AIIMS Jodhpur resident doctors continue strike over 11 demands, protest outside Director's residence
Jodhpur: Resident doctors belonging to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Jodhpur are on an indefinite strike, citing that their demands remain unfulfilled.
Their strike commenced recently following the tragic demise of a first-year resident doctor at the institute. Last night, the resident doctors staged a peaceful demonstration outside the Director's residence.
Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Dr Abhijeet, General Secretary of the Resident Doctors Association (RDA), AIIMS Jodhpur, confirmed that the protest will continue until their demands are met.
Among their key demands, the doctors have sought a public apology and acknowledgement from the AIIMS administration and Rs 5 crore in financial compensation for the deceased doctor’s family. They have also demanded that all pending dues, benefits, insurance claims, and other legitimate entitlements of the deceased be extended to the family, along with all possible institutional support.
What led to the strike?
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported on the tragic demise of a first-year resident doctor at the Department of Anaesthesiology & Critical Care of AIIMS Jodhpur.
The medico was found unconscious in the bathroom of a doctors’ resting area while on a break from his duty at the operation theatre (OT) on the afternoon of September 22. He was rushed to the Emergency Department, where he was declared dead. Police suspect the case to be a suicide. Reportedly, some syringes were found beside him in the washroom, and it is suspected that he injected himself with a lethal drug.
Indefinite Strike by Resident Doctors:
After the incident, the resident doctors at AIIMS Jodhpur launched an indefinite strike seeking accountability, demanding immediate action, systemic reforms and the resignation of the institute's Executive Director.
As part of the strike, the doctors suspended OT procedures and routine outpatient department (OPD) services from September 24. However, emergency services remained operational without interruption.
Demands by Resident Doctors:
Writing to the Executive Director on 24.09.2026, the RDA highlighted their 11 demands seeking systemic reforms for residents and students. Their primary non-negotiable demands are a public apology from the institute, compensation to the family of the deceased, and the resignation of the Director.
Further, they demanded strict regulation of the resident duty hours, stressing that the duty schedules should not be more than 12 hours, with adequate provisions for mandatory rest and post-duty recovery.
They have also demanded an increase in the number of working residents and auxiliary staff in the hospitals when needed and sought regulation of OPD timings and workload. Another demand is the revision of elective OT timings and consideration of Saturday as an academic day.
The doctors have also demanded a regular review of residents' and students' safety, working & mental health conditions and proper selection of cases for elective and emergency OTs to ensure smooth running and proper workload on the residents.
They have also sought a transparent and uniform leave policy, stressing that leave shall be granted through a simple, exclusively online procedure, applied equally to all residents & no resident should be denied leave in case of any emergency or sickness.
Further, the resident doctors have sought proper dedicated parking places for residents near Emergency, OPD & IPD area. Another demand is the reconstitution of the Office of the Dean Students' Welfare as the Office of Student Welfare.
"Meaningful student participation in its functioning should be institutionalised to ensure greater transparency, accountability, and effective representation of students' concerns. The Office should also establish a clear and dedicated mechanism for addressing students' academic, extracurricular, cultural, campus festival and celebration-related, and other welfare concerns in a timely, accessible, and accountable manner," the RDA mentioned in its letter addressed to the Executive Director.
Further, they have sought recognition of a designated hostel representative from MBBS for UG hostels to represent the hostel-related concerns of students, raise issues about hostel facilities and welfare, and participate in meetings concerning hostel administration and student welfare.
Demonstration outside Director's residence:
Pressing for their demands, the resident doctors staged a peaceful demonstration last night outside the Director's residence. In an X post, the RDA AIIMS Jodhpur mentioned, "1:30 AM. Outside the Director’s house. Hundreds of us are standing outside in the dead of night, waiting for answers, for dignity, and for accountability. A colleague lost his life to this system, yet the Director refuses to even step outside and face us. Silence is not an answer, and apathy will not make us leave. We are awake, we are united, and we will hold the line."
"4:00 AM outside the Director’s residence. Hundreds of grieving doctors sit on the cold floor demanding accountability, while the head of the institute sleeps in comfortable silence. A colleague lost his life to systemic apathy. We are not leaving," read another X post.
Solidarity from medical fraternity:
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) has expressed solidarity with the protesting residents. Writing to the Executive Director of AIIMS Jodhpur, FORDA has demanded an urgent resolution of the demands of resident doctors.
"FORDA is deeply saddened by the death of Dr **, a first-year resident in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, on 22 September 2026. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and colleagues. This tragedy points to systemic problems: long duty hours, inadequate staffing, heavy workload and poor well-being support. The protest by RDA AIIMS Jodhpur, now joined by faculty, reflects the depth of this distress," the association mentioned.
Requesting an immediate dialogue with the protesting residents and faculty, followed by written, time-bound commitments, so that normal patient services can resume. The association warned of further steps at the national level if no timely action is taken.
FORDA has urged the institute Executive Director to accept the primary demands of the protesting resident doctors, including a public apology, fair compensation to the bereaved family, and accountability at the highest level of administration.
The association has urged the Executive Director to accept the primary demands of the protesting residents. Further, it has demanded a time-bound, independent, and transparent inquiry that includes resident representatives. Capping of duty hours, OPD patient caps, fixed timings, period audits of workload, safety and mental health, and leave policy, better student welfare and hostel representation are other demands that FORDA has highlighted. Further, the association has stressed that no punitive action should be taken against any resident, student or faculty member taking part in the protest.
Apart from FORDA, the Resident Doctors' Association from Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, RDA from Sardar Patel Medical College, Bikaner, have also expressed their solidarity with the protesting residents.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that highlighting the increasing instances of ragging, assault, harassment, intimidation, suicides and complaints of excessive work hours, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) recently wrote to the Prime Minister of India. The association referred to recent reports of such incidents at AIIMS Jodhpur, MGM Medical College Indore, Government Medical College Surat, and other medical institutes in Gujarat, Panipat, and Haryana.
FAIMA said these instances highlight "serious concerns regarding the safety, dignity and working conditions of medical trainees" and raise an important national concern: "no medical student or resident should be forced to work or study in an environment of fear, humiliation, violence or retaliation." The association has also stressed that each of these cases must be investigated fairly and in accordance with law.
Seeking the Prime Minister's intervention, FAIMA has requested the Government to establish a National Zero-Tolerance Framework against ragging, assault, harassment and intimidation.
It has also demanded that independent, time-bound investigations with protection against retaliation must be ensured. Other demands of the association include setting up a centralised reporting mechanism for serious incidents, including suicides and assaults, monitoring duty hours, working conditions, and institutional compliance, strengthening independent anti-ragging and grievance mechanisms, ensuring confidential and accessible mental-health support for medical students and resident doctors, and fixing institutional accountability where complaints are ignored, or preventive safeguards are not implemented.
