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Thursday, June 16, 2011

117 - 20th May 2011 – List of Dalit Students who have committed suicides- Round Table India

by thedeathofmerit

Here is the list of the Dalit students who have committed suicide in last four years. This is by no means an exhaustive list but covers only those cases which we were able to document and where parents and relatives have raised their voices and had accused the institutions of caste discrimination against their children that led to their suicides.

We are sure that the actual numbers of Dalit students committing suicide in country’s premier institutions in last four years will be much higher.

• M. Shrikant, final year, B.Tech, IIT Bombay, 1st Jan 07

• Ajay S. Chandra, integrated PhD, Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bangalore – 26 Aug, 07

• Jaspreet Singh, final year MBBS, Government Medical College, Chandigarh, 27 Jan 08.

• Senthil Kumar, PHD, School of Physics, University of Hyderabad – 23 Feb 08

• Prashant Kureel, first year, B.Tech, IIT Kanpur, 19 April, 08

• G. Suman, final year, M.Tech, IIT Kanpur, 2nd Jan, 09

• Ankita Veghda, first year, BSc Nursing, Singhi Institute of Nursing, Ahmedabad, 20 April, 09

• D Syam Kumar, first year B.Tech, Sarojini Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vijayawada, 13 Aug, 09

• S. Amravathi, national level young woman boxer, Centre of Excellence, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, 4th Nov, 09

• Bandi Anusha, B.Com final year, Villa Mary College, Hyderabad, 5th Nov, 09

• Pushpanjali Poorty, first year, MBA, Visvesvaraiah Technological University, Bangalore, 30th Jan, 10

• Sushil Kumar Chaudhary, final year MBBS, Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (formerly KGMC), Lucknow, 31 Jan, 10.

• Balmukund Bharti, final year MBBS, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 3rd March, 10

• JK Ramesh, second year, BSc, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, 1st July, 10

• Madhuri Sale, final year B.Tech, IIT Kanpur, 17th November, 10

• G. Varalakshmi, B.Tech first year, Vignan Engineering College, Hyderabad, 30 Jan, 2011

• Manish Kumar, IIIrd Year B.Tech, IIT Roorkee, 13 Feb, 11

• Linesh Mohan Gawle, PhD, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, 16 April, 11

116 - 20th May 2011 - Stress: A tough nut for IITs - QUEST

IT JEE is known to be one of the toughest exams to crack. Youngsters come to the institute with stars in their eyes and within no time their dreams begin to turn into reality.

Name an MNC and you know its target has to be an IITian. And what is the package they offer? Whatever one can fancy of. So what is the reason behind the mounting number of suicides and deaths in the IIT campus in the recent past?

To say that three suicides in just three weeks is a mere twist of fate is nothing short of a blunt denial.

Apart from a couple of incidents of suicides that happened at Roorkee, Kanpur and Mumbai, figures reveal that IIT Kharagpur averages a suicide or an attempt, every two years and IIT Mumbai is related with stories of suicide attempts at regular intervals.

“Oh! Everybody is not so lucky to get the plum job at his/her doorstep. The offer varies from person to person, thus creating a gap,” says Rohit a first year student at IIT Delhi.

But Meenal Nalwaya, from Udaipur, has something else to say. Meenal feels that students in the campus have mostly had a good academic record. They develop a habit of seeing themselves at the top anywhere and everywhere. But the platform in IIT is very different. “Everyone here is equally competent, which leads to unwanted tension,” adds Meenal, a first year student at IIT Delhi.

Whereas some blame the never-ending saga of hard work, which makes the schedule very traumatic, others blame the grading system, CGPA (Cumulative grading point average).

This 10-point grading system becomes a hallmark for their performance. “And if a student is not able to score ‘decent’ he is bound to face the music of peer pressure,” says Tarun Sachdeva.

Even Rekha Nagpal and Pratibha, pursuing M Tech from IIT, blame the scoring system. “Much needs to be done to cater to the need of the freshers, who find it difficult to overcome the academic anxiety.”

But Asha, a scholar of PhD, doesn’t agree with others. She believes that academic challenges and the grading points are same for one and all. “There are personal reasons due to which students take such extreme steps,” says Asha.

Identity crisis among the students is another reason given by some students. “I am a gold medallist and have figured in the top-student list throughout. But here I am just one in the campus crowd,” says Madhu, from first year.

Students coming from small towns and cities give a different angle – social pressure.

Professor Nirmal Kumar, from Muzaffarpur, is a faculty member in the civil engineering department. Nirmal believes that the core curriculum is relatively hard as compared to some of the foreign institutes. The other reason for this increasing number of suicides, he says, is the fact that freshers are in some kind of dilemma and are sensitively weak.

He suggests that to cope with such a charged competitive environment a rational outlook to life should be developed in such students. He thinks that reciting the Bible, Gita, Quran or Patanjali can inculcate this change of approach.

Alok and Gaurav Khanna, who are in the final year of IIT Delhi, say that the entrance pattern is to blame. The exam is mostly objective and anyone, who works hard enough can clear it. But life in the campus is not so easy.

“Sometimes we realise that even sharp students become slack in the campus and do not fare well in the exams leading to various mental problems.” “Even the brightest student becomes complacent and thus finds himself in a complicated position,” adds Alok.

“Coming to IIT is only winning half the battle,” says Lalit K Jiwani, a research scholar at IIT Delhi. “The societal and peer pressure surmounts in the campus life and it is not easy for one and all to realise their dreams.

But Somya and Uma, also from IIT Delhi, say that the outlook depends entirely on the individual.

All said and done, we are sure that all those, who come to the IITs are able enough to accept the challenges arising out of various reasons and know that all companies do not go for the CGPA tally.

One thing, which all must remember is that life is very much a success beyond the grades as well!…

115 - 17th May 2011 - Dalit students committing suicide in last 4 years in premier institutions

The Milli Gazette
Published Online: May 17, 2011
Print Issue: 16-31 May 2011
 
Here is a list of Dalit students who committed suicide during the last four years in some premier institutions. This is by no means an exhaustive list as it only covers cases which could be documented and where parents and relatives raised their voices and  accused the institutions of caste discrimination against their children that led to their suicides:
 
1. M. Shrikant, final year, B.Tech, IIT Bombay, 1st Jan 07
2. Ajay S. Chandra, integrated PhD, Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bangalore - 26 Aug, 07
3. Jaspreet Singh, final year MBBS, Government Medical College, Chandigarh, 27 Jan 08.
4. Senthil Kumar, PHD, School of Physics, University of Hyderabad - 23 Feb 08
5. Prashant Kureel, first year, B.Tech, IIT Kanpur, 19 April, 08
6. G. Suman, final year, M.Tech, IIT Kanpur, 2nd Jan, 09
7. Ankita Veghda, first year, BSc Nursing, Singhi Institute of Nursing, Ahmedabad, 20 April, 09
8. D Syam Kumar, first year B.Tech, Sarojini Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vijayawada, 13 Aug, 09
9. S. Amravathi, national level young woman boxer, Centre of Excellence, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh,Hyderabad, 4th Nov, 09
10. Bandi Anusha, B.Com final year, Villa Mary College, Hyderabad, 5th Nov, 09
11. Pushpanjali Poorty, first year, MBA, Visvesvaraiah Technological University, Bangalore, 30th Jan, 10
12. Sushil Kumar Chaudhary, final year MBBS, Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (formerly KGMC), Lucknow, 31 Jan, 10.
13. Balmukund Bharti, final year MBBS, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 3rd March, 10
14. JK Ramesh, second year, BSc, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, 1st July, 10
15. Madhuri Sale, final year B.Tech, IIT Kanpur, 17th November, 10
16. G. Varalakshmi, B.Tech first year, Vignan Engineering College, Hyderabad, 30 Jan, 2011
17. Manish Kumar, IIIrd Year B.Tech, IIT Roorkee, 13 Feb, 11
18. Linesh Mohan Gawle, PhD, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, 16 April, 11

A large number of Dalit and Adivasi students committing suicide clearly indicates the wide-spread prevalence of caste discrimination in the Indian education system, which perceives them as 'non-meritorious', not fit to belong there. When a student from the lowest strata of society fights against all odds to prove his/her merit and reach the best educational institutions in India, are those institutions proving themselves meritorious enough to recognize their worth and to accommodate them, let alone nurture their aspirations?

Our communities cannot afford to lose our bright, young hopes like Linesh and Balmukund, in the hands of an insensitive and casteist educational system.

A documentary “The Death of Merit” documents the horors of caste-discrimination that is prevalent in AIIMS, New Delhi that resulted in the suicide of a very bright Dalit student Balmukund Bharti who came  from a very humble background. (Watch the documentary at

http://thedeathofmeritinindia.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/%e2%80%98the-death-of-merit%e2%80%99-a-documentary/)
For more information, contact  Arun Khote ofDalits Media Watch at arun.khote@gmail.com


Caste Discrimination in IIT Delhi
The dismal representation of SC/ST students in IITs demands some serious questioning from all who believe in equal opportunities and social justice. There are various instances that indicate towards the prevalence of caste-based harassment of Dalit students. Recently IIT Delhi was in news due to the termination of 12 Dalit students together with allegations of prevalence of caste-based discrimination. In the wake of this incident, an attempt was made to map the experiences of Dalit students within IIT Delhi structure.

On May 2008, 12 Dalit students (11SC & 1ST) were terminated by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, citing their 'low academic performance'. Eleven of these students were from the first two years of their undergraduate courses.
After receiving the termination letter, some of these students filed a petition in the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes (NCSC), alleging caste-based harassment in IIT Delhi and demanded annulment of their terminations.

According to the students, many IIT Delhi faculty members harbour deep prejudices against students admitted through reservations and they receive very poor grading despite performing well in the exams. The NCSC immediately summoned the Director of IIT Delhi, and asked him to investigate these allegations and also to review the terminations.

Later, in July first week, the IIT administration submitted a one-page report to the NCSC stating that, it has decided to revoke the expulsion of 2 Dalit students by giving some relaxations in their grade requirements. It also informed the NCSC, about the IIT review committee, constituted in response to the summon issued by the NCSC, to inquire about the prevalence of caste based discrimination. The report further stated that 'no case of caste discrimination was brought out by the students in their meeting with the Review Committee'.

The last paragraph of the report reiterated that, "IIT Delhi is very sensitive to the special needs of SC/ST students and faculty members spare no efforts in helping them, and indeed all weak students, to come up to our higher academic standards".
To read this report, please visit: http://thedeathofmeritinindia.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/caste-discrimination-in-iit-delhi-a-report/  or mail Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre at pmarc2008@gmail.com

114 - 15th May 2011 IT student commits suicide on campus - TOI

CHENNAI: A final year IIT-M student committed suicide in his hostel on Wednesday at 2.45pm. Nitin Kumar Reddy, a mechanical engineering student, ended his life minutes after he was told that he would not be able to pass out along with his batchmates this May. Three months ago, another student of the same department killed himself for the same reason.

According to his batchmates, Nitin, 22, was upset after the head of the department Venkateshan SP told him that his course has been extended by six months when he went to submit the abstract for his project. Nitin emailed his father Lakshmana Murthy Reddy, a DRDO official working in Delhi, saying that he was going to end his life as he was scared that the course extension might ruin the job he was offered by a software company. He also called his friend in Bangalore to inform her about his decision. By the time his parents and friend could alert his batchmates, Nitin had hung himself from the ceiling fan inside his hostel room no 463 with the bedspread. IIT-M officials refused to speak. Adyar Deputy Commissioner V Sithanan said they were waiting for his parents to come. A case of suicide has been registered.

Readers' opinions (340)Sort by:Newest|Oldest
 
Quarks@IITM (UK)
07 Jun, 2011 08:50 PM
I am an IIT-M graduate. Do not blame the profs for this fiasco. There are rules to be followed in every walk of life. Schools and Uni are solely the stepping stones to making us successful further in life, and many a time people dont even need this to be successful. Many a time we meet with failure, and that should only build our resolve to succeed in the future. In a country of  1.1 billion people, if you don't take your chance when you get it, you miss the opportunity. IITians are well aware of this fact, as also the fact that they have to compete with fellow IITians across the country and students across the world when it comes to getting into a top US Uni for their Masters. If a deadline to complete a thesis successfully is given, it must to be adhered to and there can be no negotiation on that. The business world is a tough place to exist and the IITs provide a more wholesome development than any other Indian Uni. It is a shame that the misinformed Indian public is trying to pinpoint the blame of the IIT M profs and absolving a student who probably in wind down mode ever since he got an offer from the placement cell a couple of months prior to course completion. Students such as these are seen all too frequently, threatening to throw themselves from the water tank unless they are given a passing grade; and the University cannot be held to ransom by such tomfoolery.
 
Sad IITM student (IITM)
15 May, 2011 10:10 PM
Guide's at IIT's think that they have hired student. Student might work the way they want. Their ideas are killed, and one best quotation in IIT is ....... It my bloody money what I am spending. Please inform them, its not money which belong to them, its tax paid by our parents and people of india to generate great leader. But unfortunately in IIT's they generate them in coffins. When student and guide will come together to do research, they want to publish paper in order to get grant. No institute in India is doing real research. Just they are trying to manipulate things in different ways. Whole system is opposite where research will be conducted. I have friend in IITM- They say we dont want to be Almunai of this graveyard. Please try to change the attitude of prof's and gave them class of research life. I just want you people to comment something related to Prof's attitute....... The grilling they do to us everyday and scolding's as if we r beggers. People we r IITian's. Confirm from any US institute, they have respect for us but these killer's dont. We r the one who changed the face of world, but unfortunate we couldn't change the mentality of Indian Prof. Shame of them who say its satistically insignificant. Life of student is not bar graph or standard deviation. U r killing heros of India. Hope my words will reach to IIT management. May god save us all.
 
raunak (iit-g)
09 May, 2011 08:06 PM
IIT life is the coolest life I have ever seen or known. It is what defines us, makes us the best of the best. It is who we are. Without pressure IIT is nothing
 
raju (dammam)
08 May, 2011 05:26 PM
Getting education is just the beginning of life. One should be big enough to chanllenge the "challenge in life". That should be the attitude, not suicide. Parents should encourage their wards and support to relieve their mental tension. Professors should review their conduct in similar situation and arrange for counciling to students before announcing the information.
 
Bunty (Orissa)
08 May, 2011 12:50 AM
Teacher's in higher education have created such a situation that it is not at all acceptable in a civilized society. Instead of focussing on good education and innovations, their behaviour is more centered towards their ego This is best illustrated in the film "3 Idiots" which demontrates the factual scene from a college campus. The education system is also to be blamed which fails to understand that an IITian is a premier institution where the very best are studying. Having said that, why are the professors mute and they should be held responsible for the mess around.
 
C Suresh (Charlotte, USA) replies to Bunty
08 May, 2011 11:43 PM
3 Idiots is a a big copy from the english movie Patch Adams acted by Robbie Williams. We made 2 movies one as Munna Bhai MBBS and another as 3 idiots. Sad to hear the news... Scientists think that Suicide mentality creates within oneself through genes or something.. Friends and family should keep a watch of their dear ones and help them.

113 - 14th May 2011 - IIT’s stressed-out geeks opt for suicide solution - Tehelka

Management and counseling cells come under fire for failing to tackle spike in deaths
Sai Manish , Chennai

By the time Nitin Reddy’s door on the third floor of the Jamuna Hostel in IIT Madras was broken open by his friend after a frantic call from his father, it was too late. The 24-year-old’s limp body was hanging from the fan.

Barely hours before he cut his life short on 4 May, Nitin had made his intentions clear to his father and friends. “I tried hard but I lost,” wrote Nitin, lovingly called ‘Swamy’ by his friends, on his Facebook wall. He emailed his father A Lakashmana Murthy who works in DRDO and told him he was going to kill himself and what should be done with his possessions after he was gone. By the time Murthy, who works in New Delhi, alerted the local guardians in Chennai, it was all over.

On 2 May, Nitin, a final-year MTech (mechanical engineering) student was ordered to do another semester, which meant he could not pass out with his batchmates and faced the prospect of losing the lucrative job that he had landed at a Bengaluru-based software company.

Like the many bright sparks who fly out of IIT every year, Nitin was an adventure-loving geek. He had hugged a tree, loved someone he shouldn’t have, attended martial arts classes, feigned sickness, slept through an entire flight, performed on stage, ridden a horse, broken a bone, enjoyed his daily dose of World of Warcraft, cheered for Lionel Messi, disapproved of IIT’s skewed sex ratio, gatecrashed a party and anonymously donated to charity

“Nitin was the core (coordinator) under whom I worked at the Centre of Innovation. He was always in the thick of action and was a person who would be up for a discussion any time during the budget meetings,” says hostel mate Sai Prasad. “Two nights before his suicide, he casually mentioned that he feared getting an extension and he could lose his job. But he did not look tense. It was just one of those pre-dinner talks about our personal lives that invariably get mingled with academics. But I didn’t really imagine that he would go this far.”

“He was just asked to serve one more semester,” says IIT director MS Ananth. “As a teacher, I have been shaken by his actions. Professors will always make performance demands and that is how students excel. We can’t run an institution where students have become so sensitive to pressure. We have to look at an individual’s personal history also to examine what made him end his life.”

The management’s attitude has not gone down too well with Nitin’s distraught father who has lodged a police complaint, moved the National Human Rights Commission and is demanding a broader inquiry.

“The management is trying to discredit my son. If he was depressed then we should have been informed by his professors or by the counseling cell,” says Murthy. “I want a probe into this. If it is my son’s fault, then I am ready to take the blame. But if it is the IIT’s fault then the professor who denied my son the opportunity to pass out with his batchmates in May should be suspended.”

It is surprising that despite having personal guides and a Guidance and Counseling Unit (GCU), the management is playing a blame game by invoking Nitin’s history of depression. It is also surprising that Nitin’s guide PV Mannivannan and the management waited until just a week before the last day of the term to tell Nitin that he would have to attend classes for one more semester.

Nitin had landed a plum job at a campus interview. Despite his low CGPA, he was looking to capitalise on the great opportunity and that’s when his professor burst his bubble. His employers were not willing to wait. And also at stake were the innumerable questions that prospective employers might ask about his extension. Moreover he was the only one in his department to have been asked to serve and that amplified his embarrassment. All this created immense psychological stress, which eventually made him take the extreme step.

The death is part of a shocking trend of a spike in suicides among final-year students across IITs. Nitin’s suicide is the third such death in IIT Madras in as many years. Other IITs are even more notorious for their unusually high rates of academically linked suicides.

IIT Kharagpur — called the “suicide hotspot” by students — saw as many three suicides between 23 April and 15 July 2009, and has since averaged one suicide a year. IIT Bombay has been rocked by almost one suicide every year with two suicides in 2007. IIT Roorkee witnessed its first suicide this year when a BTech student jumped to death from the eighth floor of his hostel.

The most notorious of the lot has been IIT Kanpur, which has seen eight suicides in the past five years. In face of these figures, the IIT managements have acted in a manner that even students term “stupid and bizarre”.

If IIT Madras has blamed Nitin for being “depressed”, a four-member committee appointed by IIT Kanpur after the death of final-year student Madhuri Sale last year made even more ridiculous suggestions to prevent suicides. After Madhuri hung herself in her hostel room, the committee comprising professors recommended removing all ceiling fans from hostel rooms and replacing them with pedestal fans. Among the other measures included reducing Internet speeds to curb “web addiction”, which was being touted as one of the main reasons for suicides. There was also a plan to limit the use of cell phones so that parents could not easily talk to their children and pressurise them and also abolish the concept of single rooms and make room sharing mandatory. The plan became the butt of all jokes among the students and invited ridicule from across the board.

Many complain that the GCUs serve no useful purpose. This flaw was bared prominently when IIT Bombay student Srikanth Malepulla, 21, hanged himself in his hostel room. Despite having a GCU that includes professors and professionals, he was not identified by the mentor system as “troubled and prone to suicide”.

“We keep an eye on students in the first year and monitor every move. When they enter the second year, most have formed their friend circle and we stop monitoring their personal lives actively. The GCU cannot be a peeping tom after that and plays a more passive role,” says Ananth.

However, psychologists believe that students and parents should be willing to shoulder the blame as well. “Parents are responsible for this too,” says psychologist Divyan Varghese. “They lower the stress threshold limit of their child due to high expectations. And many kill themselves because of the fear that their parents would not accept failure. The stress on an IITian is more than the stress outside in the real world.”

Tanuj Bansal, who passed out of IIT Delhi in 2007, has an interesting take on why an IITian is under immense duress. “The first two years are the most academically challenging in IIT. But many who come think, just by entering IIT, the battle has been won,” says Bansal. “Ironically, the first two years are the best time to have a good CGPA. Even though the third and fourth years are more relaxed, it is extremely hard to improve in the last two years if one has had low grades in the first two.

“I was in the placement cell and I saw the madness among the final-year students. Out of 1,200, we managed to place 900. But the remaining had to struggle because companies wouldn’t hire them due to low CGPAs. In Nitin’s case, he had low grades but got a good job offer. And then he was given an extension that jeopardised his employment. So it was a combination of stress and embarrassment that made him take the extreme step.”

Bansal’s point becomes even more relevant when seen in the light of Nitin’s outbursts on social networks. For instance, when he received an internship offer from a firm in Texas last year, Nitin wrote on Google Buzz, “Am going to the US for summer internship. All you 9 pointers - IN YOUR FACE”. That gives a rare insight into how Nitin felt about overachievers in a fiercely competitive environment.

“Every kid who comes here has stood first in his school. And in IIT, in a class of 50, somebody out of the No. 1s has to be No. 50. The competition is huge,” says Ananth.

Despite the blame games that ensue after every suicide, there has been no concerted effort at a scientific study of the suicide phenomena that has reached epidemic proportions across IITs. The management has been reluctant to discuss the issue with the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The ministry seems to be oblivious that every few months, stressed out IITians like Nitin are succumbing to a competitive culture that doesn’t afford them the opportunity to breathe easy.

It needs to wake up and conduct a study that transforms the culture of institutes that are producing brilliant engineers and entrepreneurs, but also mental wrecks.

Sai Manish is a Correspondent with Tehelka.
sai.manish@tehelka.com

112 - 12th May 2011 - LET’S STOP GLORIFYING IIT SUICIDES! - Indian Fusion

EVERY TIME A PEDESTRIAN IS RUN OVER BY A CAR. IT’S NOT ALWAYS THE DRIVER’S FAULT!
 
IIT B Student had short Attendance in 3 courses.. CGP : 4ish out of 10. He commits Suicide. Prof’s and System are Blamed.

IIT Kanpur Post Grad Student can’t get a Job in campus placements. He Commits Suicide.

Recently an IIT M Student gets BTP Extension. Spirals into Depression. Commits Suicide. Prof. is under Scanner.
 
Let’s ask a few questions before we begin to get Sentimental about yet another Suicide ?
Should Ganguly have committed Suicide when he was given an Indefinite extension after being dropped in 92 ?
Would you have blamed the BCCI for crushing the ambitions of a 22 year Old? But Ganguly didn’t commit Suicide. He Waited!
 
Couldn’t the Gentlemen in IIT M have waited too ? ( And with all due respect to IITans, Pressure on Cricketers is infinitely higher.)
So, How is some one’s act of Impulse the System’s Fault ?
 
Moving On…
In 2005, one of the very early cases of Student Suicides an IIT Bombay Student Vijay Nakula committed suicide, for getting XX grade (which means you would have to repeat the course because of attendance shortage) in 3 courses among other reasons.
Tomorrow Let’s say a Professor commits suicide for lack of attendance of Students in HIS class. Let’s say, he got depressed for that reason.. Let’s say, he is giving his best, still no one is attending the class. Would you blame the Student fraternity in the colleges for not being serious about Studies…
Would you be willing to blame the System ( Markets in this Case) ?
 
Would the Student Fraternity be willing to go for all the Lectures to prevent any more Prof’s from going into Depression and any subsequent suicides?
Take your guess.
My guess is No.
My Guess is an Emphatic, NO!!!!!
Professor writes a mail mentioning the list of people to be awarded Fail Grade. Student commits Suicide after finding his name in it.
Argument. The E Mail was Harsh!!
If tomorrow a Critic trashes a movie, Can the lead Actor commit suicide citing a harsh review in his defense.. Would you buy that ?
Why are we glorifying Suicides in IIT’s ? Why are we projecting them as Victims of the System?
For somebody who takes HIS own life for a BTP Extension. I am sorry to say is a Victim of his own Choices ! ( Whatever may have been the Circumstances)
So let’s stop projecting these Students as Martyrs. For it creates a False Precedent. A sort of Suicidal Peer Pressure (Pardon the Phrase, but true) among the Students to come.
I call it the Induction effect of committing suicides.
 
SUPPOSED CAUSES OF SUICIDES.
People Blame Academic Pressure for these Suicides.
Oh It’s too Stressful.
I ask, WHY SHOULD IIT BE EASY?
You feel you can take it, fine. Else Quit.
Everyone is fine with the Goods which IIT tag has to offer..
The Campus Placements for Majority, and the other Fringe Benefits of being an IITan. A Default Respect in the Society among other things.
So why shouldn’t you be made to earn every cent of it ?
You find the Pressure Enormous…Quit IIT!!
Do something else. Why Quit your Life?
If you choose to stay in IIT ! Play by the Rules.
THE PARADOX BEHIND VARIOUS POPULAR REASONS FOR STRESS
Some Students blame the number of tests and quizzes in IIT.
Which is ironic because when the same Students were preparing for IIT JEE, most of them would opt for Multiple Test Series. FIITJEE, Bansal, Resonance…That time you couldn’t have enough of them!
So why have the tests suddenly become a Problem ?
You Graduated out of the same system..
People say, Oh the moment you come into IIT, there is a sense of loss of Identity. Toppers in their respective Batches are now no longer toppers.
Well the same happens when you start JEE preparation. Toppers from Various Schools, Join a Coaching Institute, where most of them no longer remain toppers…
So why are the same constants suddenly a problem.. ?

THE WORLD DOESN’T OWE YOU A LIVING! IT WAS HERE FIRST
An IIT K Student doesn’t get a Campus Placement. He commits Suicide.
The Argument given to his friend before ending his life was, Itni Mehnat kari, Itne number laaye.. Phir bhi Job nahin lagi!
Can a Hockey Player commit Suicide for the same Reason.. “ Yaar Itni Mehnat kari, Itne goal kiye, phir bhi Advertisement nahin mile! ”
Job Nahin Mili, Suicide kar li?
What bothers me is the mindset of some of the Students that IIT somehow owes them a LIVING!
No it doesn’t. Nor does the World!!
You didn’t create that Brand. Your Predecessors did. So how does IIT owe you anything?
IIT is an Educational Institute. Not a Life Insurance!
SO CALLED FRIENDS!!!
The friends of the person who committed suicide are the first to criticize the system.
I say, If you were such a good friend, why didn’t you make sure he attended the lectures, when his attendance was getting short. why didn’t you drag him to classes ?
If he hates the classes, why didn’t you help him find what he loved doing?
He got extension because his project got delayed, Why didn’t you make his project report. If you think the system pressure can often lead to suicide.. Didn’t you see your friend’s suicide coming when he was failing in courses and missing deadlines?
In one sentence you blame the System and the Pressure, when you did nothing to help your friend though it ?
And the worst part is, none of the friends had an inkling of what was about to come!
So much for being a Friend.
 

WHICH SYSTEM IS AT FAULT?
Which system is at Fault ?
If you choose to highlight these 3 Suicides, I can show you 20 people in the same batch who have done exceedingly well..
Some may be under the same Prof, who is under the Scanner.
3 out of 5000. In Science that’s not called a System Error. That’s called Standard Deviation.
Darwin would have dismissed the same, with his “Survival of the Fittest” Argument.
You could call me Cold, or Apathetic, or Ignorant or anything you want to, but if you are really serious about ending these Suicides.
My Humble Request is Stop Glorifying Every Suicide.
For Every time a Pedestrian gets run over, it’s not always the Cars Fault. Assuming that’s it’s always a Drivers Fault is a matter of convenience. Not Fact!
May be it was error of Judgment on the Student’s Part.
Who Knows?
May be all those Students who committed suicide are regretting it now in Heaven.
May be the recent IITM guy is thinking, ” I could have waited!”
May be that Kanpur guy who jumped thought in Mid Air, “What the F*** did I do? I should have fought this?”
That Girl who hung herself, while wincing in pain on the rope, ” God I don’t want to die! Give me one more chance!”
Who is to know ? May be they are hating themselves in Heaven.
I mean, “I just couldn’t live with myself knowing I had just killed myself.”
In that Scenario would the present Arguments against system and Professors still be Valid?
HUMAN SOLUTIONS.
People have suggested all sort of Solutions.
Ban the LAN. ( Internet)
Reduce Work Load/ Academic Stress
Counseling Sessions.
Now that we have failed with the seemingly Necessary Logical Solutions. Let’s try a Human Solution!
Suicide is an Impulse Decision…
So, I don’t think we need to Subtract or Reduce anything. We need to add something to the system.
Girls. Women. ( Don’t succumb to you Impulse Judgment. Read Along)
May be all Students need ( keeping all things constant) are some Women, or Emotional Stabilizers as I call them.
Most Married Men would testify the importance of their Partner in testing times.
May be that’s why they say, Behind Every Successful Man there is a Women.
There are things men tell their girlfriends, they would never tell their best of friends.
A 2 Month old Girl Friend knows more about you than the best of your Friends.
The Truth is, People are not comfortable sharing their Secrets with even the best of their Male Friends..
1 Because you are constantly seeking their approval, Especially the ones who are closest to you.. So your best friend is often the last person you would confess your problem to.
2. Sometimes you might look upon your friends as competitors.
3. May be you don’t have a Real Friend…
So you can’t confess your problem to your Best Friend.
You won’t tell a person who don’t think is Close enough.
You can’t talk to your Parents. Very Few of us share our problems with our Parents.. For you don’t want to make them tense or let them down (Sounds almost Ironic after the eventuality though)
Who is Left ?
No Wonder None of those friends or the family Saw any of those suicides coming!!
My Guess is a Feminine Shoulder might have helped.
MAY BE..
May be Women are the answer, for IIT’s given their skewed Sex Ratio are Social Concentration Camps, Especially in that Age! For boys as well as Girls. (It’s actually worse for girls than for guys!)
So May be the answer lies in doing something about that Social Imbalance*** (Conditions Apply)
May be it’s just that some of the torch bearers of the Intellectual Elite might happen to be Emotionally Challenged…
May be Minds good at Numbers are not too good in analyzing situations, where No Numbers are involved.
May be the whole problem is that the people in question didn’t have a Confidante..Because the problems in most cases looked pretty manageable in hindsight.
May be the underline problem is Loneliness!!!
The Silent Killer!
May be that’s why so many Silently passed away, without even their closest Friends knowing..
May Be….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
*** : Having Said that, I am well aware that Women might not be a Necessary or a Sufficient Constant for Emotional Well Being for Some People and Vice Versa… So, I don’t mean to say this is THE SOLUTION. But it might be a part of THE SOLUTION, we all are looking for..The whole point is, Student Suicide is like the Multi-variable Problem in Mathematics. There are as many Variables as the Number of Individuals….. So No One Solution would Fit all…Some Solutions might even sound trivial in the context of the whole problem.. Like the small evolutionary steps which eventually led to Evolution of Species. Seemingly Unimportant small changes/additions, but when Integrated over time, led to LIFE!!
To Integrate my Partially differentiated thoughts:
The Solution to this Problem might not be in (big radical changes in system)/REVOLUTION. It might lie in simple EVOLUTION!
It’s Evolution that gave LIFE to our Planet. It could do the same to our Educational Institutes!
So, Women Idea is my seemingly Unimportant small addition, but may be when Integrated over time, might lead to a SAVED LIFE!!

Nitin Gupta
The author Nitin Gupta is a Chemical Engineer from IIT Bombay famous for creating a Cult Play ‘Love In December’.
Fresh out of Campus, he got an offer to perform on Laughter Challenge, the opportunity which he later turned down! The reason is a simple mission .He founded Entertainment Engineers , to make Stand Up Comedy respectable in India and to create a humor Renaissance in this country. Humor he says, ought to have an emotionality to it. We not only want people to laugh and think, we want them to LAUGH, THINK and FEEL at the same time. T.V. was not the medium to do that. So Nitin took to the Stage, College Festivals, Corporate Shows. And in a short span he has already enthralled the Audiences in some of the Biggest College Festivals in India, IITs, NITs, IIMs their Alumini Meets and various FORTUNE 500 Companies.
A Guest Speaker at various E- Cell Platforms and Marketing Conclaves. A TED Favorite. He is widely considered as the most Original Orators and Stand Up Comic of Present times.
This post is from his published notes and all due credit is paid to the Author

111 - 10th May 2011- Outrage over IIT students' deaths- TOI

10 May 2011, 1612 hrs IST, AGENCIES
 
The father of a final year IIT-Madras student, who allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room, demanded an inquiry into the incident and said he will soon approach the NHRC in this regard. A Nitin Kumar Reddy (24), student of M Tech (Mechanical), committed suicide on May 4 by hanging himself from a ceiling fan. His family alleged that he took the step after his professor extended his project by six months, which meant he would not be able to pass out with his batch mates this May.

“I want an inquiry into the incident...if found responsible, the professor should be suspended. I have lost my son but I do not want incidents like these to recur. I will soon approach the NHRC in this regard," Nitin's father Lakshmana Murthy Reddy, a DRDO official working in Delhi, told reporters in New Delhi. Nitin, who wanted to work in NASA since childhood as he was interested in aerospace, had written an apologetic and disconcerted e-mail to his father and some other relatives before taking the extreme step.

On May 4, before committing suicide, Nitin spoke to his father, telling him about his disappointment over the professor's decision to extend his project. "I tried to console him. I booked my tickets and told him that I would come to Chennai," 59-year-old Murthy said. Nitin was supposed to join a banking software company as a systems analyst by July, he said, adding, the extension of his project meant he would not have been able to do so.

The institute has reportedly said that Nitin was suffering from depression, a claim that Murthy rebuts. “I know my son. He wasn't a patient of depression. And if the institute is claiming so...why didn't they inform us (parents) about it," he said. In February this year, V Anup, a final year student undergoing the same course in the same college had committed suicide.

110 - 9th May 2011 - IIT suicide: Kin calls for exam system change - Asian Age

May 09, 2011

Dr. A. Lakshmana Murthy, whose son A. Nitin Kumar Reddy (24), a final year student of M. Tech (mechanical) in IIT Chennai who committed suicide in his hostel room on Wednesday, said such suicides could have been avoided if the process of evaluation of students and announcement of their results be thoroughly reviewed.
 
Dr Murthy is working in the ministry of defence while his wife A. Sailaja is an employee of Andhra government, currently posted in Hyderabad.
 
The grieving father of the IIT student on Sunday also raised several questions pertaining to the evaluation procedure and the role of professors.
 
“The process of evaluation of students and announcement of their results should be thoroughly reviewed and necessary corrective measures should be put in place to prevent further loss of young promising lives. It is also requested to see whether the professors are objective while judging the students or they are selective in their approach. If any professor is found to be not acting objectively, he or she should be punished in accordance with the law,” he said.
 
“What action is contemplated against people or concerned teachers who, in an attempt to save the skin of their colleagues, are denying dignity to Nitin even in death?” Dr Reddy asked.

109 - 9th May 2011 - Nitin's father demands probe into his son's death at IIT Madras- You Tube

108 - 9th May 2011 - Father of IIT Madras student seeks probe into his 'suicide' - India Today

IIT student Nitin Kumar Reddy

Days after an M Tech student committed suicide on the campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, its dean attacked media for reporting the incident. Following the authorities' "irresponsible" response, the victim's father has demanded an inquiry into the incident and said he would soon approach the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in this regard.

In his response to the incident, the dean of the institute, Govardhan M., reportedly said: "Why are you always reporting negative news about IIT Madras? We also have the maximum number of patents but you did not report that. But you would want to report the death of three out of 5,000 students, which is statistically not important. Why don't you go to other engineering institutes and find out how many died there. Why only IIT?"

Twenty-four-year-old Nitin Kumar Reddy had allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room on May 4. Minutes before he hanged himself, the mechanical engineering student had written an e-mail to his parents asking for forgiveness after he was told that he would not be able to graduate in May with the rest of his batchmates.

The dean's "insensitivity" outraged the grieving parents of the student. They demanded an apology from the institute.

Nitin's father Lakhsmana Moorthy Reddy, who works with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Delhi, filed an FIR on his son's suicide calling for a probe. He said his son had died under mysterious circumstances.

"I want an inquiry into the incident. If found responsible, the professor should be suspended. I have lost my son but I do not want incidents like these to recur. I will soon approach the NHRC in this regard," Nitin's father said.

107 - 09th May 2011 - Yet another IIT suicide - Deccan Chronicle

Anxious parents do a balancing act between expectations 
and fear of losing their child to academic pressure

On Wednesday afternoon, Nitin Kumar Reddy, a final year mechanical engineering student from IIT, Madras committed suicide.

Nitin left a Facebook message on the wall that read: “I fought hard but lost.”

There is more to that final post than what meets the eye. It is not just Nitin.

In the past five months three students from the same institution (including V. Anoop from the same department) have ended their life. Faculty members and officials say that such incidents cannot be attributed to academic pressure alone, but call for immediate attention.

“This is a complex issue that needs to be addressed. No one can say it’s because of academic pressure. There could be several reasons,” says M. Govardhan, dean (students) at IIT-M.

Academicians and educationists feel that students are aware of the pressure they have to handle while they are at such an institution.

“It is a known fact that studying at IIT is no easy task. The students who are part of that institution are self-motivated and are aware of the academic expectations. Moreover, every student may be facing personal and cultural problems as well. The education system cannot be blamed,” says E. Balaguruswamy, former vice-chancellor of Anna University.

Nitin’s department-mates, appeared sad yet strangely indifferent. Maybe because of their exams. They say it’s all about the survival of the fittest.

“It’s exam time and all of us are trying to perform well. We come here to clear the course and such incidents are unfortunate. While some students work with a clear-cut timetable, some may lose their confidence mid-way,” says a second year mechanical engineering student on condition of anonymity.

“I have never felt the pressure of studying at IIT. But it is the survival of the fittest. Entering this prestigious institution is a task on its own. But students have to be responsible and not lose hope,” says a first year M-Tech student.

Nitin’s life changed course when he approached the head of the department to learn that his course needed to be extended by six months. About this incident, the HOD said that the department was still in shock.

“We are all very upset because of this incident. If we lose a student, it’s traumatic but nothing can be done about it,” says S.P. Venkateshan, HoD. of mechanical department, who informed Nitin that he wouldn’t be graduating in May along with his batch mates. “He visited my office twice and that’s when I interacted with him,” says Venkateshan.

Counselling could to an extent help students manage the stress and pressure. Asked if the system is in place at IIT-M, Govardhan says: “We have recently appointed a qualified, fulltime counsellor who is extremely helpful. Students are allowed to approach the department with their problems. Once in a while, the dean of HoDs also interacts with the students so as to make sure they’re comfortable.”

Reasons may be many and yet to be identified, but the frequency at which students commit suicide is alarming and worth an investigation.

106 - 9th May 2011 - IIT student's suicide raises storm - India Today

May 9, 2011Days after M Tech student Nitin Kumar Reddy committed suicide on the campus of IIT-Madras, it's dean Govardhan M. attacked media for reporting the incident, parents lodge FIR. Story

105 - 6th May 2011 - Day after suicide at IIT-M, blame game on- TOI

A Selvaraj and Ishan Srivastava May 6, 2011, 12.51am IST
 
CHENNAI: Nitin Kumar Reddy's friends were still in shock a day after his suicide. His father Lakshmanamurthy, in his police complaint against the IIT-M administration and his son's project guide, has said that his son called him in his mobile on Wednesday afternoon before he died. He sounded depressed. Lakshmanamurthy pacified his son over the phone and assured that he will visit him in Chennai and talk to his guide and professors about the problem.

Lakshmanamurthy said in his complaint that he informed his relative Sudhakar Reddy who was also the local guardian of his son. He asked Sudhakar Reddy to go see his son. But it was already too late. Nitin's hostel warden, professor Sathyanarayanan, called Lakshmanamurthy and asked him to rush to Chennai at once. Fearing the worst, Lakshmanamurthy rushed to Delhi airport when Sudhakar Reddy called him and said Nitin was dead. ( IIT student commits suicide on campus )

Lakshmanamurthy has said that the IIT-M administration and Nitin's guide PV Manivannan should have informed him and his son earlier about the delay in filing the project. He said that Nitin had been told suddenly at the very end that his project would be extended.

Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of Criminal Procedure Code. "We will pursue and alter the case after detailed interrogation," a police officer said.

Meanwhile, the family members and the relatives of the victim Nitin Kumar Reddy staged a protest at Government Hospital in Royapettah demanding action against the IIT-M officials. But they were pacified by police personnel.

Nitin's body was handed over to his parents after an autopsy, who took it to Kuthalapattu near Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.

When asked as to what the Institute in general and Guidance and Counselling Unit (GCU) in particular was doing to address the situation and to improve the response against such incidents, dean of students Govardhan M said, "Why are you always reporting negative news about IIT Madras? We also have the maximum number of patents but you didn't report that. But you would want to report the death of 3 out of 5000 students which is statistically not important. Why don't you go to other engineering institutes and find out how many died there. Why only IIT?"

He went on to say, "Do you know the student who died yesterday had a medical history of psychological problems from childhood? But obviously you don't want to investigate." But he quickly corrected the "childhood" part to say, "We have come to know from his friends that when he could not clear JEE in an attempt, he went into depression."

104 - 6th May 2011 - IIT-Madras student Nitin Kumar Reddy's suicide is statistically insignificant, says dean Govardhan

Friday, 6th May 2011

Here is perhaps a scene straight from 3 idiots. An insensitive administration at IIT-Madras allegedly drove a student Nitin Kumar Reddy to suicide. Nitin's father has even lodged a police complaint against Nitin's guide and the tragic incident is now under investigation.

When a Times of India reporter spoke to dean Govardhan M, the man had the gall to say that the death of 3 out of 5000 students was not statistically important. His comments in full:

"Why are you always reporting negative news about IIT Madras? We also have the maximum number of patents but you didn't report that. But you would want to report the death of 3 out of 5000 students which is statistically not important. Why don't you go to other engineering institutes and find out how many died there. Why only IIT?"

Then he blames Nitin's death on his mental status.

"Do you know the student who died yesterday had a medical history of psychological problems from childhood? But obviously you don't want to investigate."

The learned dean went to add, according to Times of India: "We have come to know from his friends that when he could not clear JEE in an attempt, he went into depression."


Publication : Times of India

103 - 5th May 2011 - IIT - Madras student commits suicide due to depression in academic course

Thursday , 5th May 2011 09:50:13 PM


A 24-year-old engineering student of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) allegedly committed suicide because of "depression due to extension of his academic course" at Guindy on Wednesday.

L Nitin Kumar Reddy, a native of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, enrolled himself for a dual degree in mechanical engineering at the Institute in 2007, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Guindy) S Senthil Kumaran told Express.

Nitin was scheduled to pass out in May 2011, but was given an extension of six months because of arrears.

Nitin was suffering from depression due to the extension, the officer said.

Around 2 pm, a hostel student Pawan received a call from Nitin's friend in Andhra Pradesh, asking him to check the victim’s room (No. 463) on the third floor at Jamuna Hostel on the IIT campus.

On forcibly opening the door, Pawan found that Nitin had hanged himself from the ceiling fan, the ACP said.

On information, the Velachery police recovered the student's body and sent it to the Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy.

Before his death, Nitin sent an email to his father Lakshman Murthy Reddy, who is director of the Defence Research and Development Organisation wing in New Delhi. His mother Shylaja was an Andhra Pradesh government employee, the official said.

Nitin left a Facebook message for his friends, saying "I fought hard and lost."

IIT Dean (students) Govardhan told Express that Nitin had a history of depression. "According to the feedback I received, Nitin was someone who was either happy or highly-depressed when he faced setbacks. He had a medical history of the same," Govardhan said.

Police are questioning the faculty and staff.

102 - 27th Feb 2011 - Suicide at IIT sparks debate over stress-Deccan Chronicle

Feb. 26: The suicide of Anup Valaparla of Hyderabad in his hostel room on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, Wednesday night has once again triggered a heated debate among academicians, psychiatrists and the student community on whether the higher education system in the country is putting too much pressure on students driving some of them to end their lives.

According to IIT-M deputy director Prof V.G.Idichandy, the percentage of dejected students has come down and no case of student suicide was reported last year. “We have a full-fledged counselling centre where several students are counselled by a professionals on a daily basis. It is not like all students want to commit suicide. Some of them approach the counsellors for advice,” Prof. Idichandy said.

Speaking about Valaparla, the deputy director pointed out he had withdrawn his project thesis twice which shows he was not confident about his studies. “We allowed him to complete his 5-year course in seven years but he failed to do so. He did not approach us for help,” he said.

Some students in the IIT hostel told this correspondent that Valaparla had no friends in the institute as all his batch-mates had graduated two years ago. “He does not speak to us as he thought we will make fun of him. We could have helped him overcome his problems if he interacted with us,” a BTech student from the same hostel said on condition of anonymity.

IIT and other educational institutions also have counselling centres manned by trained personnel who help students with problems. Prof. Santhakumar of aerospace engineering in IIT-M pointed out it was impossible for the institute to monitor each of the over 6,000 students on the
campus.

101 - 25th Feb 2011 - IIT student fails, commits suicide - Deccan Chronicle

February 25, 2011



Feb. 24: An MTech student from Andhra Pradesh committed suicide by hanging himself in a hostel on the IIT-M campus here Wednesday night. The student was reportedly depressed over failing to pass his course on time.

The police said Anup Valaparla, 26, of Masab Tank in Hyderabad, had joined the integrated MTech course at IIT seven years ago. He should have completed the course in five years but failed to even after seven years. “Some students said Anup had been upset for the past few days,” a senior police officer said. “He was found hanging by a bed sheet from the ceiling fan in his room in Tamirabarani Hostel.”

Residents of the hostel found the body and alerted the warden who informed the police. “Anup left behind a note in which he said no one was responsible for his suicide. It appears that he committed suicide because he could not pass the course,” the officer said. The Kotturpuram police registered a case and sent the body to Government General Hospital, Royapettah, for postmortem. The body was handed over to relatives on Thursday.

100 - 25th Feb 2011 - IIT Madras student commits suicide- DIGITAL LEARNING

25 February 2011 

A 26-year old MTech student of Mechanical Engineering at IIT- Madras committed suicide by hanging himself. V. Anoop hung himself from the ceiling of a room which is used to store water cans on the sixth floor of the hostel building. Anoop, a native of Andhra Pradesh, is remembered as a cheerful person. Residents said he had stepped out on February 23rd evening to meet a friend in Velachery but was not to be found after he returned at night. His roommate Narasimha Rao started looking out for him around the campus but could not find him. While returning, Rao noticed a length of rope hanging from the ceiling of an unoccupied room. He immediately informed the hostel authorities who alerted the police. Police teams rushed there, broke open the door, and recovered Anoop's body. Anoop had also left a note stating no-one is responsible for his death and the police should not disturb any of the college professors, his friends or family for an inquiry. Anoop's family was informed about the demise of their child. His father who works in private company in Tirupati was informed. After the postmortem, the student's body was handed over to family members on February 24, 2011 evening. Police sources said Anoop, who was pursuing a dual degree MTech programme in Mechanical Engineering, should have completed his course in 2009. However, he remained on campus in an attempt to complete his arrears and finish his project within the stipulated extension period. "Though he got an extension, he was unable to complete the project to clear the course. A lot of people think this might be the reason for his suicide. It is very sad that this happened because we have facilities like guidance counselling available on the campus but students also need to take the initiative to use it when they think they have a problem," a student said.

99 - 18th Feb 2011 - IIT-Kanpur student committed suicide due to personal reasons: Report-DNA

Published: Tuesday, Jan 18, 2011, 23:01 IST
Place: Kanpur | Agency: PTI

IT-Kanpur student Madhuri Sale, who committed suicide in the campus, took the extreme step owing to personal reasons, a three-member committee probing her death said today.

The fact finding Report, submitted this evening, however, did not divulge details of any specific reason for the suicide of the final year BTech student in civil engineering.

"Madhuri Sale, had committed suicide on November 17, 2010, because of reasons which were entirely personal," an IIT statement said.

Sources in the institution said that Sale was in love with one of her classmates and disappointment in the relationship may have led to her suicide, a claim that IIT authorities have not commented upon.

The committee also suggested a slew of measures to keep in check student suicides in the campus, including promoting an 'open space' for more interaction among students to share their problems and appointing a woman counsellor in the couselling cell for girl students.

IIT-K Registrar Sanjeev Kashalkar told Press Trust of India that a separate woman counsellor was already there in the campus.

The 'open space' concept would be looked into, he said.

Sale's suicide came to light when her friends suspected something wrong as she did not respond to repeated knockings. When they peeped inside her room, they found her hanging.

Police had to break open the door of the hostel room and take out her body. The news triggered panic on the campus and the girl's colleagues refused to say anything about the incident, which came at a time when examinations were on.

98 - 7th Feb 2007 –IIT Roorkee student commits suicide

A third year student of IIT Roorkee allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of his hostel, police said here. Manish Kumar, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, committed suicide by jumping from the balcony of the fifth floor of his hostel last evening, police said. Police officials added that he was depressed over some unknown reason

97 - 7th Feb 2011 -Student of IIT Roorkee commits suicide- TOI

DS Kunwar, TNN Feb 7, 2011, 01.51pm IST
 
DEHRADUN: A pall of gloom has enveloped sprawling campus of 10-year-old IIT Roorkee, after a 21-year-old student of third-year, in B. Tech(Computer Science) course -Manish Kumar- died on Sunday evening after falling off the multi-storey building of IIT hostel , at Roorkee in Hardwar district.

This is the first incident of this kind in IIT Roorkee after it came into being in 2000.

Police sources said the incident occurred at 5.30 PM after Manish who belonged to neighbouring Muzaffarnagar town in U.P., had returned to his room in Radhakrishan hostel at IIT campus after college hours.

Police sources said a couple of hours later, when other hostel students were moving around, they suddenly heard the heavy sound of Maneesh falling off the fifth story of the building.

According to police sources, Manish who was seriously injured, was immediately rushed to the hospital of the institute for treatment where he was declared brought dead by senior medical officers on duty.

Roorkee SP Roshan Lal Sharma told TOI that they came to know about the incident through the security officer of IIT- K.P.Singh.

Sharma said although, exact cause of death as to how victim fell off hostel building, will be ascertained only after investigation, preliminary investigation into the case has revealed that victim committed suicide by falling of fifth floor as he was mentally ill.

According to Sharma, as soon as they came to know about the incident, they registered the case in Roorkee Civil Kotwali on Sunday night on the basis of written information in this connection by security officer of IIT.

96 - 18th Jan 2011 - Personal reasons behind IIT student’s suicide: report

Kanpur, Jan 18 (Agencies): IIT-Kanpur student Madhuri Sale, who committed suicide in the campus, took the extreme step owing to personal reasons, a three-member committee probing her death said on Tuesday.

The Fact Finding Report, submitted this evening, however, did not divulge details of any specific reason for the suicide of the final year BTech student in civil engineering.

"Madhuri Sale, had committed suicide on November 17, 2010, because of reasons which were entirely personal," an IIT statement said.

Sources in the institution said that Sale was in love with one of her classmates and disappointment in the relationship may have led to her suicide, a claim that IIT authorities have not commented upon.

The committee also suggested a slew of measures to keep in check student suicides in the campus, including promoting an 'open space' for more interaction among students to share their problems and appointing a woman counsellor in the couselling cell for girl students.

IIT-K Registrar Sanjeev Kashalkar said that a separate woman counsellor was already there in the campus.    

The 'open space' concept would be looked into, he said.

Sale's suicide came to light when her friends suspected something wrong as she did not respond to repeated knockings. When they peeped inside her room, they found her
hanging.

95 - 25th Dec 2010 - No IIT Kanpur inquiry into student suicides

Date 25 Dec 2010 13:35:04 IST , NDTV



Despite suicides by a number of students at  IIT Kanpur in the last five years, one of the country's premier institutes has not constituted any inquiry committee to probe the causes of the extreme steps taken by its students, an RTI inquiry revealed on Thursday.

The RTI application was filed by PTI seeking details from the institute's authorities regarding the number students who committed suicide, the reports of the inquiry committees formed after each suicide and the preventive measures taken after the incidents.

The response to the application stated that the concerned authorities did not have any information about the reasons behind the suicides of the eight IITians that took place over a five-year period from 2005-2010.

"No inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the cause behind these suicides but a fact finding committee led by a senior professor has been formed to suffice the purpose," IIT Kanpur Director Professor Sanjay Govind Dhande said.

He said the task of the fact finding committee is to inspect if any student or faculty member is responsible for the incidents of suicide, but no such case has come up so far.

However, Ghande declined to comment on the report prepared by the committee, saying it is an internal matter of the institution.

According to the response to the RTI application, among the eight students who committed suicide, five killed themselves by hanging from ceiling fans, one by jumping from the terrace of the faculty building and the two by jumping before a train and consuming poison respectively.

More than a month has passed since Madhuri Sale, a final year BTech student of the institute was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel room here.
But no progress has been made in this regard.

"A counseling centre has been formed at the premises of the institute to de-stress the students and help them solve their problems. Besides this, several social and entertainment programmes like galaxy, spectrum and yoga classes were also organised at regular intervals for the students," he said in reply to the query regarding the steps taken to prevent any further suicides.

He said the students focus less on their studies following the freedom they enjoy in the institution and those who committed suicide took the step after they were unable to bear academic pressure.

94 - 23rd Dec 2010 - No inquiry committee to probe IIT-Kanpur suicides RTI- Deccan Herald

Kanpur, Dec 23, PTI:

Despite suicides by a number of students at IIT Kanpur in the last five years, one of the country's premier institutes has not constituted any inquiry committee to probe the causes of the extreme steps taken by its students, an RTI inquiry revealed today.

The RTI application was filed by PTI seeking details from the institute's authorities regarding the number students who committed suicide, the reports of the inquiry committees formed after each suicide and the preventive measures taken after the incidents.

The response to the application stated that the concerned authorities did not have any information about the reasons behind the suicides of the eight IITians that took place over a five-year period from 2005-2010.

"No inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the cause behind these suicides but a fact finding committee led by a senior professor has been formed to suffice the purpose," IIT Kanpur Director Professor Sanjay Govind Ghande said.

He said the task of the fact finding committee is to inspect if any student or faculty member is responsible for the incidents of suicide, but no such case has come up so far.
However, Ghande declined to comment on the report prepared by the committee, saying it is an internal matter of the institution.

According to the response to the RTI application, among the eight students who committed suicide, five killed themselves by hanging from ceiling fans, one by jumping from the terrace of the faculty building and the two by jumping before a train and consuming poison respectively.

More than a month has passed since Madhuri Sale, a final year BTech student of the institute was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel room here. But no progress has been made in this regard.

"A counselling centre has been formed at the premises of the institute to de-stress the students and help them solve their problems. Besides this, several social and entertainment programmes like galaxy, spectrum and yoga classes were also organised at regular intervals for the students," he said in reply to the query regarding the steps taken to prevent any further suicides.

He said the students focus less on their studies following the freedom they enjoy in the institution and those who committed suicide took the step after they were unable to bear academic pressure.

93 - 1st Dec 2010 - IIT Kanpur to remove booze bottles from hostels to curb suicides- Faking News

Kanpur. After deciding to remove ceiling fans from hostel rooms so that student didn’t commit suicide by hanging themselves, the IIT administration here has now decided to remove all booze bottles that keep lying around in the hostels after daaru-parties, so that students don’t break them and use the glass pieces to cut their veins. Each hostel would have a “bottle collector” effective from the next week.
 
“We’d further identify other objects in and around hostels that could be used by a student to kill himself or herself,” one of the professors informed even as sources suggest that the institute was already running a competition among students to find out “dangerous household items for the depressed”. The winner will receive a cash award of Rs.10,000 and a “Choose Life” T-shirt.

“I have suggested power plug sockets,” says Arindam, a third-year electrical engineering student who is apparently taking part in the aforementioned competition, “any student can insert an electric wire in those sockets and electrocute himself when depressed.”
 
Arindam further informed that earlier he had suggested ways to make life “chill” for a students to that he or she doesn’t take “too much load” about education, but his suggestions were rejected as being “extraneous” to the problem at hand – making it difficult for the students to commit suicide.
But the IIT Kanpur authorities have rubbished such reports and denied that any such completion was taking place. 

Authorities have claimed that their decision to appoint a “bottle collector” in each hostel was taken by a committee comprising of professors after detailed study of the existing challenges that faced the institute.
 
“Do you think these students will ever tell us about their daaru-parties?” retorted professor P K Dhutt, who is also the warden of Hall-07.
 
The authorities didn’t elaborate why they were not addressing the issue of daaru-party (booze binges) and instead focusing on the bottles.
(with inputs from special correspondent Simon)