Indian Students Protest In Yerevan, Armenia
Sometime in 90's the trend to go to Eastern European countries for Medical degrees started. How useful this practice has been to the students, is yet to be seen, but the trend hasn't slowed down. 
Armenia is one such Eurasian country, bordered by Turkey to the west. At present, about 800 Indian students are studying in their Medical Colleges. On April 20, one Indian student, 21- year-old Prashant Anchalia, fell down from his hostel's sixth floor window (He was a student at Yerevan State Medical University, which is the recommended university according to the website of the Indian Embassy in Armenia). The reasons to that are yet to be known. What followed can only be described as criminal apathy, from the university's dean - Anna Sargsayn, even after being a Doctor, refused any first aid to the student and warned any other student against helping him. Although, it happened in a medical college, the ambulance arrived about 45 minutes late, that too without any basic life saving equipments. Anchalia succumbed to his wounds on the way to hospital. The students, mostly Indians, enraged after this shameful display of indifference, gathered in the dean's office demanding an explanation. The newly appointed Rector Gohar Kjalyan, responded in totally outrageously manner. Without any context, she referred to Indian girls as prostitutes, and showed the students the middle fingers of both her hands!
One Indian student from Armenia, Nanyaar, has blogged about this incident (Its bye, We protest for justice). I was skeptic that he might get a bit too much biased about the incident. But then I found some articles by one Armenian journo, Hasmik Hovhannisian & his her British colleague, Onnik Krikorian, adding credibility to the news. I quote from We Protest for Justice, Nanyaar first hand account of the events :
We could see that he (Anchalia) was finding it hard to breathe and had to put him in the recovery position, against the hostel warden’s shouting. His breathing became better, the pulse steady but he was fighting for his life. His legs were broken, a deep cut in the forehead from which a pool of blood was forming, and also occipital bone seemed to be cracked. He definitely had to have fallen in a sitting position.What is the Indian Embassy doing to help the students. Apparently nothing. I quote from Hasmik Hovhannisian's report:
The dean for foreign student arrived, a doctor herself, and did nothing but watch his helpless bodies fight against pain.
The ambulance arrived; 40 minutes later, by now a crowd had been formed. I was told later; that 3 minutes after the ambulance departed he had passed away.
[…]
He was a quiet guy. Never spoke much, confided to his room, small circle of friends and I remember the bargain he had got on an old yellow Armenian guitar on which he used to practice. Just today’s back he had asked me if I was going to sing this time at the Garoon (spring) festival, and that he was planning to. The media had portrayed him as a drug addict and a psychologically affected person which he definitely was not.
[…]
The death comes in as a surprise and the news of the ambulance reaching there after 40 long minutes and the negligence of the hostel warden and dean makes the Indian student body to meet the Rector, Gohar Kjalyan. Students refuse to meet her in the Red hall and demanded for an answer to be given right there, she walks away and then seconds later walks back, abuses the Indian girls to be prostitutes and shows both her middle fingers.
[…]
Finally at 10pm it was decided that they will be meeting in the University Red hall. Questions were raised which only resulted in diplomatic answer by the Vice chairman of the NA. The education ministry tried to come on stage and give a politician’s speech by quoting “don’t you want to know what really happened to your friend?” But all we needed tonight was for her the rector to resign and actions to be taken on the dean who as a doctor did nothing to see her student dying in front of her.
The Rector apologized at 12 midnight, and she still could not understand what we wanted, while she thought she could just walk away. All Madam Ambassador did was to sit next to the VC and give him tips on what to talk.
The Embassy representative, Mr. Bali, advised the students to disperse and let them settle the matter the diplomatic way.Meanwhile, Anchalia's body was flown back to India on 21st April.
The Embassy told the parents of the dead boy that he had committed suicide, without even waiting for the investigation to be concluded.
The students do not believe it was suicide.
“He was a balanced person. He had many plans for the future. He could not have killed himself,” they said.
The four-person delegation came back from the meeting with Tigran Torosyan and said that Torosyan had asked them for two days to get acquainted with the matter and decide what to do.
After that, Torosyan met with the Indian ambassador, Rina Pandei.
(Plea For Help From Indian Students In Armenia, Anchalia's Death Covered In The Media)
(Thanks Namit, for the tip. Cross-posted at DesiCritics.)
Important: I see loads of traffic coming to this particular post through some mail (various email-clients). Could some one please forward me the email at vasingh[@]gmail[.]com, please?
9 comments:
Lets not get carried away and call it "the recommended university according to the website of the Indian Embassy in Armenia".
The Indian Embassy's webpage is entirely factual with no recommendations being made.
Not only that, it actually cautions the students:
".. Indian students wishing to study in Yerevan State Medical University should be aware of the requirement of a screening test before being able to register and practice in India.
The Medical Council of India has informed the Embassy that very few Indian graduates of the Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia have so far passed the Screening Test.
While the University claims to be improving its course content and methodology, it should be borne in mind that teaching is mainly in Russian and Armenian, and owing to Armenia's relatively small population, clinical exposure is limited. Besides, concern continues to be expressed about the condition of the hostels and the quality of the food served.
Indian students wishing to study medicine in Armenia are advised to contact the Medical Council of India or this Embassy for further information."
As an aside, I have never really understood this demand for central asian medical degrees. Any pointers to that?
Of course, but then there aren't anymore facts about any other university in Armenia :-) Anyway, I didn't mean that the embassy actively encourages the students to join the university. Apart from writing diplomatically correct blogs, what else can be done about this matter? Indian media still hasn't got a clue about this incident, it seems.
I too never really got this craze about phoren medical degrees. Now, latest trend is to head towards China. Apparently, its cheaper. I've couple of examples where parents sent their kids for MBBS from Ukraine and likes, so that they can practice at the family clinic :-)
Well, it seems that there is only one medical school in Armenia anyway. Hardly a surpize that more aren't listed.
http://www.iime.org/database/europe/armenia.htm
As to what can be done about this incident. I can't really say. Except that we could wait for the investigation to be completed.
Not to paint everyone with the same brush, but I know some people who went to central asian medical schools because they couldn't get into anything decent anywhere else. In fact, I am yet to find out someone who went there despite getting admission in a medical school in India. IMO, it is not cheaper, just easier.
First of all thank you Varun your support. And right now we need more of it.
http://nanyaar.wordpress.com/2006/04/23/does-it-concern-you/
Vivek, I would have to tell you that you are making statements with out proper proof, there are 4 other medical school's here, but the state Univ comes under the goverment.
Its easy for us to pass comments, from somewhere with our undertanding the real situation here. Right now vivek the problem is not whether its a good or bad college!!
It is also condsidered to be the 38th best college by the WHO, where as no medical colleges from india are there in the first 50.
Hey, What do you ask to those students those students who have lost thier seats due to .2 variations??
And most important of all if or not you have the world's best that counts, it depends on how you use it!!
btw., hasmik is a Lady
@nanyaar?
Sorry for the misunderstanding. Varun and I were having two different discussions in the same comment thread, thereby causing all the confusion.
I understand that the number and quality of medical education has nothing whatsoever to do with this present case.
I guess I'll just take this discussion elsewhere.
we are blamming everyone except our own indian fellows.indian students in ysmu are the choosen one who made it here.there are thieves, drug addicts and purely oppurtunists among them. i am an old horse here counting my last breaths.except few most of them are comprador,can lick the feets of others and back stab their own indian friends.they call them indians but in reality there were groups of different communities, drinking every day in hostel and beat up any weak students. now its irony that personalities like these are going to be doctors.even the indian embassy doesnt loose any oppurtunity in making money from indian students..
Bhagat singh, Subash bose, Azad and all may be crying in heaven at the plight of India..Inqalab zindabad.
What cheek these Armenian administrators have to refuse medical aid to a dying student. India should cut off all political links to Armenia and Armenian consulates and embassies should be removed from India. Moreover Indian government should put a ban and make it illegal for its citizens to apply and study in Armenian universities.
None had really refused medical care. Why nobody looks what really happened? A coin can have two sides. And in this case, as i feel Indians have protested without any real reason. None asked which was the Indian who ran down the same floor, after Prashant Anchalia fell, moreover none asked why the dean was unable to administer first aid? And without any real motive to know the truth, the students/mob turned against the university.Why wasn't anyone asking for a transparent investigation? Why nobody tried to call private ambulance? There were 3 private hospitals in Yerevan then?Why nobody wanted to know how the student fall?Why they just wanted to throw off the university administration. I feel some Indians have played really bad politics turning the students for their own gains, which we still don't know? I think students who already had grudge with the administration for tightening the course structure and discipline were behind all this. Anyways Indians have again proven greatness. Most massive protest against the university was held in the history of 75 years of the university acting like mere pawns... Isn't that great??
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