One chilly evening, I sat at the computer desk in the hospital I worked at as a junior doctor, typing out the discharge summary of a patient who was meant to go home in an hour. Suddenly, I saw a man twice my size charging at me. He slammed his hand loudly on my desk and my heart raced. “You guys have overcharged us for this admission,” he shouted as he loomed over me. Then he walked away to pay the bill, leaving me to collect my pounding heart and sweaty palms enough to finish typing the summary.
On May 10, 2023, Dr. Vandana Das was stabbed to death in the line of duty in Kollam district. Amid searing outrage from the medical fraternity, the tragedy brought to the forefront the increase in workplace violence faced by doctors all over India.
