Union Health Minister JP Nadda’s recent remarks at the convocation of King George’s Medical University have sparked serious concern among India’s medical fraternity. By stating that young doctors are free to go abroad but can no longer claim that India lacks facilities, JP Nadda did not merely make a political assertion—he effectively dismissed a lived reality that thousands of doctors encounter every single day.
At the heart of the issue is not the freedom to go abroad, but the growing intolerance towards questioning the system. When doctors raise concerns about crumbling infrastructure, staff shortages, outdated equipment, unsafe working conditions, or inhuman duty hours, they are not “complaining”—they are demanding accountability. Reducing these concerns to excuses undermines the very idea of introspection in governance.
Questioning Is Not Anti-National, It Is Essential
A democracy survives not on self-congratulation, but on self-correction. When the Health Minister suggests that doctors should no longer point out deficiencies, the message is clear: don’t question, just adjust—or leave. This approach neither strengthens institutions nor improves healthcare delivery. Instead of asking why so many doctors still feel compelled to leave, the responsibility is conveniently shifted onto young professionals.
The existence of new buildings, increased numbers of institutions, or additional AIIMS does not automatically translate into functional healthcare. Infrastructure on paper is meaningless if hospitals lack adequate doctors, nurses, medicines, ICU beds, safety, and humane working environments. Any policymaker serious about reform would welcome criticism as feedback—not treat it as an embarrassment to be brushed aside.
Patriotism Is Not Silence
Doctors who speak about the lack of facilities are often those who stay back, work in government hospitals, and struggle daily to save lives despite limitations. Branding their concerns as outdated or irrelevant is not pride—it is denial. True patriotism lies in acknowledging gaps and fixing them, not in silencing those who highlight them.
Ironically, the same system that celebrates doctors working “36 hours straight” refuses to ask why such extreme conditions exist in the first place. Overwork is not a badge of honour; it is a symptom of systemic failure.
“Privilege” Cannot Be Used as a Gag Order
Medical education being a “privilege” does not mean doctors forfeit their right to speak. Public expenditure on education is not charity—it is an investment. And like any stakeholder, doctors have every right to question how the system functions, especially when patient care is compromised due to administrative failures.
Asking doctors to simply “give back to society” while ignoring unsafe hospitals, violence against healthcare workers, and chronic understaffing is not moral leadership—it is moral evasion.
An Apology Is Warranted From JP Nadda
The statement made by the Union Health Minister JP Nadda trivialises genuine concerns of India’s medical community and promotes a dangerous narrative where criticism is equated with ingratitude. What the country needs today is not defensive rhetoric, but honest introspection.
For dismissing the ground realities faced by doctors and for discouraging legitimate questioning of the healthcare system, JP Nadda owes an apology—not just to young doctors, but to every healthcare worker striving to keep an overstretched system alive.
India does not lose doctors because they complain.
India loses doctors because their complaints go unheard.
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