UPSC job aspirant commits suicide in Hyderabad

UPSC job aspirant commits suicide in Hyderabad

By Telangana Today 

 Published: 28th Jun 2021 12:30 am

Hyderabad: A UPSC job aspirant committed suicide by hanging in his room in Chikkadpally on Saturday night.

 According to the police, K Satish Reddy (27), who was pursuing his studies at IIT Kharagpur, stayed at a room in Ashoknagar, Chikkadpally. 

In the last few years, he had appeared for the prelims of UPSC but had failed to clear it.

“The family members of the man informed that Satish slipped into depression after failing to clear the UPSC prelims. 

He might have ended his life over it, they suspect,” said Chikkadpally police. 

A case under Section 174 of CrPC was registered and investigation is going on.

Class 12 Topper Who Cracked IIT Entrance Exam Dies By Suicide In Himachal's Mandi

Class 12 Topper Who Cracked IIT Entrance Exam Dies By Suicide In Himachal's Mandi

The reason behind the death is unknown and every angle related to the incident is being investigated by police.

A21-years-old youth died by suicide in Bhojpur area under the Sundernagar police limits in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, Police said on Tuesday.

The deceased, identified as Shubhankar, was a class 12 topper of his school and had passed the entrance examination for admission to IIT. His body was found hanging with a rope on a ceiling fan in his home. The Police sent the body to Civil Hospital Sundernagar for post-mortem and the report is awaited.

According to the police, the incident happened late on Tuesday night when the family members had gone out of the house for a walk.

Gurbachan Singh, DSP Sundernagar said family members were shocked upon finding Shubhankar. They hurriedly brought him down and took him to the hospital, where the doctors declared him brought dead.

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On Wednesday, a team from Sundernagar Police Station Sundernagar handed over the body to the family members after conducting the post-mortem.

Shubhankar’s father is a principal in a government school and the mother has left her job to take care of the children and household work.

The reason behind the death is unknown. According to the police, every angle related to the incident is being investigated. The police have also seized the rope and other material found on the incident spot for further investigation.

For support to deal with stress, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts reach out to these official helplines -

All-India helpline number:022 2754 6669

Connecting NGO helpline: 9922004305, 9922001122

email: distressmailsconnecting@gmail.com

IIT Delhi: BTech student’s death on June 1 was by suicide

IIT Delhi: BTech student’s death on June 1 was by suicide

IIT Delhi administration confirmed to students in an email that the third-year BTech student’s death was by suicide.

IIT Delhi: BTech student’s death on June 1 was by suicide

Pritha Roy Choudhury | 

Jun 7, 2021 - 3:23 p.m. IST

NEW DELHI: A third-year student of mechanical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology ( IIT) Delhi, Hari Prasath, died in his hostel on campus on June 1. 

The institute has confirmed in an email to the IIT community that it was death by suicide.

The email from dean students’ welfare, IIT Delhi, sent on June 4 said: "He was an introvert [student], His parents, friends and counsellors have confirmed that he was being treated for depression. A suicide note, handed over to the SHO confirms that this was death by suicide."

“He approached the hostel security guard after midnight, told him that he had poisoned himself and then fell unconscious. He was immediately rushed to the IIT Delhi hospital and from there to AIIMS but we were unable to save him,” said the email.

Prasath was undergoing treatment for depression on the campus. Until the end of the second year, Prasath was doing well at IIT Delhi. After that he began to struggle with studies, the letter said. Prasath had left all his class groups on messaging applications. He had also withdrawn from social media.

No ‘F’ during COVID-19

A section of students from the institute has issued a statement arguing that many reasons must have pushed him to take the drastic step. They statement says language barrier and cultural isolation is one of the major issues on campus. 

“The campus failed to become a place where our friend could feel a sense of belonging and was left with a very small circle of close friends with whom he could communicate,” it said.

The students had demanded a "fully empowered institute-level commission" with at least 50 percent members from students to investigate what happened to Hari Prasath. They demand that reports on past student suicides must be made accessible and all investigations into all suicides be thorough and time-bound.

"The efficacy of counselling services of IIT Delhi should be independently evaluated. Apart from targeted and general counselling sessions for students, the institute should also develop a mandatory sensitisation programme for faculty members," said the statement. They also demanded that "autonomous forums" be established for students from backward communities.

They also demanded a committee be formed to explore why a particular section of students belonging to a particular social and linguistic background remain absent from student clubs and bodies.

The students’ statement said that Prasath consistently received ‘F’ grades over the past and current semester. The students now demand the IITs do not award ‘F’ grade to any student during a pandemic.
‘Suicides can be prevented’

The letter from the institute finally said: “We would like to reiterate that suicides can be prevented. In Hari’s case, in spite of his own efforts (e.g., at seeking treatment on campus) we were unable to save him. But please know that there are other cases, where timely help – from the psychiatrist and counsellors, from friends, family and faculty – has been able to prevent such incidents. In order to prevent such losses in the future, we can all do more. Meanwhile, we hope that those who feel vulnerable will approach our counsellors on campus who are just a call/email away as well as YourDost who also offer chatbox sessions.”

The IITs have lost several students in the past few years. A first-year student of IIT Delhi died in hospital after a suicide bid on campus in 2019.

The IITs also lost a number of students to COVID. In April this year, a PhD student of IIT Delhi died of COVID-19 after going home. Also in April, an IIT Roorkee student in quarantine died after testing negative for the virus. In May, an IIT Kanpur student succumbed to the black fungus, an added complication brought on by COVID-19 treatment.

If you, or anyone you know, needs help, AASRA has a list of resources here: http://www.aasra.info/helpline.html

Write to us at news@careers360.com.

IIT Delhi: Third-year mechanical engineering student dies in hostel,

IIT Delhi: Third-year mechanical engineering student dies in hostel

The student was in B.Tech mechanical engineering. IIT Delhi director V Ramgopal Rao said it is not established yet how he died and investigations are on.

An IIT Delhi mechanical engineering student has died on campus. (Image: IIT Delhi)
Pritha Roy Choudhury 

| Jun 1, 2021 - 4:30 p.m. IST

NEW DELHI: A third-year student of mechanical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Hari Prasath, died at his hostel after midnight, on June 1. IIT Delhi director, V Ramgopal Rao, confirming the death, told Careers360 that “It's still not established how he died. Investigations are on.” Students, however, believe it was suicide.

Other IIT Delhi students, asking not to be named, told Careers360 that he was from Chennai and staying in Satpura hostel on campus. IIT Delhi stopped the return of students to campus in late March due to the rise in cases of COVID-19 in the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. It permitted students to go home in mid-April.

Students said Hari Prasath had been a bright student who had begun to struggle with his studies lately and to withdraw from others. He had left all his class groups on messaging applications and social media. He had been saying he “needed a break”. According to them, Rao, however, said: “Right now we can't say suicide. It's a death on the campus.”

'A difficult time'

In an email sent to students late afternoon on Tuesday, IIT Delhi's dean student affairs wrote: "With deep grief and sorrow, this is to inform you all about the sad and sudden demise of our student Mr. Hari Prasath, resident of Satpura Hostel. Last night his health condition suddenly deteriorated and was taken to AIIMS immediately, but unfortunately, he could not survive. His family has been informed about this and will soon be reaching here."

The letter further said: "We are all going through a very difficult time, and we hope that all IIT Delhi community members will do whatever is possible to support each other."

IIT Delhi has lost several students over the past few years. In November 2019, a first year student died in hospital after a suicide bid on campus. 

In December 2019, the education ministry had told Parliament that 50 IIT students had died by suicide over the previous five years and the large number in late 2019, had prompted much debate and discussion.

However, this year, IITs have lost students mainly to COVID-19. In April this year, a PhD student of IIT Delhi died of COVID-19 after going home. Also in April, an IIT Roorkee student in quarantine died after testing negative for the virus. In May, an IIT Kanpur student succumbed to the black fungus, an added complication brought on by COVID-19 treatment.

If you, or anyone you know, needs help, AASRA has a list of resources here: http://www.aasra.info/helpline.html

Write to us at news@careers360.com.

MERITOCRACY VS RESERVATION,

THE SO CALLED 

MERITOCRACY IN IIT'S IS LINKED TO AFFLUENCE 

AS DEPICTED BELOW

A CHILD FROM AN AFFLUENT FAMILY USING AN iPAD

RESERVATION IS LINKED TO ABJECT POVERTY 

GIVING HOPE TO THE ABOVE AVERAGE BUT POOR STUDENT

ATTENDING 

KOTA COACHING SCHOOLS 

PAYING LAKHS OF RUPEES 

AND 

SECURING A RANK IN THE 

IIT JEE ENTRANCE EXAM 

IS NOT WHAT I CALL 

"MERITOCRACY"

THEY ARE IN FACT NERDS WHO CRAM UP BOOKS AND REGURGITATE AT EXAMS

BELIEVE IT OR NOT IN MY IITM BATCH OF 1970 WITH ABOUT 45 STUDENTS OR SO THE BOTTOM 15 WERE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE THAN THE TOP 15 NERDS

Tamil Brahmins were the earliest to frame merit as a caste claim, and it showed in IITs by Ajanta Subramaniam

Tamil Brahmins were the earliest to frame merit as a caste claim, and it showed in IITs

Studies on the Indian diaspora in the US can lead one to conclude that caste largely vanishes beyond boundaries of India. The story of IIT students suggests otherwise.

AJANTHA SUBRAMANIAN 

18 January, 2020 3:50 pm IST

IIT Madras | Photo: Facebook

Mass coaching and reservations brought new groups into the IITs and radically transformed the demographic makeup of these institutions. As a result, the social profile of the IITian as part of an urban, upper-caste middle class has given way to a more diverse student body. In reaction to these trends, upper-caste IITians have attempted to shore up their representative status by claiming the mantle of meritocracy. This has involved a robust politics of distinction through which the coached are distinguished from the gifted, and the reserved category from the general category. In the process, a consolidated form of upper casteness has emerged and, in the context of Indian higher education, acquired unique salience. We have also seen the role of Tamil Nadu as an important precedent in the shift from a universalistic to a more identitarian expression of upper-caste identity.

As targets of Non-Brahminism and Dravidianism, Tamil Brahmins were the earliest to frame merit as a caste claim. Their marking as Brahmins produced forms of self-marking as a tactic of meritocratic claim-making. With the spread of Other Backward Class (OBC) politics across India, this shift to a more explicit caste politics of meritocracy has also spread. At IIT Madras and beyond, the assumption now is that the general category is an upper-caste collective.

Through all these challenges to and defenses of upper-caste meritocracy, mobility has remained a key mechanism of caste consolidation and capital accumulation. We have seen in previous chapters how mobility within India under the purview of the central government contributed to the making of an upper-caste intelligentsia. It was precisely the caste capital provided by this mobility that was threatened by the Mandal Commission recommendations and produced such a strong backlash. But spatial mobility was by no means limited to national borders. Migration outside India has also been a long-standing source of upper-caste social and economic capital. This was certainly the case for IITians.

As we saw in Chapter 4, IITians began to leave India from the late 1960s for what they perceived as greener pastures. In the very early years, these were brief forays for training in West Germany and other countries, after which they would return to work in Indian industry. But the pattern shifted once the United States came into view as the principal destination for IITians. The post-1960s waves of migration made up a more sizable, more permanent diaspora.

Also read: The IITs have a long history of systematically othering Dalit students


Migration from India predated independence. The late nineteenth century witnessed the first large wave of Indian migration to Burma, Ceylon, Malaya, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. The vast majority of these migrants were lower-caste indentured laborers. This was followed by a second wave of traders, clerks, bureaucrats, and professionals who went mostly to East and South Africa but also to the other British colonies where indentured laborers had preceded them. A third wave headed for the United States. There are clear differences between the experiences of lower-caste laborers and upper-caste professionals who began arriving in the United States from as early as the 1880s. But despite the fact that caste played a significant role in structuring migration and diasporic life, the scholarly literature on the Indian diaspora to the United States might lead one to conclude that caste largely vanishes as a social category beyond the boundaries of the Indian nation-state. Instead, the most salient forms of self-definition appear to be class, gender, language, religion, and nation.

The story of the IIT diaspora suggests otherwise.

The forms of accumulated caste capital detailed over the previous chapters were key factors in allowing for diasporic mobility. Moreover, the professional success of IITians in the United States has been hugely significant for reinforcing the link between meritocracy and caste. With geographical distance from India and from rising challenges to caste entitlement, IITian achievement abroad once again appears as just that—self-made success. Diasporic mobility has helped to once again force caste into the shadows. However, the absence of caste as a public identity in the diaspora does not preclude its structural and affective workings. If anything, the institutional kinship within the overwhelmingly upper-caste IIT diaspora has become an even more potent form of capital. Diasporic IITians have been at the forefront of efforts to sustain and consolidate their affective ties and to make the IIT pedigree into a globally recognized brand.

Much of this work of branding has been driven by IITians in Silicon Valley, for whom entrepreneurial success has further reinforced their sense of being self-made individuals. Entrepreneurialism—and that, too, being nonwhite entrepreneurial successes in a new industry— has deepened their investment in a narrative of humble middle-class origins in which the brain is elevated as the sole form of capital and histories of caste are strikingly absent. U.S.-based IITians work to advance this narrative, not only in the United States but also in India, where they have been vocal advocates of market deregulation and privatization. Moving between U.S. and Indian contexts has entailed a balancing act between the marking and unmarking of caste as the basis of achievement. As we have seen, ongoing challenges to upper- caste dominance in India have disrupted settled expectations and produced a more strident defense of merit as caste property. The diaspora, too, is an important weapon in this fight. By showcasing diasporic success as the arrival of the global Indian, upper-caste IITians render the struggle for caste rights into a parochial—even regressive—endeavor.

Understanding the transnationalization of caste is particularly important in the current moment, when the rise to political power of middle and lower castes has partially obscured the workings of upper- caste capital. Indeed, it is particularly productive to think about how and in which contexts such capital is reconstituted. While in some ways formal political arenas and the broader cultural sphere have witnessed the entry of lower castes, elite education and the expanding private sector both within and beyond India have serviced the reconstitution of caste privilege by other means. In this sense, we might think of elite and private domestic and transnational arenas as spaces of upper-caste flight and retrenchment away from the pressures of lower- caste politics.

Political scientist Devesh Kapur has argued that the immigration of Indian professionals to the United States was one of the “safety valves” of Indian democracy. Because they could immigrate, the fight over the distribution of political power and economic resources was less contentious than it might have otherwise been. Kapur argues further that the specific form of capital these elites possessed—advanced degrees as opposed to land—made for easy “exit,” first from state employment to the private sector and then abroad. Since this was a transferable form of capital, “exit” also contributed to the further accumulation of capital.

What is less evident is how moving from one system of social stratification to another influenced the world views and practices of diasporic elites. Specifically, what did it mean for Indian professionals to move from a society where enduring caste stratification intersected with democratic change to a society where racial stratification operated similarly? How did they respond to their own racialization as U.S. minorities, and how did this experience shape their forms of identification and strategies of accumulation?

Also read: IIT mania is costing students quality time at schools. But CBSE, other bodies still sleeping

In this chapter, I will build on existing literature on the Indian diaspora in the United States to understand the impact of transnational mobility on IITians and of diasporic IITians on India. How, I will ask, was upper-caste identity forged in the United States, where IITians were positioned as both class elites and racial minorities? IITian diasporic experiences have to be understood in relation to the longer U.S. history of race and immigration.

The 1965 U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act marked a key shift toward official multiculturalism and the representative power of Indian professionals. This shift is key to the status of IITians as an influential subset of Indian professionals whose self-fashioning is keenly attentive to the market for identities. As we will see, their self-fashioning as ethnic entrepreneurs, helped by the catalytic impact of the Silicon Valley boom and enduring forms of transnational institutional kinship, has found fullest expression in the marketing of Brand IIT. Moreover, diasporic IITians have leveraged their status as financially successful global moderns to push for legal changes, market deregulation, and privatization in India.

The success of Brand IIT has also transformed the meaning of meritocracy by shifting the emphasis from intellectualism to entrepreneurialism.

This excerpt from The Caste of Merit: Engineering Education in India by Ajantha Subramanian has been published with permission from Harper Collins India.