A tweet by Dr Dhruv Chauhan, a well-known medical activist, sparked fresh debate on April 16 evening after he publicly expressed his frustration with the government’s decision to conduct NEET PG 2025 in two shifts.
In a strongly worded post, he accused authorities of ignoring extensive efforts to roll back the move, despite hashtag campaigns, digital protests, and behind-the-scenes coordination with organisations and officials.
“I tried every possible way… nothing could be done,” Dr Dhruv wrote, before pointing to what he called a “combined failure of the government and weak medical bodies along with sitting officials.” According to him, this was not a reflection of doctors’ failure to act, but rather a signal of how little the country valued healthcare and education.
The tweet struck a nerve online, especially among medical students and professionals preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam, scheduled to be held in two different shifts on the same day. This format has drawn criticism over its potential to create disparities in difficulty levels between sessions, raising concerns about fairness in a rank-based exam.
While the National Board of Examinations has promised to use score normalisation, many aspirants argue that the process lacks transparency.
In a follow-up tweet, Dr Dhruv delivered a biting critique of the political climate. “A Government which considers comedians and jokes as criminals and Healthcare–Education as a Joke is a Joke in itself,” he wrote, referencing recent controversies where comedians were targeted by authorities while pressing healthcare issues remained unaddressed.
The reaction to his posts was swift and deeply divided. Some, like Dr Ajit K Kumar, pointed out that although many had raised their voices against the double shift online, the stress of upcoming exams had made it nearly impossible to organise any real-world protest. “No one has been able to organise a protest or take further action,” he wrote.
Others struck a more sceptical tone. One user asked pointedly what Dr Dhruv had actually contributed besides digital outrage. Another lamented the broader state of affairs: “A national level exam is in this condition. God bless other exams in this country.”
There were also voices urging a shift from protest to policy. Dr Vishal Raut proposed the idea of drafting a resolution-based report on the issues, complications, and long-term implications of such exam decisions, ideally authored by doctors and not bureaucrats.
Despite the frustration, what remains clear is that the controversy over the NEET PG double shift is no longer just about a scheduling decision. The protest touches on a deeper disconnect between those who frame policies and those forced to live with them.
