‘Virgin’ Means Unmarried: Bihar Health Minister on IGIMS Form

IGIMS form has asked its employees to declare whether they’re virgins, as well as the number of wives one has.

Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna, has asked its employees to declare the “number of wives” one has, and also whether one is a “virgin”.

(Photo: Rhythum Seth/The Quint)

Following the outcry over Patna's Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) marital status declaration form, asking if the person is a "bachelor/widower/virgin", Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey on Thursday said 'virgin' just means unmarried.

The word which is used is ‘virgin’. It means unmarried girl, maiden. I don’t think these words are objectionable. But still, this issue is being raised. I had a word with the officials of the IGIMS. They said that this is the format of AIIMS and since 1983, it is being used in every organisation of the country

Yesterday, Patna’s medical centre had come up with THIS gem of a form:

Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna, had asked its employees – through this strangely worded form – to declare the “number of wives” one has, as also whether one is a “virgin”.

(GIF Courtesy: reactiongifs.com)

When Manish Mandal, Medical Superintendent at IGIMS, was asked about the rather weird questions, he quickly pointed towards AIIMS:

IGIMS follows AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), which in turn follows Central Civil Services (CCS) rules. This form is according to prescribed rules

He was also quick to point fingers towards the Constitution...

Rules are made by the government and the Constitution. If they change the word, we will change it too

(GIF Courtesy: Giphy)

But er, is that word entirely semantically correct in this context? Mr Mandal seemed to have figured that out and said:

‘Virgin’ doesn’t have anything to do with virginity, but marital status. In the CCS, there is a provision that when a person joins and then dies, a claimant or a boyfriend may come to seek a job in place of the deceased

Understood. The ruling is to ensure that only a legitimate spouse (you know, legally married to you and all that) can stake claim to your job at the IGIMS provided you died. But, here’s the thing – HOW has this language existed for three decades? According to Mandal, who spoke to India Today, “This is not a new form and has been in practice since 1984 when IGIMS was established”. But has it occurred to NO ONE to change the archaic text in as many years?

(GIF Courtesy: theloop.ca)

Yes yes, it’s clearly a case of poor English, poorer drafting, and an abysmally paid copyeditor. (Have you sampled the word ‘bechelor’?)

But why is the gender equivalent of a ‘bechelor’ a virgin? Why could they not have stuck to ‘married/unmarried’?

We think THIS Twitter user probably had it right:

Take it away, friend. Just take it away.

(With inputs from ANI)

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