Some doctors and hospitals have announced a ban on treatment of Bangladeshi patients in the neighboring country for insulting the national flag of India. A doctor from West Bengal said during the discussion on the issue, he will treat Bangladeshis if they bow to the Indian flag.
After the arrest of Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jot leader Chinmoy Krishna Das at the airport in Dhaka last Monday and the death of a lawyer in violence in Chittagong the next day after he was produced in court, tension arose between the two countries. Both countries have accused each other of insulting the national flag.
In response to this, an announcement is coming from India's West Bengal that Bangladeshi patients will not be treated in hospitals and chambers. JN Roy Hospital in Kolkata was the first and ILS Hospital in Agartala in Tripura was the last to announce it.
However, a doctor from Siliguri in West Bengal said that he will treat Bangladeshi patients. But before that one has to bow to the Indian flag and enter his chamber.
This doctor named Shikhar Banerjee is the Special Medical Officer of the ENT (Ear-Nose-Throat) Department of North Bengal Medical College Hospital in West Bengal. He said in an interview given to the Indian newspaper The Indian Express, 'People of Bangladesh have insulted our flag. This matter bothered me. But I don't want to turn patients away. Those who come to our country for treatment should respect our flag and our country.'
This doctor also said, 'I am a doctor in a government hospital. I cannot return any patient there without treatment. But I have hung the national flag in my private chamber in Siliguri. I have also written a message next to it. Those who do not respect the flag of our country will not receive treatment from me.'
Dr. Shikhar wrote next to the flag kept in his chamber, 'The national flag of India is like our mother. Bow down to this flag and enter the chamber. Especially patients coming from Bangladesh will not be seen here if they do not bow down.'
Another doctor named Chandranath Adhikari told Indian Express that he also works in a government hospital. Treat everyone there. But don't see any Bangladeshi patient in your private chamber.
However, the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) did not support the ban on providing medical services to Bangladeshi patients. President of WBMC Dr. Sudipta Roy said, they do not discriminate between patients. Treat everyone.
A representative of Narayana Health said that the number of Bangladeshi patients in India has decreased due to visa problems and political unrest. In an interview given to Indian Express, he said, 'The number of Bangladeshi patients has come down from 180-200 to 60. Due to the suspension of visa issuance, it may decrease further in the coming weeks.'
Bangladesh's internal political unrest and diplomatic tensions with neighboring countries have also affected India's tourism sector. Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in a mass coup on August 5 and her departure to India, the relationship between the two countries has been increasingly complicated. India has temporarily stopped issuing visas to Bangladeshis. Since then, the number of Bangladeshi patients and tourists in the country has been decreasing.
