Doctors' Day 2025 wasn’t just about flowers, speeches, and gratitude. This year, it turned into a powerful and unprecedented movement at two of India’s most iconic medical institutions — AIIMS New Delhi and PGIMER Chandigarh — as faculty members stepped out of their offices and wards to make a bold, united statement. 

The demand? The immediate implementation of Rotatory Headship — a system that promises fairness, shared leadership, and democratic functioning in academic governance.  Instead of celebrations, the campuses were filled with a sense of urgency and quiet determination.

Faculty members came together, wearing black badges and specially designed protest T-shirts. From 1 PM to 2 PM, they took part in a relay hunger protest — not as an act of defiance, but as a symbol of collective resolve. 

Chants of “Ab ke baar, Rotatory paar!” echoed through the air, capturing the spirit of the movement in one memorable line.

This wasn’t a fringe demand or a new grievance. It was the culmination of two months of steady and coordinated efforts — meetings with institutional leaders, letters to the Ministry, signature campaigns, and even internal polls where nearly 80% of faculty members supported the move toward a rotatory model. 

So why does rotatory headship matter so much?  For the faculty, it’s about ending the age-old monopolies where a few individuals hold on to leadership positions for years. It’s about giving every qualified and committed academic a fair shot at leading their department.

More importantly, it’s about building an environment where decisions aren’t concentrated in a few hands, but shared across a diverse pool of experienced professionals. 

This wasn’t a strike. No patient was left unattended. No class was cancelled. The protest was deliberately peaceful — a statement made with dignity on a day that celebrates the very spirit of medicine and those who practice it. 

Speaking with faculty members on the ground, the sentiment was clear — they love their institutions, they take pride in their roles, but they believe it's time to fix what’s broken within.

And they are no longer willing to wait quietly.  The Faculty Association of AIIMS and the Faculty Association of PGIMER have now made a direct appeal to the authorities: listen to the voices, respect the unity, and act before frustration takes deeper root.  As one senior professor put it,

“We teach our students about ethics, fairness, and justice. We’re simply asking our institutions to live by the same values.”  Doctors’ Day 2025 might just be remembered not for awards and applause, but for a defining moment when the healers of the nation stood together — not just for their rights, but for a healthier, more democratic future in medical academia.