On the Prime Minister’s 74th birthday on September 17, 2024, a renowned activist Dr. Ahmed Haque extended birthday wishes, expressing hopes for a long, healthy life filled with continued contributions to the country, just as he has been doing.
In the letter, Indian peace activist Dr. Ahmed Haque wrote to Prime Minister Modi, extending his wishes and highlighting an incident. He urged that August 9, 2024, the day when a trainee doctor was found raped and murdered at R.G. Kar Hospital, Kolkata be designated as ‘Rape Prevention Day.’
According to The Crime in India report published by the National Crime Records Bureau in 2023, a total of 4,45,256 cases of crimes against women were registered across India in 2022, averaging almost 51 FIRs every hour. This is an increase from 4,28,278 in 2021 and 3,71,503 in 2020, and the numbers continue to rise each year, which is deeply alarming for our nation. India is a country where women are revered like goddesses, and witnessing such crimes is both horrifying and disappointing for the people of India.
The R.G. Kar Hospital’s doctor trainee rape and murder incident is well known to everyone. The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor’s bloodied body at the state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9 sparked medical strikes and protests across India, channelling the widespread anger over the chronic issue of violence against women.
In his letter, peace activist Dr. Ahmed Haque stated that designating August 9 as ‘Rape Prevention Day,’ the day the doctor was raped and murdered, would help raise awareness about women’s security. According to Dr. Haque, “Declaring August 9 as ‘Rape Prevention Day’ will help every Indian understand what the doctor and her family endured, and reaffirm their commitment to the vision of a rape-free India.” His letter also mentioned, “This shall mark as a strong step towards social justice and will have a huge impact on Indian society.”
After requesting the designation of the day as ‘Rape Prevention Day,’ he also spoke about Hindu-Muslim unity. He emphasized that instead of opposing each other, both communities should unite to fight against poverty. He further wrote that Prime Minister Modi’s motto, ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,’ is truly commendable, and he hopes that marginalized and discriminated communities will never be left out of his vision of an inclusive India. He also expressed hope for greater efforts toward supporting minorities and discriminated communities.
Dr. Haque, who runs the NGO Just World Order Federation (JWOF), also mentioned in his letter that the government is doing a commendable job by making laws to prevent rapes but more efforts are needed to make women feel safe and help them lead a life full of respect and security at the grassroots level.
On September 9, the Supreme Court set a deadline for the protesting doctors to resume services by September 10 at 5 p.m. and instructed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit a fresh status report. As of now, five arrests have been made, including that of the prime accused, Sanjay Roy, who is reportedly the only person accused of rape. The hospitalโs former principal, Sandip Ghosh, has also been arrested, along with two vendors and a security officer.
