Saturday, June 13, 2015

Protest intensifies on social media as 'The Profile Picture of Shame' campaign gains momentum.


Mumbai: Thousands of unhappy, single, male medical students and doctors have put up this image as their profile picture on various social networking and microblogging site as a mark of protest against the Medical Council to admit girls in medical colleges based on marks alone, and not their looks.

The profile picture has become a rage on the Internet with several groups telling Net users to share this picture and become a part of the silent protest in cyberspace.

"The image symbolizes the shame MBBS & PG courses carry for not being able to protect the love interest of the hardworking, dashing male medical students who become bald, fat and look mature by the time their education ends, and are then not able to find a pretty girlfriend", said a sobbing Deepak Kumar Singh whose many attempts to woo a batchmate / junior / senior / dermatology or psychiatry houseman / nurse / patient's relative had failed in the past.

Facebook user Dr. Arun Swaminathan said, “A symbol works when words fail. This is the symbol of pain, injustice, anger and helplessness of the single, male MBBS & PG students. This image is a mark of collective humiliation faced by us in front of our non medical branch friends, to not have even one pretty girlfriend in the 5.5 years of MBBS and internship.”

Whether or not this social networking wave will bring about any change, only time will tell. But a section of the protesting medical students are now planning to approach Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the hope of 'Ache din' soon.