170 - Task force draft on campus suicides ready -TNN

Task force draft on campus suicides ready

C D S Mani, TNN | Aug 31, 2012, 09.12AM IST

Chennai: A task force appointed to investigate suicide cases in Indian Institutes of Technology and centrally-funded educational institutions has prepared its draft report contaning recommendations . The task force was appointed by the Union human resources development ministry .

"We have more or less completed the draft report following meetings over the past three days at IIT Madras and it will be reviewed by the full panel of the task force in mid-S eptember before it is submitted to the HRD ministry ," Prof M Anandakrishnan , leader of the task force , told TOI on Thursday.

"It is a comprehensive report factoring in the global and Indian scenarios and is basedon presentations made by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS ), Mumbai , besides IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras .It will make a specific set of recommendations for implementation and follow-up action ," he said but declined to divulge any details . 

The task force was appointed six months ago following an increasing number of suicides in central government-run educational campuses . It was asked by the HRD ministry to look into the whole system followed in the institutions , including grading , that may trigger depression . It has met twice in Delhi and has had deliberations in Kanpur and Chennai as well. 

IIT Madras has been rocked by two suicides this year alone . In April , 20-year-old Kuldeep Yadav from Agra , a second year civil engineering student , hung himself in his hostel room , due to an alleged love failure . In August , S Merugu Manasa , 21, from Andhra Pradesh , an MTech student , hung herself in her hostel room at the IIT campus due to some personal problems . She was married to a software professional in Hyderabad . She left no suicide note but other students in the hostel dormitory said Merugu looked depressed the day she hung herself . Three students committed suicide in the campus in 2011. 

Seven students took the drastic step in IITs across the country in 2011. According to the HRD ministry , IITs reported two suicides in 2010, four in 2009 and five in 2008 . National Crime Records Bureau report says that there has been a 26 % rise in student suicides in India between 2006 and 2010. The reasons attributed are academic stress in a high performance environment , peer pressure , depression and high expectations of family . 

"Intelligence has nothing to do with emotions ," said consultant psychiatrist Lakshmi Vijayakumar asked why IIT students believed to be bright students , would ever resort to suicide.

169 - No institute is an island - The Hindu

LEARNING LESSONS

No institute is an island

VASUDHA VENUGOPAL

The response of authorities changes when it comes to internal issues

One of the first lessons I learnt from a senior colleague, was that a reporter was never to promote anything, anybody. However, when once I asked him if I could write a piece on a defence project that students of IIT- Madras had ventured into, he immediately said, “Go for it, we have just one institute of excellence, we have to pamper it.”

I thought the pampering never stopped. But perhaps, some don’t feel quite that way. Last week, in the aftermath of the controversy between a newspaper and IIT-M over ‘objectionable photographs’ and an assault on the photographer concerned, I watched a video put up by the institute’s media wing - The Fifth Estate. There, students were critical of the ‘biased media’ and attributed this coverage to high expectations of a premier institution such as IIT. I was struck then, by the different perceptions of how bias works, especially in the context of institutions of excellence.

Many of the best students in the country go the IITs which also boast of excellent faculty members. In fact, contact diaries of most journalists will contain a list of professors who can be called upon for opinions on everything. Most of them are the most concise and accurate, and thus remain some of the most prized contacts for journalists. However, their response and the accessibility somehow drastically changes when it comes to what are known as ‘internal issues’ – enforcement of discipline, tackling suicides etc.

Like most other premier educational institutes, IIT-M is a bit of an island, isolated from the outside world, ostensibly to promote scholarly freedom. The ground rules for covering such institutes of excellence — whether they are IIT, Kalakshetra or Apollo Hospitals — are sometimes quite different though, theoretically, they should be the same as those for other institutions. The expertise and standards involved often lead to society and by extension, the media, viewing them with a certain amount of reverence. But when questions are raised or fingers pointed at such institutions, one often notices a sense of hurt emerging from them, almost as if they are the victims of a larger injustice. What is of importance here, is that other institutions are scrutinised as much as, if not more (occasionally due to easier access) than an institution such as IIT-M.

It should be evident to anybody, except those who access the media solely for news about themselves, that coverage of any institution is often part of a larger reporting pattern. Take the case of student suicides. A senior IIT professor often chides me, saying that covering IIT suicides is a disease the media needs to get rid of. Covering the suicide of a girl who took the extreme step out of personal reasons may be of not much relevance to society, but can the same be said about the death of a student, who after a brilliant performance in school, enters a premier institute, fails in every test and ends his life out of despair? Do not such suicides, which are a powerful reflection of the influence of language barriers, urban-rural divides and caste on education speak volumes of the situation of our institutions and deserve to be discussed and studied?.

What is disconcerting is the fact that this ‘exaggerated’ or ‘biased’ coverage is never an issue when there is reporting of academic achievements or innumerable stories are dedicated to issues of autonomy of the institution or the coverage of technical and cultural fests. Undoubtedly, there is much the media needs to introspect about — style, content, priorities. But those levelling this criticism would do well to remember that while it is easy to hope for ‘truth to prevail’, it is also vital that all institutions look within and into their role in society. All that the media can attempt is faithful, ethical coverage – that may cover both the best and the worst of these institutes.

168 - Iit Madras Student Commits Suicide Over Love Failure

Iit Madras Student Commits Suicide Over Love Failure

POSTED BY TEAM ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012 10:54 AM. UNDER NEWS AND UPDATES  

Reportedly IIT Madras  second-year civil engineering student Kuldeep Yadav has committed suicide yesterday over love failure, Kuldeep hails from Agra, UP and was found dead with his legs dangling in the air at around his room No 111 in the Narmada Hostel in IIT Madras campus.

Though Kuldeep did not leave behind a suicide note, the last message on his mobile from a girl batch mate indicates a love failure, Students and Faculty at IIT-M are shocked with the un-fortunate incident .

The suicides at the prestigious tech institutes are increasing every year, whether it is due to study pressure or personal issues and to deal with the suicide problem, Earlier IIT Bombay alumni has donated Rs 2.5 Crore to help reduce pressure on students through counselling. Apparently such measures are needed in all IIT’s.

Reportedly student suicides raised 26%  in india  from 2006 to 2010, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau 5,857 student suicides were reported across India in 2006, the figure jumped to 7,379 in 2010.

167 - IIT-M student ends life by hanging in room - The Hindu

CHENNAI, April 9, 2012

IIT-M student ends life by hanging in room

• DEEPA H. RAMAKRISHNAN

• VASUDHA VENUGOPAL

Friends place Kuldeep’s body in an ambulance at Fortis Malar hospital on Sunday. — Photo: M. Karunakaran

He was cheerful, bright and took up many student-centric initiatives, recall friends

Even as hundreds of students took the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) on Sunday to get closer to their IIT dream, it was a sad day for the students on campus at IIT- Madras. Kuldeep Yadav, a second-year student of civil engineering, allegedly committed suicide on Sunday morning by hanging himself from a fan with a nylon rope.

The incident occurred in a ground floor room of the Narmada hostel at IIT-M, and was first noticed by Kuldeep's wing-mate. He and his friends immediately broke open the door and lowered the body. As Yadav struggled to breathe, he was taken to the IIT Hospital around 10 a.m. and then to Fortis Malar hospital in Adyar. However, he could not be saved and died around 2.20 p.m.

One of the students said: “The doctors, around noon, told us that there was still a chance, because his pulse was revived but it would take about six hours to know if he was actually out of danger.” The student was then taken to the ICU where he breathed his last.

The body was shifted to the Government Royapettah Hospital from where it was taken to the Kilpauk Medical College. A post mortem examination will be conducted on Monday morning.

Police suspect Kuldeep Yadav, the son of an Uttar Pradesh-based farmer Yashoda Singh, took the extreme step after a failed love affair. A note said to be written by Kuldeep was found by police in his room. “It is a romantic poem in Hindi written in the English script. It has words such as, Tere bina… meri haar. We had a language expert translate it for us,” said a police officer.

His mobile phone records are being scrutinised to see whom he had called last night. Kuldeep's brother has arrived in the city and his parents are on their way. Police said IIT- Madras had agreed to help the family take the body back home.

Originally from Etah in Uttar Pradesh, Kuldeep did his junior college at Aligarh Muslim University. Everything, according to his hostel mates was going right for him. “He had a girlfriend on campus but there were no problems between them. We always thought they were a happy couple,” said a friend. A bright student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 8.5, Kuldeep was keenly interested in his subjects and would often attend seminars out of his own initiative, according to a professor.

He was quite active in class, and would ask questions and upload material online to be shared by all, his friends recalled, adding that he was a sports buff too, interested in football and cricket. He was also the class representative and would take up many student-centric initiatives. “We didn't expect this from him, of all people. He was such a fun-loving person, cheerful all the time,” said a classmate.

“It was like any other Saturday night for us and he was a guy with no problematic habits. We thought he went for a movie yesterday, after he played board games with us,” the classmate added.

The rising number of suicides among students in colleges is, indeed, alarming. According to data provided by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, IITs reported two suicides in 2010, four in 2009 and five in 2008. In 2011, the figure was seven, three of which were by IIT-M students. To address the rising number of suicides among its students, IIT-M had set up a counselling unit with a tele-counselling facility to offer these services on an anonymous basis around the clock. The issue of suicides at the IITs, say sources, was on the agenda of the last few council meetings of the IIT.

Lakshmi Vijayakumar, psychiatrist and founder of SNEHA, a non-governmental organisation working in the area of suicide prevention said: “When such an incident happens in an IIT, it gets more attention because we see them as high performing institutes where there is an environment of high pressure.”

Except for IIT- Kharagpur that uses absolute scores, all other IITs evaluate their students on the basis of others' performance which does not foster shared learning and communication, she said, adding: “There is absolutely no need to put up results on open boards. This causes shame to a lot of students.”

The reason driving students to committing suicide may not always be related to academics. “Most students in IITs have slogged really hard to get there . When they come here, they feel there are many others better than them, which would not have been the case back home. Coping with those realities becomes difficult,” Dr. Vijayakumar said. Also, the issue of handling relationships is important. “Youngsters today are so used to getting everything instantly, right from their pizza to money, that they want the same in relationships too. Educational institutes should help them cope with the failures of everyday life.” she said.

166 - 2nd yr IIT student commits suicide - Chennai Online

2nd yr IIT student commits suicidehttp://news.chennaionline.com/newsitem.aspx?NEWSID=24250793-1817-4a1e-8025-937f93a81be2=CHN

Chennai, Apr 9 : A second year student, pursuing civil engineering in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai, committed suicide last evening by hanging himself from the ceiling of a fan, following an alleged love failure.

The student Kuldeep Yadav ended his life at his hostel room 'Narmada' situated inside the IIT campus, police said. Another student who was in the same wing saw Kuldeep hanging from a fan with a nylon rope and informed his friends. 

They broke open the door and rushed Kuldeep, who was gasping for breath, to the IIT hospital. After initial treatment, he was rushed to Fortis Malar Hospital where he died despite best of treatment. The body was shifted to a Government Hospital where the autopsy was done today.

As the news spread, a pall of gloom descended on the IIT campus as the suicide took place on a day when hundreds of students sat for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) to get closer to their IIT dream. Kuldeep Yadav was the son of an Uttar Pradesh-based farmer Yashoda Singh. Police suspect that a failed love affair might have prompted Kuldeep to take the extreme step as they recovered a 'romantic poem' written by him from his hostel room. "We are verifying Kuldeep's mobile call details as part of the investigation," police said.

- Agencies

Apr 09, 2012

165 - IIT Madras student hangs self in hostel - Deccan Chronicle

IIT Madras student hangs self in hostel

• April 9, 2012 DC chennai

Body of IIT student Kuldeep Yadav is shifted from a private hospital in Adyar to GH for post mortem on Sunday evening. — DC

In yet another suicide on IIT Madras campus, Kuldeep Yadav, 20, a second-year civil engineering student, hanged himself in his hostel room Sunday morning. He was a native of Agra.

In 2011, three IIT-M students had committed suicide.

Cops believe Kuldeep took the extreme step because of some problem in his love life. They found a letter containing Hindi words — eight lines — written in English.

“Maybe he was in love with a Hindi-speaking girl. Phone records show he made a few calls to a woman before hanging himself in his room number 111 in Narmada Block,” police said.

An IIT official said: Around 9.45 am, a neighbour saw through a window that Kuldeep was hanging from a nylon rope. He and friends broke open the door to his room and lowered Kuldeep, who was struggling for life, and called for an ambulance.”

Kuldeep was first taken to IIT Hospital around 10 am and later to a private hospital in Adyar, where he died at 2.20 pm in ICU

164 - Suicide shocks IIT as therapy falls short - TNN

Suicide shocks IIT as therapy falls short

M Ramya, TNN Apr 10, 2012, 05.04AM IST

CHENNAI: A day after a second year student Kuldeep Yadav committed suicide, faculty and students of IIT Madras were still in shock, trying to come to terms with the fact that a life was lost despite efforts to counsel students.

"When I heard the news I was devastated because we had set up a system that has helped save many lives," said professor Sivakumar Srinivasan, chief advisor of Mentoring and Individual Transformation (MITR), the revamped guidance and counselling unit at IIT-M. Over the last few months, the institute has tried to sensitize students about education, social life and relationships on campus through MITR.

Dean of students L S Ganesh said the institute had segregated students into groups of BTech and dual degree students, postgraduate students and research scholars, and women students to provide the support each group needed.

Students are mentored by faculty members with a special interest in student welfare. A tele-counselling facility is active round the clock. Academic programmes are being configured to suit students.

He said that information flow was also being streamlined. "We got information about this student within five or 10 minutes. In 20 minutes, he was taken to a private hospital outside campus. It's sad that we could not save him," Ganesh said. Despite being prepared to provide support to students, the faculty admits that they are at a loss when such events happen.

The institute has facilitated individual counselling sessions for the students who tried to save Kuldeep. The girl who was reportedly close to Kuldeep has been sent home. "She has to with her loved ones now. We didn't want her to be disturbed by anybody. After a few days when she knows how to handle the issue, she will be offered the counselling services," Ganesh said.

The faculty said that the incident has pushed them to work harder to offer support to students. "For many it's their first experience away from parental care. We don't want to curtail their freedom. We only want to tell them how to take care," Ganesh said.

163 - IIT students require better mentoring for mental stability' - TNN

IIT students require better mentoring for mental stability'

TNN Apr 9, 2012, 03.29AM IST

CHENNAI: Kuldeep Yadav, a second-year civil engineering student at IIT-M, hanged himself from a ceiling fan in his room. Investigators said a problem in a personal relationship appeared to have prompted the student to end his life. This is the fourth suicide at IIT-M since February 2011.

"He spoke to the friend for around two and a half minutes starting at 8.56am and dialled the same number at 9.27am but the call was not answered," said the investigation officer. "We believe that he hanged himself some time between 9.27am and %9.42 am."

The Kotturpuram police registered a case of suicide and informed Yadav's father, Yasodhar Singh, about the incident. Students and teachers at IIT-M said Yadav was a good student. A faculty member who taught Yadav said he attended classes regularly. "Yadav tended to be silent but always completed work assigned to him on time," he said, expressing shock at the incident.

The faculty member said IIT courses are highly demanding and 85% attendance is necessary to be allowed to take the semester exams. "We need much better mentoring systems to keep a check on the state of mind of students and their mental stability," he said. One of Yadav's friends said he maintained a low profile and used to post Hindi poems on his Facebook page. "He was soft spoken and a brilliant student. It is hard to believe that he is dead," another friend said.

162 - iit-m-student-ends-life-by-hanging-in-room

iit-m-student-ends-life-by-hanging-in-room

http://www.speakchennai.com/index.php/iit-m-student-ends-life-by-hanging-in-room.html

Even as hundreds of students took the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) on Sunday to get closer to their IIT dream, it was a sad day for the students on campus at IIT- Madras. Kuldeep Yadav, a second-year student of civil engineering, allegedly committed suicide on Sunday morning by hanging himself from a fan with a nylon rope.

The incident occurred in a ground floor room of the Narmada hostel at IIT-M, and was first noticed by Kuldeep’s wing-mate. He and his friends immediately broke open the door and lowered the body. As Yadav struggled to breathe, he was taken to the IIT Hospital around 10 a.m. and then to Fortis Malar hospital in Adyar. However, he could not be saved and died around 2.20 p.m.

One of the students said: “The doctors, around noon, told us that there was still a chance, because his pulse was revived but it would take about six hours to know if he was actually out of danger.” The student was then taken to the ICU where he breathed his last.

The body was shifted to the Government Royapettah Hospital from where it was taken to the Kilpauk Medical College. A post mortem examination will be conducted on Monday morning.

Police suspect Kuldeep Yadav, the son of an Uttar Pradesh-based farmer Yashoda Singh, took the extreme step after a failed love affair. A note said to be written by Kuldeep was found by police in his room. “It is a romantic poem in Hindi written in the English script. It has words such as, Tere bina… meri haar. 

We had a language expert translate it for us,” said a police officer.

His mobile phone records are being scrutinised to see whom he had called last night. Kuldeep’s brother has arrived in the city and his parents are on their way. Police said IIT- Madras had agreed to help the family take the body back home.

Originally from Etah in Uttar Pradesh, Kuldeep did his junior college at Aligarh Muslim University. Everything, according to his hostel mates was going right for him. “He had a girlfriend on campus but there were no problems between them. We always thought they were a happy couple,” said a friend. A bright student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 8.5, Kuldeep was keenly interested in his subjects and would often attend seminars out of his own initiative, according to a professor.

He was quite active in class, and would ask questions and upload material online to be shared by all, his friends recalled, adding that he was a sports buff too, interested in football and cricket. He was also the class representative and would take up many student-centric initiatives. “We didn’t expect this from him, of all people. He was such a fun-loving person, cheerful all the time,” said a classmate.

“It was like any other Saturday night for us and he was a guy with no problematic habits. We thought he went for a movie yesterday, after he played board games with us,” the classmate added.

The rising number of suicides among students in colleges is, indeed, alarming. According to data provided by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, IITs reported two suicides in 2010, four in 2009 and five in 2008. In 2011, the figure was seven, three of which were by IIT-M students. To address the rising number of suicides among its students, IIT-M had set up a counselling unit with a tele-counselling facility to offer these services on an anonymous basis around the clock. The issue of suicides at the IITs, say sources, was on the agenda of the last few council meetings of the IIT.

Lakshmi Vijayakumar, psychiatrist and founder of SNEHA, a non-governmental organisation working in the area of suicide prevention said: “When such an incident happens in an IIT, it gets more attention because we see them as high performing institutes where there is an environment of high pressure.”

Except for IIT- Kharagpur that uses absolute scores, all other IITs evaluate their students on the basis of others’ performance which does not foster shared learning and communication, she said, adding: “There is absolutely no need to put up results on open boards. This causes shame to a lot of students.”

The reason driving students to committing suicide may not always be related to academics. “Most students in IITs have slogged really hard to get there . When they come here, they feel there are many others better than them, which would not have been the case back home. Coping with those realities becomes difficult,” Dr. Vijayakumar said. Also, the issue of handling relationships is important. “Youngsters today are so used to getting everything instantly, right from their pizza to money, that they want the same in relationships too. Educational institutes should help them cope with the failures of everyday life.” she said.
Source : http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3294401.ece

161 - IIT-Madras student kills self over love failure - Times of AP

IIT-Madras student kills self over love failure

Published on 9 Apr, 2012 at 14:18 (IST) | National |

Chennai: A second-year civil engineering student of IIT-Madras (IIT-M) committed suicide by hanging himself inside the campus hostel room in Guindy on Sunday. Police said a vexatious love affair could have been the reason behind the extreme step taken by the youth.

It was around 9.45 am and Kuldeep Yadav of Agra in UP had not emerged from his room No 111 in the Narmada Hostel. As repeated knocking did not elicit any response, his classmate Krishna Rao looked through the window and saw Yadav’s legs dangling in the air.

Students broke open the window and, opening the door latch, entered the room. They found that Yadav had hanged himself with a nylon rope from the fan.

An IIT-M official said the students called an ambulance and took him to the campus hospital at 10 am and later to a hospital in Adyar. Yadav’s pulse was revived and he was placed in the ICU, where he died at 2.20 pm. “He was academically bright,” said a senior faculty member.

Investigating officer K Ramesh told Express that the body had been sent to KMCH for autopsy. Yadav’s father Yashodhar Singh, a farmer, was informed and he was on his way to Chennai. A search was conducted in Yadav’s room and a diary, with entries in Hindi and English, was seized, he said.

Yadav did not leave behind any suicide note, but a message received by him on his cellphone from a woman batchmate on Sunday indicated that a failing love affair could have prompted him to end his life, Ramesh said.

Three IIT-M students, including a HAL engineer, had committed suicide last year.

160 - Exam stress, failed love drive students to suicide - TNN

Exam stress, failed love drive students to suicide

Karthikeyan Hemalatha, TNN Apr 9, 2012, 03.31AM IST

CHENNAI: Non-governmental organisations working to prevent suicides in the city are preparing to be inundated with calls over the next three months, when summer peaks and there is an ominous increase in the number of people, especially students, who end their lives.

City-based NGO Sneha received most calls in April, May and June last year. The number of calls went up by three to four times the average. "We received 26 calls in April, 99 in May and 52 in June. We usually get around 15 calls a month from students," said Sneha founder and doctor Lakshmi Vijayakumar.

Students in the city seem to be failing to cope with examination stress or failure in relationships. "The problem is when you peg self-esteem on one aspect of life. When you fail in that aspect, there seem to be no other choice," Vijayakumar said.

Tamil Nadu has the highest number of suicides in the country, accounting for 12.3% of all suicide deaths in the country, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau. A total of 240 people in the state committed suicide due to academic failure in 2011, with almost 10% of the cases in Chennai. In the same year, there were 588 deaths due to failure in love. Of these, 61 were reported in Chennai.

Three students of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras committed suicide in 2011. Kuldeep Yadav, the student who ended his life on Sunday, was the sixth IIT-M student to commit suicide since October 2008.

Nitin Kumar Reddy hanged himself in May 2011 and V Anoop committed suicide in February 24. According to their classmates at IIT-M, they were under academic pressure, with both their theses being overdue by at least six months. 

"Incidentally, both of them were under the same professor who gave them both extensions to finish their theses," said a student who did not want to be named.

Sneha's Vijayakumar said there are several factors that lead to extreme academic pressure in the IITs. "One is a ranking system which shows performance relative to others and the other is the autonomous nature of the system. There is very minimal external evaluation and if a student gets into the bad books of a professor, things can get very bad," she said.

Yadav's suicide will only be added to the statistics as there is no real support system in the city. Madras Christian College in Tambaram has found a way to curb suicides on campus. "All the fans have been removed in the hostels to prevent suicides by hanging. All the students now have air coolers," a former student said.

159 - IIT Madras: Drifting from liberal campus to island of exclusivity - IBN Live

IBN Chennai | Posted on Aug 28, 2012 at 02:56pm IST

IIT Madras: Drifting from liberal campus to island of exclusivity

The New Indian Express

Coimbatore: Incidents during the past week at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Madras) have left me bewildered and worried. Not because a photographer colleague was assaulted on the campus but more so the way the institute’s administration is mishandling the development. As someone who loved following the highs and lows in the higher education sector for nearly a decade, I am rather concerned about the drift in the IIT Madras – from that of a liberal campus to an island of exclusivity.

The IIT- M was one of the few open academic campuses, not withstanding the fact that it resisted social inclusiveness in the admission of students and recruitment of faculty. It was an institution where professors never waited for the elusive permission from the Director to talk to the media.

Ten years ago, I had to just call Deputy Registrar (Placement and Public Relations) Pattabiraman unmindful of what hour it was for a story. Almost instantly he would brief you the genesis of the issue. Later Prema Chakrapani took over from him and then it was Lt Col Jayakumar. Their style of functioning was never a hurdle for journalists. It was not a mandate to go through the PR Department.

In 2003, when there was a cholera outbreak at one of the hostels, I moved around freely at dinner time poring through the mess feedback records in which every second student had complained about the bad quality of food. Later, when I called Prof Gokhale, the then Dean (Students), he readily admitted that there was an outbreak. His successor Prof V G Idichandy, who retired as Deputy Director, too never shied away from commenting even on hostel suicides.

In 2008, when a PG student committed suicide I went along with a photographer and the hostel warden opened the room where the boy had hung himself. He also directed us how to get a ‘live’ photograph of the victim from the hostel records.

Even students were treated maturely. The IIT-M boasts of vibrant student councils whose office-bearers could put professional PRs to shame. The generous media coverage for their two annual fests Saarang and Shaastra is an example.

But there is a disturbing tendency now to function in exclusivity. The trend began when the previous Director M S Ananth started receiving negative media coverage over massive infrastructural constructions on the campus and questionable spending of alumni fund.

The latest incident where a professor is “missing” after assaulting a news photographer has led to loud talks of how to block access to journalists – described by some senior faculty as “scheming, insensitive, conceited folks”. 

Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, the IIT-M Director, must initiate steps to bury the hatchet.

(By D Suresh Kumar)

158 - IIT students, staff protest media glare - TNN

IIT students, staff protest media glare

TNN Aug 28, 2012, 03.34AM IST

CHENNAI: Staff and students of IIT Madras organized a candlelight vigil on Monday evening on the campus in response to the media glare on the institution after a photographer was allegedly beaten up when he went there to cover a suicide on August 21.

A press release from the IIT said, "we only appeal to all those involved to stand up for the truth. Our only desire is to let truth prevail."

"It has been a painful few days for us. We have seen that truth has not prevailed. Our women students feel harassed when photographed against their wishes, and we are not allowed to even point this out," the release said.

"We cannot even stand up for the truth. It makes us angry and want to fight back. But we will not retaliate. We will fight for truth to prevail."

Readers' opinions (4)

Sort by:Newest|Oldest

Dr.Chandran Peechulli (Chennai) 

28 Aug, 2012 08:50 AM

STRONGLY PROTEST to Staff and IIT Madras Management in politicising the situation, taking their students to their own fold in politicising the situation to cover up their administrative lapses. As IIT’s, are our nation’s prestigious institution of higher learning, constituting brilliant students admitted on merit. In this age of transparency when the citizen are honoured to know the truth as per RTI 2005 Act. Truth should not be concealed by cheap tactics. The Govt. of India has approved e-governance through social media for the public to participate and interact, for real true expositions of the facts and early corrective action.

Abheek (Chennai) replies to Dr.Chandran Peechulli 

28 Aug, 2012 02:36 PM

I was a part of the protest...and no one was forced to join it. Everyone in IIT knows what happened that day and what the media said is certainly not the truth. We just want the journalists to follow the motto of our nation. Satyamev Jayate.

shubhangi (Bangalore) replies to Dr.Chandran Peechulli 

28 Aug, 2012 01:44 PM

yes, I think its better to be violent in to prevail truth rather be quiet to cover impotence

HypocriteJounalist (Chennai) replies to Dr.Chandran Peechulli 

28 Aug, 2012 11:33 AM

If the journalists use the help of politicians, it is not politicising. If the journalists ask other journalists to come in large numbers to make a loud protest in front of a police station, it is not politicisng. But if the staff send an e-mail to the students to voluntarily (on their own wish, without pressurizing) take part in a silent vigil, it is termed as politicising. Do you journalists know the word "hypocricy" ? One never ever sees a journalist criticizing another journalist. Or are they above mistakes ? One need not go beyond the issue of "paid news" and how those reports were cunningly and stealthily swept under the carpet. How convenient.

157 - Famous People Who Failed and Succeeded instead of Committing Suicide

Famous People Who Failed At First

Business Gurus 

1. Henry Ford

Ford is known for his innovative success but he failed five times before he founded the FORD Company. 

2. R. H. Macy 

Before the success of MACY, he failed in seven businesses and finally succeeded with his new store. 

3. Soichiro Honda

The billion-dollar business, that is Honda, started initially with a series of failures. He started making scooters of his own at home and spurred on by his neighbors, finally started his own business. 

4. Bill Gates 

Gates didn't seem like a shoe-in for success after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. 

5. Harland David Sanders 

Sanders founded KFC and his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it. 

                                                  

6. Walt Disney

Walt Disney had a bit of a rough start and he was fired by a newspaper editor because, 'he lacked imagination and had no good ideas'. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked. 

Scientists 

                                                  

 7. Albert Einstein 

Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, and his teachers and parents thought he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. But he caught on pretty well in the end, winning the Nobel Prize and changing the face of modern physics. 

8. Charles Darwin 

In his early years, Darwin gave up on having a medical career and considered as a lazy boy. Now, Darwin is well-known for his scientific studies. 

9. Isaac Newton 

Newton was failed so many times in his school days and was sent off to Cambridge where he finally blossomed into the scholar we know today. 

10. Thomas Edison 

Edison was fired for being unproductive In his early years. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. 

11. Orville and Wilbur Wright 

After numerous attempts at creating flying machines, several years of hard work, and tons of failed prototypes, the brothers finally created a plane. 

Public Figures 

12. Winston Churchill 

This Nobel Prize-winning, twice-elected Prime Minster of the United Kingdom struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. After many years of political failures, finally became the Prime Minister at the ripe old age of 62. 

13. Abraham Lincoln 

After Lincoln was failed many times in business and defeated in numerous runs, he became a greatest leader. 

14. Oprah Winfrey 

Oprah faced a rough and abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks in her life to become one of the most iconic faces on TV. 

Writers and Artists 

15. Steven Spielberg 

Spielberg's name was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three times. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, Spielberg returned to school in 2002 to finally complete his work and earn his BA. 

16. J. K. Rowling 

Rowling may be rolling in a lot of Harry Potter dough today, but before she published the series of novels she was nearly penniless, severely depressed, divorced, trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel. 

Athletes 

17. Michael Jordan 

Most people wouldn't believe that a man often lauded as the best basketball player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team. 'I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.'

156 - More news on IITK Student Vadityas Nehru's Suicide

State students not creative enough for IIT standards
The Hindu - ‎14 hours ago‎

The joy of reaching their dream destination is turning out to be a short-lived one, apparently due to a faulty training system that only prepares students to enter the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The suicide of an IIT Kanpur student, Vaditya ...

IITian commits suicide in Andhra Pradesh
Times of India - ‎16 hours ago‎

KANPUR: An IIT-Kanpur student V Nehru (20) committed suicide by consuming poison at Abdulapurmet near Hayathnagar in Andhra Pradesh. The incident had taken place on Wednesday. Nehru was a first year Btech student in the institute and he had been ...

Parents unaware of IITian's mental trauma
Times of India - ‎16 hours ago‎

HYDERABAD: V Nehru, a native of PA Palle mandal, Nalgonda district was the first generation student from his village which has about 15 households. He bagged 17th rank in the ST category in IIT-JEE and made it to IIT-Kanpur. Nehru, a Lambada boy, ...

IIT Kanpur student ends life in city
The Hindu - ‎Aug 24, 2012‎

A student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur, Vaditya Nehru, ended his life by consuming poison at Hayathnagar on city outskirts, the police said on Thursday. The body of the 20-year-old student hailing from a thanda near Miryalguda of ...

Hyderabad: Another IIT student commits suicide
IBNLive.com - ‎Aug 23, 2012‎

Close on the heels of a Karimnagar student committing student at IIT Madras two days ago, another belonging to IIT Kanpur killed himself by consuming poison in Hayatnagar here on Thursday. He had reportedly been rusticated from the institute. According to ...

Slipping at IIT, student ends life
Times of India - ‎Aug 23, 2012‎

HYDERABAD: An IIT-Kanpur student, who was terminated by his college for poor performance in academics, committed suicide by consuming poison after his parents came to know about his dismissal. The student ended his life at a deserted place in ...

IIT-Kanpur student commits suicide in Andhra Pradesh
Daily Bhaskar - ‎12 hours ago‎

Kanpur: V Nehru (20), a first year student of IIT-Kanpur consumed poison at Abdullapurmet near Hayathnagar (AP). Nehru had failed in his first and second semester papers in engineering and his admission had been terminated due to this. As per a report in ...

155 - State students not creative enough for IIT standards - The Hindu

State students not creative enough for IIT standards

R. Ravikanth Reddy

Students are trained to crack the JEE, but education at IITs emphasises on creative work and capability to learn new things fast. Unfortunately, these students are poor on both counts

The joy of reaching their dream destination is turning out to be a short-lived one, apparently due to a faulty training system that only prepares students to enter the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

The suicide of an IIT Kanpur student, Vaditya Nehru, has once again brought to fore the pressure on State students to perform at the IITs. It has also exposed the mismatch of quality of training they get at the Intermediate level and the stringent academic standards maintained at the institutes.

The rote mode of learning and getting trained to crack the IIT-JEE are the banes, apart from the inability to handle the pressure in such a competitive atmosphere.

Nehru, who hails from Miryalaguda, allegedly took the extreme step unable to match the academic standards. Last year, L. Nitin Kumar Reddy of Chittoor committed suicide in IIT Madras for similar reasons.

There have been quite a few earlier too, apart from those who have made unsuccessful attempts. In most cases, academic pressure was the main reason.

“In IITs they are exposed to a totally different academic style, unlike what they learn in junior colleges, and unfortunately, they are not prepared well,” says R.V. Raja Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of RGUKT, who was a faculty at IIT Kharagpur earlier. “Their conceptual understanding is less. They get admissions due to the grinding they go through for the entrance exam.”

Interestingly, some professors from Andhra Pradesh working in IITs conducted an internal study to pinpoint the lacunae among Telugu students. Their study found that most of them lack creative skills or they don’t adapt to the new system easily. Education at IITs emphasises on creative work and capability to learn new things fast. Unfortunately, they are poor on both counts.

A teacher says that IITians from the State can be divided into three groups. The first one constituting around 25 per cent are exceptionally good while the second group constituting about another 40 per cent work hard to overcome their inherent deficiencies. The problem is with the remaining 35 per cent who fail to rise up to the IIT standards.

“The pressure is on two counts – to perform according to their JEE rank status, and perform after adapting to a totally different academic style competing with the best minds from different parts of the country. Majority of our students lack that competitiveness,” says an IIT trainer. “Andhra Pradesh accounts for nearly 18 per cent of all successful IIT aspirants in the country, thanks to the aggression of the corporate colleges’ training but not quality preparation.”

“The IITs on their part offer total assistance to academically weak students, and  it’s a manageable issue,” says U.B. Desai, Director, IIT Hyderabad. “But what they need is support from parents and friends back home, who generally have huge expectations. Unfortunately, there are few channels for the frustrated students to confide and seek solutions, and that leads to suicides,” says C. Veerender, a counsellor.

154 - IIT Kanpur student ends life in city

IIT Kanpur student ends life in city

HYDERABAD, August 24, 2012

A student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur, Vaditya Nehru, ended his life by consuming poison at Hayathnagar on city outskirts, the police said on Thursday.

The body of the 20-year-old student hailing from a thanda near Miryalguda of Nalgonda district was found in open land near Brilliant Engineering College in Abdullahpurmet. A resident of the locality found the body with froth near the mouth around 4 p.m. and alerted the police. Based on a wallet and a mobile phone found in his trousers, the police eventually identified him as Nehru. “A second year engineering student, Nehru failed in some subjects and ended his life dejected over this,” the Hayathangar Inspector, G. Srinivas Kumar, said.

The youngster came to Hyderabad four months ago and was living in a private hostel in KPBH Colony.

153 - Recent media report related to IIT Madras

Recent media report related to IIT Madras

Dear Alumnus/ Alumna,

IIT Madras deeply regrets the untimely demise of Ms. Merugu Manasa, a first-year M.Tech. student in Chemical Engineering. Some of you may have read related accounts involving a photographer and a faculty member of the Institute. It is important to realize that in the context of this incident, our girl students have been the principal victims, and not the photographer. The Institute and officials concerned have been acting with great restraint in trying to close the issue, but are taking all necessary steps in parallel to ensure that the facts are not lost sight of. The photographer insisted on taking live photos of grieving girl students despite their objections, and despite pleas from Dean-Students, Warden-Sarayu and Student Hostel Affairs Secretary. When he was about to to leave without deleting objectionable photos, Chairman, Council of Wardens (CCW) attempted to stop him and received a few punches. At that time, CCW did retaliate in self-defence, but was quickly restrained. The photographer was then guided to the Administrative Block.

Notwithstanding the above sequence of events, CCW regrets that he, a senior Professor of the Institute, was driven to act in the above manner, in order to stand up for the dignity, privacy and security of the lady students.

We solicit your understanding and support....

Prof. R. Nagarajan
Advisor, Office of Alumni Affairs
IIT Madras

152 - A Student Commits Suicide at IIT Kanpur

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

A Student Commits Suicide at IIT Kanpur

Here is the communique we received from Director's office:

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur deeply regrets to inform the tragic and untimely death of Mr. Mahtab Ahmed (Roll No. 11397), a first year student of B. Tech in the Department of Material Science and Engineering on September 22, 2011 at around 5:00 PM.

Mr. Mahtab Ahmed was born on June 18, 1994. He was a bright student and was quiet disciplined. Mr. Mahtab Ahmed hailed from Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh. He was staying in D-307, Hall 9 in the Institute.

The entire community of the Institute, comprising students, faculty and staff members is deeply aggrieved by the unfortunate death of a young and bright student of the Institute. The entire IIT Kanpur community is by the side of the parents and family members of the departed soul in this hour of grief and extends its heartfelt condolences.

We all pray to God Almighty for bestowing peace upon the departed soul and give courage to the bereaved family members for bearing this irreparable loss.

Update on 23rd Sep: Here are links sent by Pavan (In comments, they are not clickable, hence putting them here again):

facebook page of Mahtab where he suggests that he might not live long.

Another picture from facebook page of Mahtab

151 - IIT-M apologises, but still defiant - The Hindu

IIT-M apologises, but still defiant

STAFF REPORTER

IIT-Madras apologised to the photo-journalist who was assaulted while he was on the campus on Tuesday for coverage of the suicide. “IIT-Madras regrets this unfortunate incident and apologizes to the concerned photo-journalist and the media at large.  We hope to enjoy cordial relationships with the media as in the past,” the institution’s director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said in a statement.

At the same time, he alleged the “unfortunate altercation” followed the photo-journalist insisting on “continuing to take close-up photographs of grieving girl students in gross violation of Press Council of India norms.” He urged the media to reflect on the “ethical dimensions” of the conduct of the photo-journalist in the context of the student’s demise.

However, the photographer who was assaulted, Albin Mathew, said he had obtained permission from the dean of students to take pictures. It was because he had refused to delete the pictures that he was assaulted. The professor called security guards to hold him while he punched him on his face and tried to take his camera away. The photographer decided to press charges.

 In a later development, IIT-Madras issued an elaborate statement alleging that the photographer had taken “objectionable” close-up pictures of grieving women students, a charge that Mr. Mathew denied. IIT-Madras claimed that the photographer had punched the chairman of council of wardens, an allegation that was not made earlier. 

On Wednesday morning, a large number of reporters from both the print and visual media staged a demonstration in Sembakkam near Tambaram, protesting the assault.

The Tamil Nadu Press Photographers’ Association has demanded that the institute takes stern action against those involved in the attack.  Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko demanded police action. 

150 - Reporters Guild calls for action - IBN Live

Chennai | Posted on Aug 22, 2012 at 08:20am IST

Reporters Guild calls for action

The Madras Reporters Guild on Tuesday condemned the management of IIT Madras for detaining and assaulting a press photographer of the New Indian Express, Albin Mathew, on the IIT campus on Tuesday while he was on a professional assignment.

In a statement here, R Rangaraj, president of the Guild and D Sekar, secretary, said Mathew was detained by a professor and security personnel of the IIT for taking pictures of the block and groups of students who were discussing the death of a girl student there. When the photographer resisted, the professor called in security personnel as well and assaulted Mathew.

The Guild demanded that necessary action be taken by the top management of IIT-M and police against those involved in the assault and attempted cover-up.

149 - MDMK Chief Flays Attack on Photojournalist- Outlook India

MDMK Chief Flays Attack on Photojournalist PTI | CHENNAI | AUG 22, 2012 MDMK leader Vaiko today condemned the alleged assault on a photojournalist by an IIT-Madras professor and sought police action. Vaiko said journalists and media houses work towards highlighting "injustice and scams," and attack on such professionals amounts to attack on democracy. "To prevent such instances (from recurring), police should take action against those assaulting journalists and ensure their protection," he said in a statement. Various media bodies have also slammed the attack. A lensman of Chennai-based 'The New Indian Express,' Mathew was allegedly attacked by an IIT-M professor and some security guards inside the institution on Tuesday when he had gone there for covering the suicide of a girl student.

148 - IIT-Madras don assaults Express lensman - IBN Live

Chennai | Posted on Aug 22, 2012 at 08:20am IST

IIT-Madras don assaults Express lensman

A photojournalist of The New Indian Express was attacked by a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras for shooting pictures in connection with the suicide of a girl student at the campus hostel.

Lensman Albin Mathew was deputed to take pictures of the Sarayu Extension-II hostel where first-year M Tech student Nerugu Manasa allegedly committed suicide. That is part of professional work of any news photographer, but IIT-M’s Prof Prakash M Maiya had other ideas.

While Mathew was on his way out of the campus, Maiya and a bunch of security personnel intercepted him. They asked him to show the pictures he had clicked and insisted that they be deleted. Mathew naturally refused.

The annoyed professor and five security guards then got physical. While the securitymen pinned him down, the don punched Mathew’s face and rained blows on other parts of the body. Mathew sustained external injuries in the upper lip region and internal injuries in the right chest and the left rear shoulder.

The security guards then took Mathew to the IIT-M’s Administrative Building and detained him for about an hour until policemen arrived on the scene to rescue him after Express took up the matter with the police top brass. Mathew went straight to the Kotturpuram police station and lodged a complaint. He was then taken to the Royapettah Government General Hospital where doctors administered first aid.

IIT-M Dean of Students L S Ganesh later tried to pacify a bunch of agitated journalists and apologised for the episode, terming it as unfortunate.

147 - Student commits suicide - The Hindu

Student commits suicide

CHENNAI, August 22, 2012

STAFF REPORTER

Barely two weeks after she joined college, Manasa Merugu (21), a first-year M.Tech student of IIT Madras, committed suicide in her hostel room on campus on Tuesday afternoon. Police said family problems led her to take the extreme step.

Manasa, who was a B.Tech graduate from a private college in Ananthapur, Andhra Pradesh, was pursuing a specialisation in Chemical Engineering. The student was a resident of Sarayu Extension on the IIT-M campus. She hails from Ramagundam in Karim Nagar district of Andhra Pradesh. Records at IIT show the 21-year-old was married to a man called Srinivas from Andhra Pradesh.

Police sources said the incident would have happened around 2.30 p.m. and they were informed at 4.30 p.m.

“We found out when the carpenter had gone to the room and she did not open the door. He had to climb up the wall and saw through the window, after which we broke open the door,” said the hostel watchman.

M.Tech classes in the institute started on August 1.

A helper at the women’s hostels said, “She had gone home for the last three days. When she came back on Tuesday at 7 a.m., she looked a little upset and did not go to classes. I went to clean the room in the morning and she said she will leave in a while. None of her roommates were in the room then,” she said.

A senior professor in IIT said the suicide could not have been due to stress or academic rigour because the course had just started.

This is the second suicide this year on the IIT-M campus. According to data provided by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the IITs reported two suicides in 2010, four in 2009 and five in 2008. In 2011, the figure was seven, three of which were by IIT-M students.

News Photographer assaulted

The scene outside the hostel where the IIT student committed suicide turned ugly after Albin Mathew, a news photographer of The New Indian Express, was assaulted by an IIT professor and security guards while he was taking shots of the building.

A senior professor, along with a few guards, assaulted Mathew and took him away to the administrative office where he was held captive till the police arrived. Senior IIT staff expressed regret for the incident. One of the staff members said, the attack was not intentional and the men were only trying to prevent the lensman from taking shots of the female students.

The injured Mathew lodged a complaint with the Kotturpuram police. He was later taken to the Government Royapettah for treatment.

The Madras Reporters' Guild condemned the assault of the photographer and demanded action by the IIT management and the police against those involved in it.

146 - IIT-Madras student commits suicide - Deccan Herald

IIT-Madras student commits suicide

Chennai, August 21, 2012, DHNS:

The suicide by a 22-year-old girl student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) -Madras at her  campus hostel room on Tuesday sent shock waves across the state.

The student, Manasa, who joined the MTech Programme in chemical engineering three weeks ago, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel room this afternoon, sources in IIT-Madras told Deccan Herald here.

Hailing from Karim Nagar District of Andhra Pradesh, Manasa, apparently, left no suicide note, according to police sources, even as investigations by the jurisdictional Kotturpuram Police was continuing late this evening. The victim had used a ‘dupatta’ to hang herself, sources added. “It is extremely shocking and painful,” a faculty member at IIT-Madras said.

The tragedy has plunged the student community at the campus into gloom. Manasa’s body has been recovered by police and kept in a Government Hospital mortuary here.

145 - AP girl found dead in IIT-Madras - Deccan Chronicle

AP girl found dead in IIT-Madras

• August 22, 2012 DC Chennai/Hyderabad

A first year M.Tech (chemical engineering) student from Andhra Pradesh committed suicide in her hostel room at IIT Madras on Tuesday afternoon dashing the hopes of her father, a carpenter from Karimnagar. S. Merugu Manasa, 22, from Godavarikhani, Karimnagar, had arrived in Chennai recently and though the police is yet to ascertain the motive behind her suicide, authorities said that she had got married recently wit-hout informing her parents.

According to the police, Manasa, who had joined the Indian Institute of Technology on August 1, attended the lecture in the morning and had returned to her room at the Sarayu hostel extension in the afternoon. One of her friends, Jothi, came to the hostel at 4 pm and saw that the door was locked from inside. Suspecting something amiss, she informed the hostel warden. The door was broken open and Manasa was found hanging from the ceiling with her dupatta.

144 - M Tech student ends life - Asian Age

M Tech student ends life

• • Aug 22, 2012 | Dc | Chennai

A First Year M.Tech (Chemical Engineering) student at IIT Madras committed suicide in her hostel room on Tuesday afternoon.

S. Merugu Manasa, 22, from Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh was reportedly married and had arrived in the city only on Tuesday morning.

Police are yet to find the reason behind her suicide.According to cops, Manasa, who had joined the institute on August 1, attended the lecture session in the morning on Tuesday and later returned to her room at the Sarayu hostel extension in the afternoon.

Her friend, Jothi, returned to the hostel at 4 pm and saw that the door was locked from inside. Suspecting something amiss, she informed the hostel warden. The door was eventually broken open and Manasa was found hanging from the ceiling with her dupatta.

The IIT administration informed the Kotturpuram police who recovered Manasa’s body and sent it to the Government General Hospital at Royapettah for autopsy. Police say that Manasa could have committed suicide between 1 pm and 4 pm.

They also say that Manasa had allegedly married one Srinivasa Minisala, a software engineer in Hyderabad, a few months ago without their parents’ knowledge. Her father Rajesh Shiyam and family live in Karimnagar.

“We informed Manasa’s uncle about her death. He was surprised to know that she had got married and refused to accept the same. We have also informed her husband Minisala, who is on his way to Chennai.

We tried to open her laptop and cell phone but did not have the password,” said an official.

We are yet to ascertain the reason for her death. We have registered a case under IPC Section 174,” said an official.