New Delhi: Soon after Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone was appointed as the Mental Health Ambassador by the Ministry of Health, Kargil Hero and Army veteran Balbir Singh Chandel has written an open letter to her, urging her to focus on the growing mental health crisis among India’s medical students.
Chandel, who runs a helpline for medical students, cited the alarming findings of the National Task Force on Mental Health of Medical Students, which reported that in a study of 787 medical students, 37% had suicidal thoughts, 11% planned suicide, 3% attempted suicide, and 7% were at risk of future suicidal behaviour.
“If the future doctors are in stress, who will cure the common people?” Chandel wrote, stressing that Deepika’s new role gives her a platform to highlight this urgent crisis.
Sharing his own daughter’s ordeal, the veteran narrated how his daughter, Anviksha Chandel, a first-year MBBS student at Mayo Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), Barabanki, was allegedly harassed by the college administration after he raised objections to fees being collected beyond the prescribed limit set by the Directorate General of Medical Education (DGME), Lucknow.
Following his complaint, DGME Lucknow initiated an inquiry and found the college management at fault. “Since then, my daughter was targeted, and in a conspiracy, she was suspended for seven days in August 2025, which led to a shortage of attendance,” he wrote.
Despite another DGME inquiry again finding MIMS Barabanki at fault and issuing a specific order, the college still did not allow his daughter to appear in the MBBS examination held on October 4, 2025, Chandel claimed.
Calling such harassment and administrative pressure “the root cause of self-harm and mental distress among medical students,” he urged Deepika Padukone to personally visit major medical institutions like AIIMS Delhi, GB Pant Hospital, RML Hospital (Delhi), KGMU Lucknow, and MIMS Barabanki to witness firsthand how toxic academic environments, long duty hours, and relentless stress impact students’ mental health.
“By visiting these institutions and speaking to students, you can motivate them to prioritise their mental health and bring real change,” Chandel appealed.
The Army veteran, who served the nation for over 28 years and actively participated in Operation Vijay (Kargil), concluded by expressing hope that Deepika’s involvement could “bring a significant shift in how India treats mental health—especially for those training to serve as future doctors.”
