Doctor Security in India: The Urgent Need for Protection, St. Martin’s Island, Distributed Denial of Service

(General Studies II – Governance Section – Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.)

• The recent rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata has ignited nationwide protests, bringing urgent attention to the security of medical professionals in India.
• This tragic incident has not only highlighted the pervasive threat of violence against doctors but also underscored the pressing need for stronger legal protections and systemic reforms to ensure their safety in the workplace.

Types of Threats faced by doctors –

1.  Violence Against Doctors: Violence against medical practitioners in India has become alarmingly common. This includes:

• Telephonic Threats: Doctors often receive threatening calls, especially in high-stress environments like emergency departments.
• Intimidation and Verbal Abuse: Many doctors face intimidation from patients and their families, which can escalate into verbal confrontations.
• Physical Assault: Instances of physical violence range from non-injurious assaults to severe attacks leading to injuries or even murder. Reports indicate that doctors have been attacked in hospitals, and some have even lost their lives due to patient grievances or perceived negligence.
• Systemic Challenges: The healthcare system in India is fraught with issues that contribute to the precarious position of doctors:

• Poor Infrastructure: Many government hospitals suffer from inadequate facilities and staffing, leading to overwhelming patient loads. This environment can foster frustration among patients, which may result in violence against healthcare providers.
• High Patient Load: With a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:1,500 in India, doctors are often overworked, which can lead to burnout and increased vulnerability to threats from dissatisfied patients.
• Lack of Security: Many healthcare facilities lack adequate security measures, making it easier for violent incidents to occur without consequence.
• Ethical and Professional Pressures: Doctors also grapple with ethical dilemmas and pressures that can threaten their professional integrity:

• Pressure from Institutions: In corporate healthcare settings, there is often a focus on profit over patient care, which can lead doctors to compromise their ethical standards. This environment can create tension between the doctors’ professional ethics and institutional demands.
• Legal and Media Scrutiny: Doctors frequently face legal threats and public scrutiny, especially in cases of alleged medical negligence. Sensational media coverage can exacerbate this issue, leading to a public perception that vilifies medical professionals, regardless of the circumstances.
• Mental Health Strain: The cumulative effect of these threats has led to significant mental health challenges for doctors, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Many doctors report feeling unsafe and underappreciated, which can affect their performance and patient care
• Issues Faced by Women in the Medical Profession in India
• Gender Disparity in Medical Education and Workforce: Despite an increase in female medical students, gender disparity persists. For example, in the 2023-24 academic year in Maharashtra, only 73 out of 193 super-specialist doctors were women, highlighting ongoing imbalances in specialties.
• Cultural and Social Barriers: Cultural expectations often compel women to prioritize family over their careers, leading to a lack of support for pursuing advanced training.
• Workplace Environment and Stereotyping: Women face a challenging workplace environment characterized by stereotyping and systemic biases.
• Safety Concerns: Safety issues, particularly for those working night shifts, limit opportunities for women in medicine. Concerns about personal safety can deter them from certain roles, affecting their career choices.

The Kolkata incident underscores the dual threat faced by doctors in India—both as targets of violence and as overworked professionals in a system lacking adequate safeguards. Beyond legal protections, there is an urgent need for broader gender sensitization across society.

Addressing the deeply rooted issues of patriarchy and discrimination is essential to creating a safer and more equitable environment, not just for healthcare professionals, but for all women in India. Without this cultural shift, legal measures alone will not be sufficient to prevent such tragedies in the future.

• The Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department (WRD) has informed NGT that it has sought funds from Ennore port to remove invasive, harmful charru mussels (Mytella Strigata) proliferated along the east coast.

• Its survival rate and egg production are very high, and native to the south and central American coast.
• Though of marine origin, it can survive even in freshwater.
• It spreads through unregulated ballast water discharge from ships, damages marine ecosystems and disrupts fisher livelihoods.
• Ballast water, which is essential for ship stability but can carry invasive species when discharged.
• Ballast water, taken in by ships to maintain stability, is often discharged after cargo loading, spreading invasive species across different regions.
• New ships are equipped with systems to neutralize biological organisms in ballast water, while older ships must exchange ballast water with “neutral” ocean water.
• Globally, nearly 30 invasive species have entered India via ballast water replacing native species in water bodies like Pulicat Lake in Tamil Nadu and Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala.

Dig Deeper: List invasive species spread in India due to the discharge of ballast water.

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out the maiden flight test of the long-range glide bomb (LRGB) Gaurav from a Su-30 MK-I fighter jet of the Indian Air Force.
• The test was conducted off the coast of Odisha.
• Gaurav is an air-launched 1,000 kg class glide bomb capable of hitting targets at long distances.
• After being launched, the glide bomb steers towards the target using a highly accurate hybrid navigation scheme.
• During the flight test, the glide bomb hit the target erected at Long Wheeler’s Island with pinpoint accuracy.

Dig Deeper: Read about DRDO’s High-Speed Expendable Aerial Target ‘ABHYAS’ and Medium Range-Microwave Obscurant Chaff Rocket.

• St. Martin’s Island of Bangladesh was in discussion over alleged US interests for a Military base close to the Myanmar border. 
• St. Martin’s Island is Bangladesh’s only coral island, located in the northeastern Bay of Bengal, near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, south of Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf peninsula.
• The 7.3 km long island, at 3.6 meters above sea level, is a crucial breeding ground for sea turtles and supports a permanent population of around 10,000 people.
• The island, initially settled by Arab merchants was annexed by British India in 1900 and named St. Martin’s Island.

Dig Deeper: Locate places in the discussion on the map e.g. Khan Yunis.

• The Manipur government is preparing to hold peace talks with representatives from the Thadou, Paite, and Hmar communities.
• These have been involved in the ongoing ethnic conflict between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zomi people since May 2023.
• Thadou Community International (TCI), a new global organisation of the community, asked not to be called by Kuki or any other name.
• Thadou leaders intended to engage in discussions, with similar proposals from the Paite and Hmar communities.

Dig Deeper: Read about the Idate Commission Report. 

• Entrepreneur Musk hosted former US President Trump on his social media platform X for a live audio interview which experienced several glitches, which were attributed to a massive DDoS attack.
• A Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack overwhelms an online service by directing a large number of users or bots to flood a server, making it inaccessible.
• These attacks use multiple sources, making it difficult to trace the origin.
• By overwhelming the network’s bandwidth, legitimate users are unable to connect.
• Smurf attack sends malicious Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packets with a spoofed IP address, causing the target machine to flood its server.
• In SYN Flood, the attacker sends incomplete connection requests, overloading the server and disrupting legitimate connections.
• Signs of a DDoS attack include slow internet speeds and inability to access services.
• Firewalls and security systems can confirm and mitigate such attacks. Anti-virus software can detect unusual traffic and alert users.

Dig Deeper: Read about various types of Cyber Attacks.