With no government response on the long-pending demand for a rotatory headship system at AIIMS, New Delhi, and PGIMER, Chandigarh, faculty members of both premier institutes have announced a peaceful protest march today (October 1).
The Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAIMS) and the Faculty Association of PGIMER (FA-PGIMER) will symbolically stage a “Dandi March” starting from AIIMS Delhi at 5 pm, culminating at the Prime Minister’s Office, to press for urgent action on the matter.
This protest comes after earlier demonstrations, including a “Paidal March” and a meeting with the Health Secretary on August 5, 2025, which yielded no progress. On June 1, the two associations had also jointly launched a hunger strike, protesting the government’s delay in implementing rotatory headship and collegium-based leadership at the institutes.
Faculty groups have long sought a fixed-term, rotational headship policy. Multiple government-appointed panels have reviewed the issue over the years, and almost all including the VK Paul Committee endorsed its implementation in principle. In fact, a survey conducted by the Paul Committee showed that 78% of AIIMS and PGI faculty supported the move.
Despite this, the Ministry had only directed the institutes to adopt a collegium-based system in 2023 and revisit the headship model after one year, i.e., in 2024. However, no decision followed.
Meanwhile, the VK Paul Committee’s final report revealed a sharp divide: while 76% of current department heads opposed the policy, overwhelming support came from faculty at other levels 82% of professors, 89% of additional professors, 78% of associate professors, and 95% of assistant professors voted in favor of rotatory headship.
A high-level meeting chaired by Dr. VK Paul, with former AIIMS director Dr. M.C. Mishra and cardiologist Dr. K.K. Talwar as members, was scheduled by the Health Ministry to address the prolonged delay, but the issue remains unresolved.
