This Bihar government hospital asks doctors if they are virgin before employing them

A marriage declaration form issued to doctors at a government hospital in Bihar has raked up a storm. The employees are asked about their virginity. The language of the marriage declaration form would make even William Shakespeare run out of his grave.

Bihar's  Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) is touted as a premier health facility in Patna but for the past 34 years, it has been making its employees declare before joining whether they are virgin or not. 

According to Hindustan Times, the form has been in use since 1983. In the form, the new employees have to declare whether they are a bachelor, widower or virgin. Employees also have to state if they have more than one wife. This recruitment norm is for doctors and class three employees including nursing staff — both male and female. 

“This format has been there for long and even AIIMS and other central services follow this. Unless the Central government changes it or judiciary intervenes, we cannot change it on our own,’’ said IGIMS’s Dr Manish Mandal told The Indian Express.

Mandal added that IGIMS followed AIIMS. However, AIIMS employees have confirmed there no such practice at its facility. An IGIMS doctor and senior faculty told The Hindu that “if changes are required in the form it can only be done at the government level”.