Exam for persecuted minorities soon to practice medicine in India
NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission has formed a group of experts to frame guidelines for a proposed exam to allow medical graduates from persecuted minorities who migrated from Pakistan and got Indian citizenship to acquire permanent registration for practising medicine in India.
The move comes as a ray of hope for many doctors who after migrating from Pakistan are not able to practice medicine in India legally.
For decades, many people belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Christian minority groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have migrated to India and sought citizenship.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had informed Parliament during its winter session in 2021 that 8,244 citizenship applications were received from non-muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan of which 3,117 were granted citizenship.
Significantly, Parliament has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019 which facilitates granting of Indian citizenship to persecuted non-muslim minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. However, the law has not been implemented as rules under CAA are yet to be framed.
Dr L N Jangid, 49, who has been living in Jodhpur after migrating to India from Pakistan’s Umerkot in 2004 has been working as an assistant to a doctor in a private clinic. He got Indian citizenship in 2019.
Despite having an MBBS degree from Jinnah Sindh Medical University in Karachi, his job now entails noting down patient history, checking their blood pressure, and making them understand the doses of medicines prescribed by the doctor.
“I feel very disappointed while working as a medical assistant. I keep going back to my days in Pakistan when I was working as a doctor and would see patients and prescribe medicine.
I feel that I have failed to live my dream of serving patients,” Jangid told.
It is not just Jangid, many like him are forced to do odd jobs in India after migrating from Pakistan with a medical degree.
NMC notification on the formation of the Group of Experts, issued on June 20, read, “It is hereby stated that Ministry of Health through its holistic endeavour decided that appropriate guidelines/ regulations may be framed to give effect to the decision of conducting proposed examination for persecuted minorities migrating from Pakistan under the direct supervision of National Medical Commission to test their knowledge of modern medicine and granting permanent registration to practice medicine in India.”
Dr Nakhat Singh Sodha (54), who migrated to India from Pakistan’s Sindh in 2005 and is now working as a maintenance supervisor at a private hospital in Jodhpur said he would need nine to 10 months to prepare for Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) exam.
He graduated from the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) in Karachi in 1994.
English-speaking countries -- the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand -- are recognised in India and they do not need to appear for the exam.
In a public notice on April 28, the NMC had urged Indian students not to enrol themselves in any college or educational institution in Pakistan.
The move comes as a ray of hope for many doctors who after migrating from Pakistan are not able to practice medicine in India legally