We have, as you are aware, written to the Minister for Science and Technology, eminent medical teachers and the highest political leadership in the country. We have no response from anybody. The Director of our Institute has so far refused to accept memoranda or issue minutes of his meeting with postdoctoral resident doctors on the evening of 02/12/2008. We are therefore impelled to clear the air and furnish you with a transcript of his conversation with us. Of course, given the fact that a fifty odd relatively impoverished postdoctoral students have no chance against mighty individuals, we only seek to draw the attention of the nation to how it generally treats intellectual talent, about how it cares little about the perpetual evaporation of its creme de la creme. As a group of individuals out at sea we cry out to you in hope. We will seek to engage the media, interested intellectuals in our battle to preserve the sanctity of our last bastions of talent.

Below is an illustrative transcript of how the Director of one of the country's institutes of national importance speaks to his students/ residents:
Date: December 2nd, 2008.
Time: 4.00 PM

1. Director of SCTIMST: 'Why do you need money? Have you come here to learn or earn money?'

All postgraduate students are issued a letter of appointment to service. Most are currently in the age group of 28- 33 years and have dependent parents and a family to look after. The average income of the educated class in India seems to have grown phenomenally in the last decade. Our incomes have last changed more than a decade ago. In the last decade our parents have not aged, retired or fallen sick. We are not entitled as individuals to start families and support parents.

2. 'You are not money minting machines like NGOs'

If being paid for working 365 days a year (less 30 days of casual leave) amounts to money minting this is indeed a sorry state of affairs. We very often do continuous 36 hour work shifts (which incidentally the Institute's appointment letter states will not exceed twelve hours at a stretch subject to the exigencies of work). Apparently the exigencies of work are perpetual. According to the Director, the Institute has to charge its patients significantly higher amounts just to mobilise funds to pay its residents. For the others, NONE of whom work more than 6-12 hours at a stretch there is no problem with funding. It seems inherent in the unwritten laws of the land that those who work the most are the least deserving to be remunerated.

3. This is not All India Institute or PGI. If you don't like it here you can take your certificates and go there...

All residents appointed by the Institute come through a well regarded national level entrance examination. They are probably among the best trainee doctors in the nation. The Director of SCTIMST who is an eminent figure thinks his trainees have no lien on their Institute which functions in the public domain and is supposed to be answerable to the nation. It now seems to function like the personal fiefdom of an individual.

4. I will pay you from November on compassionate grounds.

Who is the Director showing compassion to? A group of individuals who are money minting machines out to earn a fast buck in a national institute or the proverbial rich man paying the indigent alms? In our understanding, the Sixth Pay Commission is a statutory body and its recommendations have been accepted for implementation in autonomous institutions under the Government of India with effect from 01/01/2006. SCTIMST is an autonomous institute which has committed to implement these recommendations vide P&A1/X/24/ SCTIMST 2008. The said circular commits to implement recommendations for academic staff based on the pattern of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Ipso facto residents do not qualify to be designated 'academic staff'. Their rights and privileges issue not from statute but from an individual benefactor.

5. Do whatever you can do...

This is how a civilised nation treats its postdoctoral students. It somehow seems to mean that this is a group of people with no voice, second class citizenry of some other world. Who can blame them to aspire for membership of other worlds?! - The Resident Doctors of SCTIMST.