Indian medical students evacuated from Ukraine to sit on hunger strike

Parents Association said it has held multiple protests and also submitted a letter to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), but in vain

Medical students, who were evacuated from war-torn Ukraine, will hold a five-day hunger strike from Saturday over their demand of admission in Indian medical colleges as a one-time measure, according to a statement by the Parents Association of Ukraine MBBS Students (PAUMS).

The association claimed that 5,000 students and parents from 26 states will participate in the strike from July 23 to July 27.

“Due to war for more than four months in Ukraine, MBBS education has been hampered a lot. As time goes, students and parents are going through depression, anxiety and many mental issues. Our demand from Government of India is to accommodate all students in Indian medical colleges,” the PAUMS statement read.

The association said it has held multiple protests and also submitted a letter to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), but in vain.

Last month, several students sat on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar here demanding admissions to the country’s medical colleges.

“We protested at Jantar Mantar thrice and twice at the National Medical Commission (NMC) office in Dwarka. Also submitted our demand-cum-request letter to PMO, health ministry, education ministry, NMC and President of India. But no assurance till date. Students have now decided to sit on hunger strike,” the statement added.

They said there are approximately 12,000 such students, barring those in the final year, and as there are at least 600 medical colleges in the country, each institution needed to accommodate around 20 students.