUE PROTEST

2006-05-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

The students of North Bengal Medical College staged a unique protest on the roads of Siliguri. They undertook a self-burial programme. The protesters buried themselves into the soil, with only their neck and face above. They closed their mouths by means of leucoplast and stayed like that for quite a few hours. Such newer forms of protests are growing day by day.

21ST MAY - PROTESTS ARE ON

2006-05-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

The hunger strike continued in the Calcutta National Medical College campus. The medicos were today joined by more number of students from other fields including the students from NIT,Durgapur; Bengal Engineering College,Shibpur; National Institute of Homoeopathy, to name a few. Representatives from different colleges went to the Joint Entrance Examination centres to motivate the guardians

20th MAY - NUMBER OF ACTIVE PROTESTERS ON THE RISE

2006-05-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

The hunger strike at CNMC continued through the day. Students from IIT Kharagpur joined the hunger strike in the evening. A new dimension was added to the sitting demonstration against the newly proposed reservations when concerned parents decided to join in the protests. This proved that all the citizens of India irrespective of age are worried about the future

19th MAY - A UNIQUE RALLY

2006-05-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Students and doctors of RG Kar Medical College staged a sitting demonstration against the new proposal for additional reservations from 12pm to 6pm today. However, services were not disrupted and patients received treatment as usual. At 6:30pm, the students and doctors set out on a candlelight march through the streets of Kolkata. The protesters marched through Bidhan Sarani, reached Hedua

19th MAY - PROTESTS CONTINUE AS PER PLAN OF ACTION

2006-05-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

As per the plan of action formulated yesterday, there was a hunger strike at Calcutta National Medical College today. Students and doctors not only from CNMC but also from other colleges joined in the hunger strike. A blood donation camp was also held there to show that we are not against the interests of the patients. In addition, a sitting demonstration against the newly proposed

18th MAY - FUTURE PLAN OF ACTION

2006-05-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

In a meeting involving representatives from all colleges, the following plan of action was agreed upon :- Hunger strike for an indefinite period from the 19th of May, the venue being Calcuta National Medical College. All India blood donation camp – West Bengal chapter, to be held at Calcutta National Medical College from 10 am on the 19th of May. A mass

18th MAY - PROTESTS STILL ON

2006-05-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

In Calcutta Medical College, the 24-hour token OPD strike ended today at 9 in the morning. It was not extended keeping the patients in mind. The class boycott, however, continued. The junior doctors of the Calcutta National Medical College and IPGMER(SSKM Hospital) went for 24-hour token OPD strikes today. The students (except the first year students of IPGMER, whose semester examinations are

AN APPEAL TO THE KNOWLEDGEABLE CITIZENS OF INDIA

2006-05-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

(The following is a translation of the contents of the pamphlets distributed to the general public during our rally on the 16th of May. The original pamphlet was printed in Bengali; a translation has been posted here for the convenience of our readers.) Of late, there has been widespread unrest throughout the country regarding the issue of caste-based reservation in higher education.

17th MAY - PROTESTS CONTINUE

2006-05-17T02:36:00.000-07:00

Students and doctors throughout West Bengal continued their protests against the newly proposed reservations based on caste. Doctors of Calcutta Medical College and Calcutta National Medical College have gone on strike. The students and junior doctors of North Bengal Medical College blocked National Highway 31 for more than three hours from 10am; they shouted slogans against the Government’s

16th May - A RALLY IN THE HEART OF THE CITY

2006-05-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

The students and doctors of all the medical colleges of West Bengal viz. Calcutta Medical College, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College, Calcutta National Medical College, R.G. Kar Medical College, Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (SSKM), Bankura Sammilani Medical College, Burdwan Medical College, North Bengal Medical College, Midnapore Medical College, R. Ahmed Dental

OUR POLICY

2006-05-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

This is the policy adopted by the Youth For Equality West Bengal Chapter for the movement against the newly proposed reservations in centres for higher education on the basis of caste.When the makers of our constitution conceived the idea of reservation on the basis of caste, there was only one objective – to empower that section of society which had been exploited over many hundreds of years.