Srinagar, Sept. 3 -- By Sahil Parray

There is a particular indignity in watching young doctors leave hospital wards to stand on the street asking to be paid fairly.

That is what MBBS and BDS interns in government medical colleges in Srinagar, Jammu, Baramulla, Anantnag, Handwara and Doda have been doing.

Their demand is modest: a stipend that bears some relation to the work they perform.

Their monthly stipend has stayed around Rs 12,000 for nearly seven years. Divided over a month, that comes to roughly Rs 400 a day.

These interns work emergency shifts at three in the morning, assist in surgeries, manage wards, serve in ICUs and take rural postings.

A patient in distress may first meet an intern before seeing a senior doctor. Their ...