SUICIDES IN IIT's & IIT JEE COACHING SCHOOLS

"If I can stop one Heart from Breaking, I shall not live in Vain; If I can Ease one Life the Aching; I shall not live in Vain."

I have a Solution that will reduce pressure on IIT aspirants but do not know how to get this across to HRD Minister of India. Suggestions are welcome. - Ram Krishnaswamy

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Showing posts with label *****. Show all posts

Sunday, February 9, 2020

2 Years Of Exile In Kota Broke Me Down So Much That I’m Still Recovering - Youth Ki Awaaz


2 Years Of Exile In Kota Broke Me Down So Much That I’m Still Recovering

By Tamoghna Ghosh in My Story
30th June, 2016

By Tamoghna Ghosh:

Recently, it was in the news that a girl from Kota had committed suicide after her failure in the JEE. The incident stirred up a whole lot of suppressed memories inside me. So I wanted to share the story of a girl, who almost met the same fate as her. Well, almost.

There’s a sarcastic remark that does the rounds in the engineering circles, “First do B. Tech. Then follow your actual passion.”

Yeah, right. Only that some people have to go through hell to do precisely that.

I had always been the topper of my class since I started schooling, much to the resentment of my classmates, and the pride of my parents and teachers. But I was never a model student. Quite the contrary. My grade sheet at the end of each academic year would be stained by a simple ‘B’ in bold letters in front of ‘DISCIPLINE & CONDUCT’. It was a matter of great concern to my mother, who’d been a quiet child, that her daughter would grow up to be a ‘lyaj-kata-bandor’ (a tailless monkey, for you). I was mortally afraid of her and her punishments. But in spite of all that, I continued to perform well in academics.

As with any good student in India, I was brainwashed into believing that ‘Science’ is the best thing out there. That being a bright student, I was ear-marked to be a student of science.

Nobody, however, cared to scrutinise my mark sheet and discover that my best marks were always inevitably in English. Nobody looked through my notebooks to find sweet little poems scribbled in the last pages. Nobody cared that I had a badge for being a cub reporter in TTIS (the student’s magazine in vogue back then).

By the time I was in Class IX and X, I already knew there were only two career choices in front of me – be a doctor or an engineer. Coming from a family background of doctor and engineer ‘mama’, ‘mami’, ‘mausi’, ‘mama-ki-beti’, ‘mausi-ki-beti’… I knew there was hardly a way out without being engulfed in the family circle, churning out doctors and engineers every year. Adding to that was my parent’s cliched idea of maintaining their ‘standing-in-society’, which would get an immense boost if they manage to produce a doctor beti or an IITian beti. Yeah, you heard me right. Not just any engineering college. That would be too mainstream. That would be lesser than that ‘IITian-cousin-you-have-got-in-your-family’. That would make them ‘lose their nose’, or whatever part of their face, in front of a gang of bloodthirsty relatives and society.

So, all my dreams of being a writer, or a journalist, or a fashion designer, or an interior decorator flushed down the gutter. I was plucked from my cosy life in Bengal and shipped off to the Mecca of IIT coaching: Kota.

In all my 22 years of life, I prefer to block out every memory of the two years of my exile to Kota. The struggle and hardships I went through broke me down to such a level that it took me all the years of my college life to ease back to my old style. I am still recovering.

Kota seemed to me a place from a different galaxy. The environment was so different from the nourished, caring way I was brought up back in Bengal. I got enrolled in a proxy school. I went for classes daily at the coaching institute I had joined and tried my best to cope with the piling pressure. Needless to say, I failed. The coaching institutes had a system of segregating students on the basis of marks in the monthly exams, into different batches.

The top-most elite batches would get the elite teachers, the best of everything, and be fuelled (or brainwashed, I should say) more and more to crack the JEE with flying colours. As we descend down the levels of the hierarchy, we find the competence diminishing, the skills of teachers lessening and the pressure of reaching the elite batches increasing. It was a circus, those coaching institutes. Once you fall, you’re lost for life. The competition is so damn high, that it’ll take you ages to climb back to your previous rung in the ladder, and that too if Lady Luck was benign enough.

Apart from academic pressure, life in Kota, in general, was excruciatingly painful. Being away from your parents, coping with your daily life all by yourself is not an easy thing. On top of it, you have no real friends. The friends are your competitors and it becomes hard to find a person to trust. You become all alone in this mad circus. I did too. I lost my capacity to make friends. I became quiet and introverted. I stuck out like a sore thumb. The girl who’d get a B in Conduct for being an incorrigible chatterbox had lost all zeal in life. She was just another face in the sea of countless students, struggling to reach the top for air and preventing the forces of nature from dragging her down.

By the time I was done with Kota, I was hardly recognisable. I had lost my creative enthusiasm. I couldn’t write a single good poem. That was coming from a girl who’d write poems by the dozen, every other week. I hadn’t read a good book in years. My ability to reason and logic, in short, my IQ, for which I had received many an accolade in life, had reached an all-time low. I was just a robot who’d been programmed with the essential commands to crack IIT-JEE and think no more.

A part of me dealt with all the academic information, which I must remember till the last second of the exam. The other part of me, which was still human, dealt with the pressure put on me by my family. Every second of my life, my dad would remind me the lakhs they were spending on my education, and how I must reimburse them by getting into IIT and getting a well-paying job. My mom would never stop to remind me of her sacrifices, and how I would ‘rub their faces in the mud’ if I didn’t crack JEE. It was a lot to take in. I was overwhelmed to say the very least.

And then the D-Day came. And I couldn’t crack JEE. Speculations and blame games started in my family. Mom and dad took it upon themselves, that it was their fault I couldn’t crack JEE. That they should have spent more money, they should have given more time, they should have fed me nutritious food to make my brain function, they should have changed coaching centres and all that crap. It never occurred to them that the real blame lay in forcing me into something I was disinterested in. Relatives tut-tutted and sighed in mock concern and gave advice that hardly seemed sincere enough. My grandparents snidely commented, “Not all people have the same IQ. There could be just one IITian in the family.” In short, my parent’s ‘standing-in-society’ plummeted to the depths because of their demented daughter. *Slow clap for the Indian society and education system*

It was a terrible thing to be caught in the crossfire that ensued my not getting into IIT. First of all, there was the burden of my failure. Then my low self-esteem, which sank even lower hearing those comments from my relatives, people I had always counted on. Then the stricken look on the faces of my parents and their incessant moaning about how much money they’d invested in me. The academic, financial and psychological loss was too much for me. I contemplated suicide many times. I started smoking stealthily. I had a nervous breakdown. And my parents knew nothing of that. They were busy licking their own wounds, the wounds inflicted on them by their own daughter, apparently.

Now, after three years, I don’t remember exactly how I managed to climb out of the pit of depression, if there was a turning point or not. I quit smoking, grew bolder and started nursing myself back to good health, figuratively. Then one fine day, after my admission to my college and only a fortnight away from joining college, I finally snapped and lashed out at my parents in the midst of a family argument. A few relatives were present too. They were stunned into silence. Something had broken inside me, that urged me to shout at my own parents and mouth things (the truth, obviously) that I would never have had the courage to say. The pent-up frustration of all those years was out in a matter of seconds. That incident is to go down in the history of my life as the day I stopped fearing my parents and what society would say and started concentrating on what I want, for a change.

I am now in my fourth year of civil engineering. Again it was a stream I wasn’t too keen on at first, but slowly with time I’ve grown to love it. My philosophy towards life has changed a lot and the meek submissive girl of high-school is no more. On that note, I stand vehemently against the whole system of education in Kota, where coaching centres have sprouted like mushrooms and against the orthodox practice of parents imposing their ambitious dreams on the naive shoulders of their children.

Like Tamoghna, lakhs of students in India face intense pressure because of a system that’s obsessed with marks over learning. This need to change. Tweet to the Education Minister and demand action now:

Why must students in India undergo so much pressure? Edu. Minister @PrakashJavdekar, #DoYourJob

Featured image for representation only. Credit: Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images.

Banner image credit: Ramesh Sharma/India Today Group/Getty Images.
Posted by R.K at 10:28 AM
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Monday, February 3, 2020

Should have raised voice when Article 370 was scrapped:


Should have raised voice when Article 370 was scrapped:

Aishe Ghosh PTI, Mumbai,
FEB 02 2020, 08:52AM IST

JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh. (PTI Photo) Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president Aishe Ghos...

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/should-have-raised-voice-when-article-370-was-scrapped-aishe-ghosh-800697.html
Posted by R.K at 1:57 AM
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Thursday, December 19, 2019

‘Everything is abnormal’ at IIT Guwahati, students allege they’re being driven to suicide - The Print

‘Everything is abnormal’ at IIT Guwahati, students allege they’re being driven to suicide

IIT Guwahati students say there’s a lack of professional counselling and empathy among teachers, which is driving some to take the extreme step.

TARUN KRISHNA and KRITIKA SHARMA 
16 December, 2019 9:33 am IST


IIT-Guwahati | Photo: http://www.iitg.ac.in/
Text Size: A- A+

New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, has reported 14 student deaths in the last five years, including suicides, the Ministry of Human Resource Development told Parliament on 2 December. This is the highest number of deaths in any of the 23 IITs for the given period.

The media reported that IIT Guwahati had topped the number of suicide cases, which the institute denied. However, many students told ThePrint that there are issues that have driven students to take the extreme step — such as lack of empathy from faculty members and the absence of professional counselling.

ThePrint spoke to a number of students and professors over the phone to understand the issues, and posed questions about their allegations to the institute. However, the detailed email remained unanswered until the time of publication of this report.

Professor V. Venkata Dasu, dean of student affairs at IIT-G, told ThePrint that he “did not wish to talk about the allegations”, saying a circular had already been issued disputing the numbers and clarifying that all deaths were not suicides.

The circular, sent through the general secretary of the Students’ Welfare Board, Aditya Sanwal, on 4 December, also asked students not to share any news about suicides, calling it “fake”.
“I request you all not to share the news report regarding number of suicides in IITs. The number 14 quoted for IIT Guwahati in the report includes all deaths including natural, accidental and unnatural,” the circular stated.

“Even one is a huge number when we are talking about suicides, but the message and bad name that the institute gets due to these reports is sometimes irreparable. We all agree that the issue is of grave seriousness and we need to sit together to tackle the issue, but attaching it to other issues, twisting facts and providing misleading information is obviously not helping.”
Graphic by Arindam Mukherjee | ThePrint

Also read: IIT, IIM evaded faculty reservation for years. Modi now wants to undo exclusion
‘Everything is abnormal’

Students ThePrint spoke to said the new director of IIT Guwahati, T.G. Sitharam, has not held a single townhall meeting — where the director and students exchange ideas — which has made the authorities inaccessible for them.

A Ph.D. student, on the condition of anonymity, said: “I have been on the campus for the last five years and have seen a lot… Last year, a first year student committed suicide in the first six months itself. As far as I know, her reason was personal, not academic. However, I feel that had there been good professional counselling in the institute, she could have been saved.”

Srijeeb Karmakar, another Ph.D. student, said: “Everything is abnormal with IIT Guwahati…”

Karmakar, who broke down during his conversation with this reporter, said he had tried to commit suicide.
“The institute has driven me to the brink of committing suicide. I have been given a lot of trouble by the institute, for a simple reason… I just wanted to get my research supervisor changed. When I could not get it done, I thought of sharing my problem with the faculty and senior students of IIT Guwahati, but it just went against me,” he said.

Karmakar added that he is a classical dancer, and his supervisor ridicules him because of this and thinks it is a personality disorder.
The institute does not have good facilities to deal with psychological issues that the students face, Karmakar alleged, giving the example of a Master’s student who developed a phobia that someone would stab him.

“(Name redacted) had a phobia that someone will stab him and this made him a laughing stock among the student fraternity. Students used to make fun of him because of his fears, and this made him aggressive. The institute could have helped him with proper treatment and counselling but instead they terminated him,” Karmakar alleged.

Also read: IIT fixation fades? 29% of students who cleared JEE Mains opted out of JEE Advanced in 2019


Wrote to PMO, but to no avail

Another Ph.D. student, Sunayan Deka, said he too had requested to have his supervisor changed. “I was unable to work under him because of his unprofessional behaviour. Many students had got it changed very easily. But in my case, I was asked to apologise and when I did not do it, I was terminated without hearing,” he said.

Deka approached the authorities at the institute as well as outside, including writing to the Prime Minister’s Office, but to no avail. His letter to the PMO, he said, stated that his supervisor made him share credit for his work with those who hadn’t done any, and also did not pay any heed to serious complaints of ragging.

Vikrant Singh, another student, corroborated this information. “Sunayan Deka has been jobless for a very long time and the administration will use this as a ground to terminate him,” he said, suggesting that there should be some special arrangements for students who come from deprived communities as they have to struggle a lot to survive on the campus.

Singh alleged that all the counsellors are “highly incompetent”.
Dr Brijesh Kumar Rai, a professor at the institute, concurred with the students.

“The institute needs good counsellors to help students deal with psychological issues. This is a big problem that they need to fix. There are counsellors, but they are not good. Also, I feel that the faculty members are not empathetic towards students,” Rai said.

Discussions on suicides across IITs have gained ground recently after Fathima Lateef, a student at IIT Madras, committed suicide, alleging religious discrimination by faculty members. The issue was also raised in Parliament, and the student’s father was assured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of a CBI inquiry. They also assured the family that the government will look into all recent suicide incidents in IITs and IIMs.
Posted by R.K at 12:57 AM
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Friday, December 13, 2019

Decimation of education BusinessLine


Decimation of education

J Devika | Updated on December 12, 2019 Published on December 12, 2019



Class struggle: Students and activists demonstrate outside Mumbai University against the fee hike in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University and the suicide of IIT-Madras student Fathima Lateef - PTI

Why the erosion of public universities — vital learning spaces that are not only accessible to the marginalised but also empower them to question the status quo — must worry us all


The unfortunate suicide of young Fathima Latheef at IIT Madras created such an uproar in Kerala that many felt it was Kerala’s Rohith Vemula moment, with its echoes of sectarianism-driven discrimination in education. Over the last few decades, young Keralite women have been migrating to Indian academic metropolises as opportunities have opened up. The admission system of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) that awarded deprivation points, for example, allowed a substantial number of young women from Kerala’s Malappuram district to migrate for a critical and rigorous education. The positive impact of this has been evident to all of us who have been watching closely the discourse of democracy and community in Kerala — the contribution of young Muslim women empowered by a critical education and exposure has been remarkable.

The removal of the progressive admissions policy at JNU, as well as the terrible violence wreaked upon it in the past few years, took its toll. Not only did access become more difficult, JNU was also now perceived to be unsafe for Muslim students, especially women. Latheef’s death in an IIT raises another question: Are our campuses increasingly becoming sites of normalised, virulent, and rapidly spreading hatred of Muslims? Latheef held responsible for her death a professor who had allegedly discriminated against her for being Muslim. While institutional response was unforgivably slow, and even her friends were not quick enough in their responses, there were many voices decrying the perceived rampant Brahmin dominance and casteism there.

For Muslims in India today, it is a situation where they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Some of the more naive followers of Hindutva believe that if only the Muslim embraced without question the idea of brahminical Indian culture and society and neoliberal capitalism, they would not be bothered or undergo suffering. Hence their dismay, for example, over the bigoted protests of students at Banaras Hindu University against a Muslim professor of Sanskrit.


So one can well imagine the terror that engulfed Latheef. Growing up in a progressive family that encouraged her studies and career choices, and believing firmly that hard work and dedication would lead her towards full citizenship, she must have struggled to cope with the normalised hatred of Islam that is now almost omnipresent, like a menacing cloud of poison gas, in private and public spaces. She could also have encountered the subtle yet very real boundary-marking that teachers and students from academic metropolises do, often inadvertently — something which students from small towns find hard to bear, at least in the beginning. What exactly happened in the case must be sought out through a fair and thorough inquiry, and the guilty must be punished; however, it may be even more vital for us to seek answers to the more general questions that arise from this untimely loss.

As I try to look at her ordeal and death in the light of the changes that have swept Malayali society over the past three decades, I cannot help saying that we failed her too. In this period the widespread neoliberalisation of education fed into the general assault on citizenship by popularising the idea that the key to a successful life lay solely in acquiring skills and focusing on one’s achievements in formal education. Even reading became essentially an extracurricular activity, the benefits of which were to be reaped within formal education in the long term. This happened even when parents did not exert pressure; often peer pressure and what teachers believe is encouragement are enough to lead bright young people down this path. This trend intensified in Kerala as it became increasingly a migration-dependent society.

In other words, school education, especially among Kerala’s burgeoning middle classes, irrespective of their social moorings, produces anxious subjects, even when families are loving and supportive. Their anxieties are accentuated even more when the young person has to deal with a hostile public. The anxious subject tends to divide everything into that which may help or hinder their progress. Religious, cultural or social identities will be assessed mainly in such terms; even critical thinking is taken as an instrument for educational upward mobility. Not surprisingly, the brighter and more ambitious middle-class students who are female/Muslim/Dalit/queer are more likely to become anxious subjects, given that the exclusion of these identities is increasingly normal in India.

The cure for the anxious subject often lay in our public universities. In those spaces one learned to politicise such identities and discovered citizenship, pride and self-respect; one also learned that marks and the approbation of teachers do not exhaust the potential gains from education; one also realised that teachers can be challenged outside the classroom and that they are not infallible.

But it is precisely the cure that is being decimated right before our eyes — in JNU, Vemula’s alma mater Hyderabad Central University, and wherever students are allowed to heal themselves and become citizens. Our young people are crippled or killed, caught between the wheels of neoliberalised education and majoritarian fascist nationalism, and they are denied a cure. ‘Mother’ India, ‘Fatherland’ — indeed!



J Devika is a historian and critic based in Thiruvananthapuram


Published on December 12, 2019
Posted by R.K at 8:53 PM
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Saturday, December 7, 2019


Saturday, December 07, 2019



Opinion » Comment

Posted at: Dec 6, 2019, 6:40 AM; 

The death of a dream



Avijit Pathak

Fathima Latheef’s suicide points to the tragic story of our academic culture



We’ve failed: The site of higher learning is now a war zone. And there is no winner.

Avijit Pathak
Sociologist

When I came to know about Fathima Latheef’s suicide, I realised the pain of my wounded self. Because as a teacher engaging with hundreds of young minds like her, I experienced the tragic end of a possibility: a dream that inspired this bright, young girl from Kerala to come to IIT-Chennai and pursue higher education in philosophy and humanities.
It was a dream of self-exploration — a journey to the fascinating world of books, thoughts and ideas; it was a dream of psychic and social mobility. But then, it would be wrong to see Fathima’s story in isolation. As a teacher, I have no hesitation in saying that a suicide reveals many problematic layers of campus life and associated academic practices.

Fathima was bright; or, to put it otherwise, she was ‘topper’ material. Did she experience severe performance anxiety: the constant pressure to excel, and retain the ‘self’ of the topper? 
I see my own students — bright and dreamy like Fathima — living with terrible pressure. Quite often, in an aspirational society like ours, many of these students come to universities with a heavy baggage of societal expectations. From parents to neighbours to school principals, there seems to be only one lesson they have learned. They have to succeed. Success measured through grades is the assured road to social/economic mobility; and failure is a matter of shame. The site of higher learning has become a war zone, and there is no winner. In a way, everyone is a loser. If you fail, you are condemned and stigmatised. And if you win, you die — psychologically and spiritually — because of the pressure to retain the topper position. And even the slightest fall from that elevated position makes life miserable and meaningless. 

Is this the reason why in this hyper-competitive/performance-centric academic culture, psychic anxiety and acute loneliness affect the mental health of many young minds? Furthermore, in many of these centres of excellence, as teachers we put enormous pressure on our students. There is no catharsis, no joy, no celebration in academics. Tutorials, seminars, examinations, books and papers: with absolute mecahanisation and ritualisation, a young learner keeps consuming varieties of knowledge capsules. 

There is no breathing space; there is no possibility of calmness and mindfulness; there is no communion with the treasure of life — looking at the sky, and experiencing the beauty of idleness. We have transformed young minds into horses in a race. The knowledge they are compelled to acquire does not liberate them; it makes them incapable of meeting the challenges of life with grace and patience. This is the tragic story of our academic culture.

There is yet another factor that needs to be understood. For instance, Fathima’s suicide, as many reports disseminated through social media suggest, indicate the possibility of some sort of psychic/symbolic violence she might have experienced because of her identity, and a problematic relationship with some faculty members. Quite often, in a heterogeneous and highly stratified society like ours, filled with violence emanating from asymmetrical power relations, we hear diverse narratives of victimisation in the name of caste, gender, religion and ethnicity. It is a fairly complex domain, and in the name of finding some conspiracy, if we sensationalise the issue through instant judgement, we would not be able to go deeper. 

Many studies have revealed that there is no denying the fact that our educational centres do experience what happens in the larger society: the act of humiliating the marginalised and the minorities. Moreover, as teachers, we are not angels, and it may not be altogether impossible to find, say, male/‘forward caste’ teachers from the dominant community conveying the gestures and symbols that humiliate Dalits or the minorities. And for a vulnerable young mind that is at the receiving end, this violence might prove to be fatal. However, it is equally important to realise that the hyper-sensitivity to this social evil, as well as some sort of reductionist identity politics (implying the belief that never can one see beyond one’s caste or religion), have created a toxic culture of perpetual doubt and suspicion. As a result, we refuse to see that there are limits to stereotypes; and it becomes exceedingly difficult to believe that education is also about the flowering of human possibilities — something beyond one’s caste, gender and religion. And even in this ugly/violent world, there are people who have tried to come out of the arrogance of their privileged positions. But then, in an environment of doubt and chronic suspicion, it is taken for granted that a ‘forward caste’ teacher is bound to be casteist; and a male professor can never escape the psychology of patriarchal violence. This is also some sort of hyper-reaction causing severe damage to the process of creating a culture of trust, reciprocity and dialogue. No meaningful education is possible amid this broken/distorted communication, and perpetual apprehension about one’s motives. This is something that worries me as a teacher.

Every act of suicide reveals our collective failure. Particularly when we fail to prevent a young learner like Fathima from playing with death, as students, teachers and concerned citizens, we all ought to contemplate, and, instead of indulging in sensational politics, try to create a humane/stress-free/inclusive culture of learning that values the uniqueness of every student, and generates warmth and tenderness in interpersonal relationships. This effort would be the most meaningful tribute to Fathima.
Posted by R.K at 4:32 PM
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Fathima Latheef suicide: PM Modi, Amit Shah promise CBI inquiry - Indian Express

Fathima Latheef suicide: PM Modi, Amit Shah promise CBI inquiry


The kin got the assurance at a personal meeting. A parallel probe into past such incidents in the higher edu sector too will be held

Published: 06th December 2019 06:29 AM | Last Updated: 06th December 2019 06:29 AM | A+A A-


Fathima Latheef was pursuing an integrated MA programme at IIT-M.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI/KOLLAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have assured a group of MPs and the family that the CBI will investigate the recent suicide of Fathima Latheef, a student at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), according to her twin sister Aysha Latheef.

Speaking to TNIE, Aysha said the prime minister and union home minister have assured the family that a probe will be conducted into similar cases reported from higher education institutions including IITs and IIMs.

Fathima’s family met the prime minister and home minister in New Delhi along with MPs from Kerala on Thursday. “The prime minister has assured us that within a week, the case will be handed over to the CBI. Amit Shah also told us that two investigations will be ordered in parallel -- one related to Fathima’s death and another to reinvestigate all similar cases which have been reported from such higher education institutions including all IITs and IIMs till date,” she said.

N K Premachandran, MP and RSP leader, who was among the MPs who accompanied the family, said: “Both the prime minister and home minister have informed us that the suicide of IIT-Madras student Fathima will be investigated by CBI. The investigation will be led by an Inspector General-rank woman officer.” The RSP leader said the MPs met Modi and Shah along with Fathima Latheef’s father and sister who hail from Kollam. A memorandum seeking a CBI probe into the case was handed over to the prime minister and home minister by the MPs. “Congress leader Rahul Gandhi representing Wayanad constituency in the Lok Sabha is the first signatory in the memorandum,” Premachandran said.

The Crime Branch wing of Tamil Nadu police is now investigating the suicide of Fathima, a first-year Humanities student, on November 9.The incident had sparked protests in Chennai, with opposition parties including the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, demanding a “transparent” investigation into the death.


‘Fathima named 10 persons’

Expressing doubts about his daughter’s death, Abdul Latheef, father of Fathima Latheef who was found dead in a hostel room at IIT-Madras, has demanded a fair probe to find out whether it was a suicide or a planned murder. He also revealed that Fathima has named 10 persons in her suicide note.

“As per the information provided by the police and her hostel mates, there were no signs of suicide in the hostel room from where her body was found hanging. Also, the names of 10 persons including three teachers and NRI students have been mentioned in her suicide note,” said Latheef.

He also said the other students also informed him that her body was found in a kneeling position and the room was not locked from inside. The family alleges that the visuals from the CCTV cameras at the hostel were later found tampered with. Earlier, he had alleged that some students from Kerala including NRI students and some seniors also had a major role in his daughter’s death. Meanwhile, after inspecting Fathima’s laptop and tablet, the forensic department has confirmed before a Chennai court that the suicide note was written by her.
KIN DOUBT VERSION
Abdul Latheef said the other students had told him Fathima’s body was found in a kneeling position and the room was not bolted from inside. The family claimed CCTV footage from the hostel had been found tampered
Posted by R.K at 3:53 PM
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Death on IIT-M campus - Front Line


THE NATION
EDUCATION
CONTROVERSY

Death on IIT-M campus


ILANGOVAN RAJASEKARAN
Print edition : December 20, 2019T+ T-


IIT Madras students Azhar Moideen and Justin Joseph on a hunger strike seeking a fair probe into the death of Fathima Latheef, in Chennai on November 18. Photo: PTI



Fathima Latheef.

A student’s death on the IIT Madras campus again brings to the fore a serious structural malaise in the institute.
“My name itself is the problem, vappichi”—Fathima Latheef.
For Fathima Latheef, joining a prestigious educational institution like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) was a dream come true.

When the Muslim girl from Kollam in Kerala was admitted to the M.A. Humanities and Development Studies (Integrated) at IIT Madras, she was thrilled. Besides topping the entrance test in Humanities, she had obtained admission to Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. But her mother was hesitant to send her to Varanasi since the newspapers were full of reports on “mob lynchings” in northern States. It was she who insisted on her daughter taking up the offer from IIT Madras.

But the dream turned into a nightmare in just four months. Fathima joined the institute on July 23, 2019. Her parents claimed that she had found the IIT campus environment stifling. She told her father, Abdul Latheef, who was working in Saudi Arabia, over a videoconferencing call two days prior to her suicide that her name gave away her Muslim identity, which her mother was apprehensive off.

“She told us that the campus was neither conducive to higher education nor congenial for those who hailed from disadvantaged backgrounds and broke down,” Abdul Latheef told the media. She again spoke to her father and mother on November 8. “We thought she was homesick,” said her twin sister, Aysha Latheef. From the evening that day, her mobile phone was switched off. On November 9, the 19-year-old first year student was reportedly found hanging from the ceiling of her hostel room. The police claimed that she could have committed suicide the previous night. The IIT management informed the family about her suicide around 11 a.m. on November 9. The Chennai City police (Kotturpuram) registered a case of unnatural death the same day and sent the body to the Royapettah Government Hospital for a post-mortem.

Fathima’s family members, who addressed the media frequently both in Kerala and Tamil Nadu after the suicide, claimed that her mobile phone, which was in the possession of the Chennai City police then, was switched on three days after her suicide. Aysha told the media that she saw the phone on a table at the police station and with police permission switched it on after charging it. She claimed that it did not ask for a password and a message instantly popped up on the home screen saying: “Sudarshan Padmanabhan [an associate professor] is the cause of my death. P.S. Check Samsung notes.”
Besides this, another message said: “I love you, umma and chakku. I love you, vappichi and thumbu. You are the only people in this entire world who have made me happy. I will always be with you. I have always loved you….” Both these messages were found to have been created and modified on November 8.

Fathima’s family was not satisfied with the way the Chennai City police handled the investigation. The police told the media that the girl had been depressed for two days prior to her suicide. They said that they had not obtained any suicide note from her room. The mobile phone they seized from Fathima’s room had remained untouched by the police and its battery was drained. Aysha had to recharge it to find out the suicide messages after three days.

There was talk inside the campus that the girl had committed suicide since she could not cope with the academic pressures, but Abdul Latheef refused to buy into such rumours. He wondered how his daughter, a topper in the all India entrance examinations and in the class, could commit suicide. Whenever a student committed suicide on its premises, the IIT management usually said it was a result of failure to cope with the academic pressure. “They harassed my daughter and virtually killed her,” he said.

Aysha said that Fathima was in constant touch with her, updating her with her academic travails. Although she was a class topper, she was given only 13 marks out of total 20 in the internal paper in Logic, which she strongly contested. On Fathima’s plea, Aysha said, the head of the department took up the case and assessed her internal performance. He found her claims to be true and accordingly instructed the associate professor concerned to award five more marks. Instead, the professor, Sudarshan Padmanabhan, asked her to meet him on November 11.

(Sudarshan Padmanabhan works at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences as Associate Professor in Philosophy in which Fathima was a student. The professor, according to the institute website, is a special adviser to foreign students and chairman of the committee for monitoring general facilities for students. He was active off–campus and was involved with various forums that talk about electoral and political reforms. He was a regular participant in many programmes of the Chennai-based non- governmental organisation Arappor Iyakkam.)

“Something had transpired during this period, which would have hurt her self-esteem. The police should find out,” Abdul Latheef insisted. Aysha said that Fathima was a bold girl and would never worry about petty issues such as scoring low marks.

“She had been telling us that her name annoyed many on the IIT campus. But she was scared of something or somebody. It was eerie when we came to the IIT after hearing about her death. Everyone, even her classmates, preferred to keep away and avoided us. None came forward to share our grief. They are hiding something. It looked all weird,” she said.

When Frontline spoke to a few students on the issue, they refused to be named, fearing repercussions. Many who have left the campus too are unwilling to share their experiences on the campus.

Not satisfied with the Chennai City police’s probe, and believing that they will not get justice, the family met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and urged him to ensure a fair probe into the death. Abdul Latheef told Pinarayi Vijayan that his daughter had alleged that a senior professor had “harassed” her. On instructions from Pinarayi Vijayan, the family flew to Chennai and met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and asked him to order a fair investigation.

After the meeting, the case was transferred to the State’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) police, which began its investigation in right earnest. It held an inquiry with the professor concerned and others on the campus.

The family also claimed that Fathima had been subjected to “constant harassment” by the professor who was the “cause of her death”. They also met the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police and the Chennai City Police Commissioner.

In a media conference, Abdul Latheef said that he came to know that several brilliant students had committed suicide following harassment by professors and others in IIT, adding that all such incidents had been covered up by the IIT authorities using their political clout.

“We seriously feel that there will not be any fair investigation in this regard and the mobile phone of my daughter [he mentioned the mobile number] will be definitely tampered with under pressure from the IIT authorities to destroy evidence,” he said.

IIT statement

The IIT administration reacted after six days of the girl’s death with a short note of grief. In its statement, it said:

“The students, faculty, staff, and residents of IIT Madras are deeply saddened and extremely perturbed by the unfortunate and untimely demise of our student Ms. Fathima Latheef, and the events that unfolded thereafter. As soon as the incident came to the knowledge of the authorities, the police was informed immediately and are being extended full cooperation by the Institute. IIT Madras is committed to do whatever is required as per law and ensure fair play.

“However, the social media trolling of the Institute, faculty members and students and trial by the media, even before the conclusion of the police investigation, is gravely demoralising the students, faculty members and staff as well as their families, and tarnishing the reputation of one of the finest institutes in the country. Our faculty is known for its high quality, integrity and fairness.

“We continue to mourn the loss of such a promising young student and continue to take all efforts to ensure the physical and mental well-being of our students, faculty and staff. We reiterate that we are fully cooperating with the police investigation. Our humble appeal to all concerned is not to initiate or spread any rumours about the Institute and those involved and let the enquiry be completed.”
The statement was dated November 15. More than its expression of grief over the death, the letter laid stress on its deep concern over the trolling of the institute on social media.

There was no mention of any internal inquiry, nor was there any reference to any internal mechanism such as student counselling.

A highly competitive academic milieu exerts tremendous stress on students and faculty. Many institutions of higher education, both in India and overseas, have developed mechanisms to address this issue, but IIT Madras does not have one, according to students. They said there was a forum called Saathi, but it was ineffective in such extraordinary situations.

“They are more worried about their brand image and its marketing. They brushed aside suicides in the past too, putting the blame on the students, saying that they were not able to cope with the academic rigour. But the Fathima case is different. She was a class topper too. Not a single internal inquiry has been conducted on any suicide so far,” said an alumnus of IIT Madras who did not wish to be named.

Student protest


Two students named Azhar Moideen and Justin Joseph and a few others held a brief hunger strike under the banner of ChintaBar, a recognised students’ body in the institute, near the campus’ main entrance on November 18 and urged the IIT management to conduct a survey on the issues faced by the students. ChintaBar demanded an internal probe against the faculty as sought by Fathima’s family.
It called for “no more deaths in IIT”. The management held talks with the students and convinced them to withdraw the strike.

The students told The Hindu that they never faced discrimination on the basis of religion on campus nor were the professors mentioned by Fathima prejudiced, in their experience.
Posted by R.K at 2:18 PM
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Thursday, November 28, 2019

Fathima Latheef and the degradation of Media: From Islamophobia to patriarchy, how media showed little regard for facts - Op India

Fathima Latheef and the degradation of Media: From Islamophobia to patriarchy, how media showed little regard for facts
The objective here is not to credit or discredit the parents’ version of the incident, but to create a context to understand the media discourse around truth, probability and informed debate.

GUEST AUTHOR
NOVEMBER 25, 2019
Fathimaa Lateef
Engagements3815

Every Wednesday afternoon, the corridor outside HSB 335 of IIT Madras witnessed celebration over coffee, samosa and cake ordered for all the students of the logic class. The excitement it generated was enough to last beyond the long class and the taste of the food perhaps lingered a little longer. Sudarsan Padmanabhan, the professor, enjoyed spending from his pocket and took a personal interest in getting the right supplier so as to ensure quality. He also made sure that biodegradable cups/plates are used and all food items are served fresh and/or hot.

Interestingly, the Wednesday orders had sufficient provision for some uninvited guests that included a few colleagues and staff who would routinely assemble outside the lecture hall to steal a coffee or some leftover cake. The road to logic, for Sudarshan Padmanabhan or SP as he was known, always passed through food, more so if it involved students. But that is part of the story; he was an extra-ordinary scholar combining the very best of Western and Indian intellectual traditions and balancing the textual with the worldly.

It was common to see students fiercely arguing with SP when he posed tough questions or played devil’s advocate by enticing the students to make statements and then finding contradictions in them. Never shy of responding to an innocuous query from students, nor in taking up a conceptual gauntlet, or laughing over some harmless banter or mimicry by creative and mischievous students, SP was the epitome of a textbook professor who walked in a way as if there is no destination and had all the time in the world to speak with students, colleagues and non-teaching staff. Colleagues often pulled his leg for being over caring about his students; students who did not belong to his class often regretted not being so (and also for missing out on tea/snacks). It is not surprising that the Institute and student representatives always found a willing partner in SP as and when there was a need for continuous monitoring of facilities such as upgraded canteen or drafting of various institutional frameworks involving elected student bodies.

Fathima Lateef, a rare talent of her batch, was a student of this logic class. SP treated everybody equally and Fathima, a little more equally, often ending a discussion with what Fathima said. As of now, nobody knows for sure what drove Fathima to accuse her professors when the professors named actually pampered her. Regardless of the authenticity of Fathima’s notes, or the probability of other causes, SP was declared guilty by grief-stricken friends and relatives and an over-zealous media, with able support from politicians and interest groups.

Within a matter of days, SP became the reason of not just Fathima’s death but of everything that ails the Indian education system in general and IIT Madras in particular. His is a classic case of all associations of reason gone horribly wrong and ideas such as deliberation, participation etc. sacrificed at the altar of political agenda-setting, religious polarization, ideological divide and journalistic one-upmanship. In the cacophony of finding the truth behind Fathima’s death, what is still shrouded in mystery is the very truth itself.

Read: The other side of the Fathima Latheef news story: The tragedy, the claims, the contradictions and the real injustice

After the mysterious note blaming SP was released by the relatives, two more student-friendly professors (Hemchandran Karah and Milind Brahme) found their names in the list of suspects and were held responsible for pushing Fathima to take the extreme step. These two professors were equally caring, concerned and empathetic, always finding ways to reach out to those who needed help or required emotional/academic support. Both of them had the conviction of walking an extra mile in accommodating students with different social/cultural backgrounds. Two weeks after the tragic incident, students and faculty believe that the bond between the teacher and the student will never be the same again at IIT Madras. As a faculty member put it tersely, ‘this is our 9/11 moment’.

News media and the ways of delivering justice


The objective here is not to credit or discredit the parents’ version of the incident, but to create a context to understand the media discourse around truth, probability and informed debate. Given that the parents have lost their precious child, it would serve no one’s cause to be judgemental. The same with her classmates, friends and seniors who believe that her death could have been avoided.

So far as political parties and their affiliated student bodies are concerned, their demonstrations and demands can be seen as bread and butter questions; they are doing what they are trained to do, i.e. fishing in troubled waters. But what is appalling is the complete degradation of news media which absolved itself of any pretension of objectivity and disinterestedness, the general virtues associated with the profession. Not just social media trolls and the faceless rabble-rousers, even mainstream news media indulged in this evolving news story and sought to cash in on a minefield of a topic that can send their TRP soaring. Here are a few examples:Huffington Post articleMoney Control articleSabrang article

News media not only violated their own self-assigned credential of creating conditions for citizenship and democracy; they conducted themselves in a manner that produced the very opposite: mob justice, vigilantism, utter disregard for rule of law and willful abandonment of verifiability of their own claims. What we have got so far is character assassination, scandalous statements and an in-your-face unwillingness to ask very basic questions about available evidence.

What is troubling is the absence of any sense of doubt, self-reflexivity and moderation that should guide any engagement with an issue such as this. The suicide notes have been presented in an uncritical manner as if it constitutes authentic evidence. Here are some examples where the news media virtually became the spokespersons of the bereaved family by legitimating the ‘suicide notes’ left by the victim. Those who naively believe that we should not give media too much importance, not only underestimate the power of media in peddling truth for a significant length of time, but also vulgarize real suffering of the victims. The term ‘media trial’ has limited carrying capacity in the present context; perhaps ‘media justice’ has better claims.

Since that unfortunate incident, IIT Madras has issued an official statement about its sincerity in a fair probe without compromising its commitment to protecting its faculty who have been scarred by both mainstream and social media and are perhaps too numb to defend themselves. It is believed that the investigative team will do a professional job without being swayed by the media blitzkrieg. The accused professors are cooperating with the investigation, have not applied for anticipatory bail and have not made any outlandish statements, something that establishes their sincerity and trust in the system. Since the initial whispers about the possible reason for her death (such as performance in an exam), the debate has gone over to issues of harassment, casteism, elitism and Islamophobia.National Herald articleThe Companion article

If you are scratching your head as to how such divergent reasons could be reconciled, you need to understand what is known as media logic. This media logic is not peculiar to local, vernacular, regional newspapers and magazines coming out of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but to the very philosophy of contemporary media management.

Template of predictable truths

At a time of political correctness, combined with the conventional truism of journalism as Fourth Estate, journalism as a profession has taken up the garb of activism, consciousness raising, social conditioning and even politicking (many media houses are owned by political leaders/parties), not through fair representation of facts but through predictable templates. 

The baseline of this template while dealing with an institution such as IIT Madras is to question it for what it is meant to be – a specialized and elite technological institution (to be distinguished from elitist). What follows is the demonization of the elite institution for not being the same like more inclusive institutions / local colleges (i.e. not perpetuating caste politics, academic mediocrity, political interference, favouritism in appointments of faculty, corruption in admission and evaluation to name a few). The very fact that IITs remain islands of meritocracy (a bad word now) is reason enough to castigate such institutes as an impediment in the path of equality, justice etc. Thus many reports linked Fathima’s death to Rohith Vemula’s; some went to the extent of comparing the case with the lynching of Md. Akhlaq in Dadri.

Firstpost article

Once the deviance of the elite institution is established, an unfortunate death can be converted to institutional murder (or even murder), and be connected with a series of earlier suicides/deaths that can create a web of opacity, suspicion and intrigue. Points of criticism such as saffronization, Hinduization, Brahminism, Islamophobia, patriarchy, caste discrimination etc. follow this predictable pattern. As per this template (that has become normalized after decades of academic and political sanction), if a girl dies, the first suspect is patriarchy, and in case of a dalit, the needle of suspicion is directed at an individual/group blinded by Brahminism and caste hierarchy. Similar template was used after Fathima’s death as in this report.

I am reminded of a colleague’s experience when she was asked by her journalist friend about the possible cause of Fathima’s death. The colleague referred to the ongoing investigation and went on to argue about various possibilities that could have contributed to her untimely death. But the journalist friend intervened with an all-knowing aura and said, “you see my friend, I don’t want what you think. I want the cause, the real one”.

Reality is not what has happened, but what is logical, believable and can be easily digested using the template mentioned above. Since an individual suicide is not sufficiently eye catching, news media converted it to a grand plan of Brahminization and saffronization and the professors their agents. At a time when news media and journalism have become synonymous with cinema, often following the logic of capital investment and marketing, what the audience is conditioned to desire is instant gratification and instant justice delivery. The phrase that frequently appears is ‘call to action’, so that citizens can be converted into revolutionaries, the reason is replaced by mob frenzy and mass hysteria.

In such media framing (part of media logic mentioned earlier), the focus is on gaining attention by arousing emotion, often by putting the headlines in inverted comma or by placing a question mark after the headline. Some others make plain statements without any quotation mark as in the following item.

The Cognate article

Such headlines trend not just in specific Indian circles but find fame in Pakistan as well.

The casualty in such journalistic practice is professionalism and ethics. Journalistic norms such as ‘conjecture cannot replace facts’ or ‘the balance between the right to publish and public interest’ are seen as obsolete principles. What thus matters is a catchy headline, a sensitive image ‘for representational purposes’, a quote from ‘our own sources’ or ‘someone who requested anonymity’ in order to optimize anger and the desire for retribution.

(This article has been written by Jyotirmaya Tripathy. He is a Chennai based academic and cultural critic)

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Friday, November 22, 2019

At Protest for Fathima, a Reminder of Institutional Discrimination - The Quint



A purple curtain with numerous portraits bears testimony to just how rampant social discrimination and harassment is in campuses.
(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

At Protest for Fathima, a Reminder of Institutional Discrimination

ANNA ISAAC

UPDATED: 2 DAYS AGO
INDIA7 min read

Scores of students, belonging to different political organisations, protested in Chennai’s Valluvar Kottam on Tuesday demanding ‘Justice for Fathima Latheef’. But in the backdrop of raised fists and sloganeering, a purple curtain with numerous portraits bear testimony to just how rampant social discrimination and harassment is in campuses.

The pictures of now forgotten faces pinned up at the demonstration show that Fathima’s death is not the first of its kind, and why the spotlight should be on institutional murders and how institutions treat such deaths dispassionately.

These seven lives including Fathima are a reminder of why silence and brushing things under the carpet cannot be the norm.

Chuni Kotal, August 1992

The first woman to graduate from the Lodha Shabar tribe, Chuni Kotal, a 26-year-old adivasi took her own life on August 16, 1992 in Kharagpur. Belonging to a tribe that had been branded criminal by the British, Chuni, who was pursuing her MA in Anthropology, was subjected to years of caste-based discrimination and persecution, in particular by her Vidyasagar University professor Falguni Chakarvarti.

She was verbally abused in front of her peers, marked absent even when she was in class, and not allowed to sit for examinations. Despite multiple complaints, no action was taken.

It was only after Chuni’s story was published by writer Mahasveta Devi, thirteen days after her suicide, that it created a political uproar in West Bengal.

Chuni Kotal(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Chuni Kotal)


Senthil Kumar, February 2008
Pursuing his PhD in Physics in the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), Senthil Kumar, a Dalit student hailing from Salem in Tamil Nadu, killed himself in his hostel rooom on February 24, 2008. An internal fact-finding committee led by Professor Vinod Pavarala revealed how a culture of caste discrimination and prejudice had forced Senthil to take his own life.

Senthil, along with three other students belonging to the reserved categories were not assigned supervisors. Consequently, the 27-year-old failed in one of his subjects. As a result, he stopped receiving his fellowship stipend.

Unable to take the pressure, and with no guide to help him through the programme nor a fellowship to sustain his student life , Senthil Kumar, whose family reared pigs, killed himself.

Also Read : Justice for Fathima Latheef: Hunger Strike Called Off at IIT-M

Following his death, Senthil’s friend Thennarasu, a research scholar, had alleged systemic caste bias in HCU, claiming that supervisors would not take Dalit students, would delay evaluations and would raise the minimum pass mark to ensure they failed the subject, and be forced to discontinue the course.

Read Senthil Kumar’s story here.
Rohith Vemula and Senthil Kumar(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Rohith Vemula, January 2016

The suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit PhD scholar in HCU on January 17, 2016 shook the country’s collective conscience, trigerring widespread protests both inside the campus and outside. “My birth is my fatal accident,” he wrote in his suicide note, which went viral, revealing the deep-rooted caste prejudice and discrimination that Dalit students like him face.

Weeks before his death, Rohith and four other students were suspended after a student leader of the ABVP, RSS’s student wing, accused them of assaulting him. The issue was brought to the notice of the then Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani, who directed the university administration to look into the matter.

Rohith Vemula’s fellowship was suspended. The university then barred the five students including Rohith from entering the hostel or accessing any common area, although they were allowed to attend classes. Unable to afford renting a place outside, Rohith and the others pitched a tent on campus, they labelled ‘Velivada’ or Dalit ghetto.

He gave up his fight on January 17, 2016, taking his own life in a friend’s hostel room.

Read Rohith’s story here.

Also Read : One Day, I Will Resurrect: Rohith Vemula’s Poetry Lives On

Dr Saravanan Ganesan, July 2016
Hailing from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, 26-year-old Dr Saravanan Ganesan was found dead on July 10, 2016 in his New Delhi apartment under mysterious circumstances. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) student was found dead ten days after joining the MD in General Medicine programme.

After completing MBBS from Madurai Medical College, Saravanan qualified for the postgraduate Pathology programme in AIIMS. But with his heart set on General Medicine, Saravanan quit the course and began preparations for the AIIMS entrance exam. Securing the 47th rank, Saravanan was able to successfully pursue his General Medicine dream. But to his family and friends’ shock and horror, the young doctor was found dead with two syringes possibly containing potassium chloride, plastered in his arm.

While the Delhi police had first called his death a suicide, no note was left behind by Saravanan.

At the time, his father Ganesan, a tailor by profession, had alleged that Saravanan may have been a victim of the intense competition to get into AIIMS.

In December 2016, nearly five month after his death, the Delhi police registered a case of murder. However, no headway has been made in the case.

Read Saravanan’s story here.

Dr Saravanan Ganesan(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Muthukrishnan, March 2017
PhD scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Muthukrishnan killed himself on March 13, 2017 at his friend’s house in Delhi. His suicide was hauntingly similar to that of Rohith Vemula and Senthil Kumar, with questions of institutitional caste discrimination and bias raised.

A Facebook post published by Muthukrishnan three days before his death reads, “There is no Equality in M.phil/phd Admission, there is no equality in Viva – voce, there is only denial of equality, denying prof. Sukhadeo thorat recommendation, denying Students protest places in Ad – block, denying the education of the Marginal’s. When Equality is denied everything is denied (sic).”

Muthukrishnan was referring to the Sukhadeo Thorat-led committee, the first to study caste discrimination in higher education. In 2011, the committee came with a series of recommendations against caste-based discrimination in educational institutions, such as providing coaching classes for English fluency, social skills and communications, setting up an equal opportunity cell to help students qualify for the National Eligibilty Test among others.

The Sukhadeo Thorat committee recommendations are yet to be implemented.

Muthukrishnan(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Anitha, September 2017

In death, the 17-year-old Dalit girl from Ariyalur district, became a symbol of Tamil Nadu’s resistance to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). S Anitha, the daughter of a daily wage worker, took her own life on September 1, 2017 after she failed to secure a medical seat due to her poor NEET score.

Anitha’s dream of becoming a doctor turned to dust despite scoring 1176 out of 1200 in the Class 12 Board examinations. Her determination to secure an MBBS seat made her implead herself in the case challenging NEET in the Supreme Court that year.

But with no relief coming from the Supreme Court, and admissions based on the NEET score, Anitha was unable to join a medical course, having scored 86 out of 720. In one of her last interviews, Anitha had said, “From the village from where I am from, except for two or three people, no one wrote NEET. Even they didn’t make it. They are also talented. When people like us don’t have the means or opportunities to attend coaching classes, we can only prosper using what we have.”

Her suicide triggerred massive protests across the state, with students and political parties demanding that NEET be removed. Since Anitha’s death, many have argued that NEET is disadvantageous for those from poor households and rural backgrounds. This was substantiated by recent data submitted by the Tamil Nadu government to the Madras High Court. Only 2.1% of the students who had joined government and self-financing medical colleges in 2019 had passed NEET without enrolling in private coaching.

Read Anitha’s story here.

(This article was originally published by The News Minute and has been republished here with permission.)

Posted by R.K at 5:08 PM
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Labels: *****, 2019 - Fathima Lateef - IITM, Dalit Suicides

Fathima suicide: APSC members analyse what makes IIT Madras campus so toxic - Edex Live


Fathima suicide: APSC members analyse what makes IIT Madras campus so toxic


The Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle has brought out a statement regarding Fathima Latheef's suicide and the atmosphere of discrimination, harassment and increased stress and pressure on campus


Edex Live

Edex Live



Fathima Latheef

What is it that makes the environment at IIT Madras toxic? 
 When they first heard the news of the death of Fathima Lathief, the community at IIT Madras unquestioningly bought into the narrative that she had ended her life due to poor academic performance It was two days later that Fathima’s family alleged that she had left a suicide note implicating certain professors of IIT Madras to be the cause of her death.

 The issue soon escalated to the national level and the angle of an institutional murder was raised. Instead of being considered in isolation, Fathima’s suicide was discussed alongside other 6 suicides that happened at IIT Madras since September 2018. Discussions also revolved around the causes for the general depreciation of the mental health of students at IIT Madras. What is it that makes the environment at IIT Madras this toxic?


Advocates of Meritocracy
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Kanimozhi slams IIT Madras in Parliament for 'protecting' professors named in Fathima's suicide case

Two IIT Madras students go on hunger strike, demand internal probe into Fathima's suicide

The general notion is that it is some of the best minds of the country who crack the prestigious JEE exam who get admitted to IITM for the undergraduate course. What is forgotten is the rigorous coaching that these students undergo while preparing for the exam. Paying hefty sums as fees, students are trained from as early as 8th standard. A t-shirt worn by several first-year students, that read ‘straight out of factory’ is a shameful testimony to this fact. Also, the social and economic background of the families that can afford this kind of coaching is apparent. Yet, the proponents of meritocracy conveniently forget this fact. And make no mistake, a large proportion of IITM community subscribe to meritocracy. This includes both faculty and students.

Once in IIT, students again find themselves in an environment that promotes cut-throat competition instead of a healthy, ardent pursuit for knowledge and all-around development of the students. 

The CGPA system aids to this. Students struggle to get PoR positions in various clubs and organizations within campus, to build their CV to fetch ‘better’ placements. 

A student’s success is measured in the CTC that s/he is offered in the placement sessions that happen in the final year. The placement figures are widely publicized and celebrated. Many times, the companies offering the highest packages are data analytics companies that have nothing to do with the course that the student is graduating in. 

Isn’t this general trend in which a student prefers a high paying job to doing future work in his/her specialization, a failure of the IIT system? 

Why does a student feel alienated to the subject s/he has learnt for 4 to 5 years? 

Or, is IIT Madras more a place that trains professionals for corporates rather than a giver of knowledge? 

Some professors who teach core subjects, advise students to prioritize on improving their language skills, as apparently it is these soft skills that fetch them jobs and not the subject knowledge.



Are IITM spaces inclusive?
To add to this mindset is the explicit/implicit casteism and brahminical hegemony that exists inside campus. Several students, faculties and staff assert their so-called upper caste status through various symbols. Several offices in the administration block and other departmental offices blatantly display religious symbols. All this in the backdrop of the current political atmosphere in India, makes IIT spaces far from secular. It is to this campus that a student from a weaker socio-economical background is coming to study. 

From get-set-go, the student is considered as the ‘other’ and s/he herself/himself feels alienated. There is absolutely no initiative from IIT Madras administration to make the space more inclusive for students from different backgrounds. If a student finds it hard to cope up, that is considered solely the student’s own problem. When s/he approaches the administration stating the difficulty, the quick-fix solution that is being proposed is to quit the course. Over 2400 students have dropped out of all IITs in the last two years, with over 120 from IIT Madras. The IITM system is blind to the mental agony of a student who has to take this decision. To decide to quit a course that s/he joined with so much hope and to return home as a 12th pass. More often than not, the student also fails to see this as a systemic problem and considers this a personal failure.

Who does campus really belong to?
The entire power structure at IIT Madras itself is ridden with feudal values. The professors enjoy unrestrained power, especially when it comes to guide-scholar relationships.

The system rewards subservient scholars. While professors/guides feel entitled to complete subordination from the student, scholars themselves believe that they ought to obey their professors unquestioningly. And the teachers are very much a part of the larger system in India that is casteist, patriarchal, brahminical and feudal. They bring along with them their own prejudices, which could, in turn, lead into explicit or implicit discrimination against the students. Sure there are student-friendly professors, but they are the exception, not the norm. Students feel helpless when they are meted out with unfair, undemocratic treatment. They try to somehow put up with it silently and rush through the course. This takes a toll not just on the mental health of the scholar, but also on his/her effective learning.

That the institute does not treat a student as a respectable individual with dignity is evident from the ridiculous vigilance that exists at IIT Madras. 

With scant regard to the fact that privacy is a basic right guaranteed to an Indian citizen, the vigilance officers barge into the hostel rooms of students. They audaciously, unabashedly go through his/her personal belongings. The recent incident in which hostel authorities tried to name shame and penalize a student after having found used condoms in his wastebasket clearly shows the mindset behind the vigilance system. The ridiculous rule here states that a student is allowed to visit his friend in another hostel, only for ‘academic purposes’! The general rule is that you are guilty until proven innocent, whatever ‘innocence’ means here. How then can a student feel a sense of belonging to this institute?



The solution that those who advocate vigilance propose to those who oppose it, is to move out of hostels and live outside the campus. That brings us to an important question. Who does the campus really belong to? The hierarchy that exists here gives the notion that IITM belongs to the administration alone. Even when IITM sets up grievance redressal mechanisms, how can a student take them into confidence? How can s/he be sure justice be served and that s/he is not further harassed? Though IIT Madras is primarily set up for its students, they feel powerless. The point to be remembered is that this institute is as much for the students as it is for the faculty. The reputation of an academic Institute is made or earned through its past students and researchers but the administration appropriates it and uses it to suppress the voice of the actual stakeholders of reputation.

The way ahead
There is a lot of discussion about the depreciating mental health of the students here. It is to be stressed that mental health issues are not just personal problems. It is an individual’s response to the system that he is a part of. There is no denying the fact that the current setting at IIT Madras is bound to take a toll on the mental health of the individual, by being discriminatory and oppressive. Students themselves should realize this and IIT Madras should acknowledge this. The unrestrained authority of the administration and faculties need to be questioned. The elected student representatives who merely act as the mouthpiece of the administration need to be questioned and held accountable. Suicides are institutional murders. Mental health issues and depression are systemic problems. They have to be addressed that way. The community at IIT Madras is largely complacent and does not question the status quo. This should change. Students should assert their rights. They should feel that they too have powers and support from the larger student community to deal with their problems. Students should unite. Long live student unity!

(Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle, IIT Madras is a students' initiative)
Posted by R.K at 11:53 AM
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Labels: *****, 2019 - Fathima Lateef - IITM, APSC-Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

IIT-M Suicide: Is Second Alleged Suicide Note Fake? - The Quint




Three days after 19-year-old Fathima Latheef was found dead in her hostel room in IIT Madras, her father demanded a probe.(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

IIT-M Suicide: Is Second Alleged Suicide Note Fake?
SMITHA TK
UPDATED: 14H 57M AGO
INDIA

(This article, originally 'IIT-M Suicide Case: Father & Students Say Second Note Is Fake' has been updated to include a comment from a source close to the family claiming that the second note is real. Fathima Latheef’s father and the students continue to assert it is fake, while the police are investigating.)

Sudarshan Padmanabhan is the cause of my death. P.S. Check Samsung notes.

Text of a screenshot Abdul Latheef shared with media.

This was the text of a screenshot Abdul Latheef, Fathima’s father had shared with media.

19-year old Fathima from Kollam in Kerala was a first-year student of the five-year MA programme in Development Studies at IIT Madras. She was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel room on the morning of 9 November.

When her twin sister Aysha had gone to the Kotturpuram Police Station, she found Fathima’s phone on the table. Upon charging the phone, she noticed there was no lock and the aforementioned text was her home screen. This screenshot pinning blame on Professor Sudharshan Padmanabhan was then widely circulated on social media as the alleged suicide note.

Now another note purported to have been written by her is also being circulated, which blames two other professors.
Also Read : Amid Protests, Central Crime Branch Takes Over IIT-M Suicide Case

The Alleged Second Suicide Note

Several questions are being raised questioning the authenticity of the second suicide note.

What does the note say?



Fathima’s father asserts that this image is fake.(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

The other two professors named in the purported second note are Dr Hemachandran Karah and Milind Brahme.

Dr Hemachandran Karah teaches English Literature at the Humanities and Social Sciences Department. He is known for his research on themes such as disability, health, literary criticism, and musicology.

Milind Brahme teaches the German Language, Comparative Literature and is the advisor of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle, a pro-Dalit group.

Fathima’s father reiterated that he was not aware how this particular note pinning blame on the other two professors began doing the rounds.

“Fathima had written that she had held debates with these two professors at various points of times.. She has written this in a few other notes on the phone…”

Abdul Latheef, Fathima’s father.
Students close to one of the professors said they are trying to prove that the note is fake.

On the other hand, a source close to the family said there were reasons to believe that the note is genuine. However, the source refused to speak more as the case is under investigation.

The Police, when contacted by The Quint confirmed that the phone has been sent for forensics and they will confirm the claims very soon. They refused to divulge more details as the investigation is underway.

“The Central Crime Branch assured they will find the culprits in a week. The cellphone has gone for a forensic check. The police should read all that’s on her phone and find out the truth.”
Abdul Latheef, Famitha’s father.


Also Read : Fathima Latheef Death: IIT Madras Slams ‘Media Trial’, ‘Trolling’

Prof Trying to Distort Facts, Claims Father
When The Quint spoke to friends close to Fathima, they claimed that she was every teacher’s favourite. The professor in question, Sudharshan Padmanaban, had also appreciated her several times during class.
Brushing aside allegations, one of her friends had told The Quint,

“Students would often argue with Professor Sudharshan and he would invariably correct us but if Fathima said something, he would accept it at face-value. She was his favourite student and that’s why this (allegation) shocked me.”

Fathima Latheef’s Friend

However, her father sharply retorted to this claim saying, “When the professor got caught, this (image) is something he has created. Just fake.” He also claimed the students have been instructed not to say things that will malign the reputation of the department and the institution.
Also Read : Weekend Listens | Psychology of Student Suicides & Other Podcasts

Father Suspects Harassment by Professors

All of Fathima's professors and friends said she was one of the brightest students in the batch. When The Quint spoke to the students, they said that Fathima had been a topper.

There were rumours that Fathima had scored low marks in a certain subject and was thus upset. Apparently, Fathima had scored 13 out of 20 marks in an Internal Assessment in Logic but believed she deserved more. She had approached the Head of the Department for a review.

The professor reviewed it and sent the paper back to Professor Sudarshan Padmanabhan, who had evaluated the paper. She was the topper in the paper; the student in second place in the test had scored 11 marks and the one in third place had scored 9.

The professor had apparently asked Fathima to meet him on Monday, 11 November, but Fathima was found dead in her hostel room on Saturday.

The family suspects something happened which had impacted Fathima drastically.

Her father claims that she made notes for over 28 days about different professors and that the same will come to light after the investigation.

“She had got offers from Benaras Hindu College and Lady Sri Ram College but my wife insisted this (IIT Madras) is in the neighboring state, no? Tamil Nadu is a very good state. But look what happened.”
Abdul Latheef, Fathima’s Father

This note has also been authenticated as real by Fathima’s father.(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

“The family is completely broken down. We are all dead. But I will fight till my last breath.”
Abdul Latheef, Fathima’s Father


The Central Crime Branch (CCB) team of Chennai police probing the case questioned Fathima's father and sister for over three hours on Saturday and have asked them to submit her laptop and gadgets for further investigation.

‘Implore Media to Protest Till Justice Is Served’

Fathima’s father appealed to the media to continue to write about this issue and bring the culprits to justice.

“Tamil Nadu and Kerala media have taken this up to make sure this does not happen to another girl. There are many children to aspire to study a lot and it can be possible only with) the help of media like) you,” he added.

Also Read : 3 Student Suicides Rattle TN, Oppn Demands NEET Be Scrapped

(Hi there! We will be continuing our news service on WhatsApp. Meanwhile, stay tuned to our Telegram channel here.)First Published: 1 DAY AGO

Follow our India section for more stories.
Posted by R.K at 2:52 PM
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Labels: *****, 2019 - Fathima Lateef - IITM, Dr Hemachandran Karah and Milind Brahme., Sudarshan Padmanabhan-IITM Faculty
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COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF IIT ASPIRANTS, STUDENTS & ALUMNI WHO ATTEMPTED OR COMMITTED SUCIDE

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  • 2016 -Kriti Tripathi’s -Kota (8)
  • 2016 Rupesh Kushwaha - Kota (1)
  • 2016-Avinsh Keshav Meena-Kota (3)
  • 2016-P.Maheswari Post Doctoral Research Scholar-IITM (14)
  • 2017 - Aaditya K. Bharti - Kota (1)
  • 2017 - Abhishek Kumar Yadav - Kota (1)
  • 2017 - Ajit Pramanick - Kota (1)
  • 2017 - Amaandeep Singh - Kota (1)
  • 2017 - Aman Chauhan-IITR (3)
  • 2017 - Amandeep Singh - Kota (1)
  • 2017 - Ankit Wadhwa - IITK Graduate (2)
  • 2017 - Arijit Pramanick - Kota (3)
  • 2017 - Dara J Bhim Raju - IIT BHU-Dalit (1)
  • 2017 - Manjula Devak PhD - IIT Delhi (12)
  • 2017 - Nidhin.N - IIT Kgp (12)
  • 2017 - Nikhil Bhatia - IIT Kgp (5)
  • 2017 - Nipin.N - IIT Kgp (2)
  • 2017 - Sana Shreeraj - IIT Kgp (11)
  • 2017 - Soham Mukherjee -IIML Student - IITG Alumnus (1)
  • 2017- Lokesh Meena IIT Kgp - Dalit (9)
  • 2017-Sagar Mandal- IISER Kolkata (1)
  • 2018 - Abhijit Singh Bansiya -I ITR (6)
  • 2018 - Abhishek Maurya - Kota (1)
  • 2018 - Aniket Anand - Kota (1)
  • 2018 - Anshum Gupta - IIT Delhi Alumnus (6)
  • 2018 - Bheem Singh - Dalit - IITK (9)
  • 2018 - DEEPAK DADICH - KOTA (1)
  • 2018 - DIKSHA SINGH - KOTA (1)
  • 2018 - Dr.Aditi Simha - IITM Prof (4)
  • 2018 - Gangireddy Hanimi Reddy -M.Tech - IITKgp (6)
  • 2018 - Gopal Maloo - IITD (11)
  • 2018 - Isha Upadhyay- IIT JEE (1)
  • 2018 - JITESH GUPTA - KOTA (1)
  • 2018 - Jaideep Swain - IITB (4)
  • 2018 - Kanuwar Paul Singh - IITG (4)
  • 2018 - Nagashree S.C - IITG (7)
  • 2018 - Rishab Kumar - Kota (2)
  • 2018 - Sahid Gurmut - IITM (1)
  • 2018 - Sahul Kornath - IITM (2)
  • 2018 - Sidarth Pal - Kota (2)
  • 2018 - Surendra Das - IITKgp Alumnus (1)
  • 2018 - Surya Pratap Singh - Kota (1)
  • 2018 - Tirunagiri Prashant - IIT Kgp - Alumnus (2)
  • 2018 - Vinisha Yadav - IITB (4)
  • 2018 - Vipin Chejara - IITR (1)
  • 2018 -Pradepa( NEET Aspirant)- Dalit (1)
  • 2018-MehulmPriyadarshi-IITD-IITM (1)
  • 2019 - Alan Stanley - PhD- IIT Delhi (6)
  • 2019 - Amit - Kota (1)
  • 2019 - Ananya Gupta - IITD (3)
  • 2019 - Anirudya - IIT Hyd (12)
  • 2019 - Chander Mohan Goswami - IIT Kgp (2)
  • 2019 - Chirag Pravin Jain - IIT Bhubaneswar (3)
  • 2019 - Deepak Dadich - Kota (1)
  • 2019 - Fathima Lateef - IITM (126)
  • 2019 - Gopal Babu - IITM (7)
  • 2019 - Harsh - IITB (Missing) (1)
  • 2019 - Jitesh Gupta - Kota (1)
  • 2019 - Kota Onada (Japanese student) - IITG (2)
  • 2019 - Kratika Jadon - Kota (1)
  • 2019 - Mark Andrew Charles - IIT Huderabad (5)
  • 2019 - Mark Andrew Charles - IIT Hyd (8)
  • 2019 - Nagashri - IITG (2)
  • 2019 - Pannem Pavan Siddardha - IITG (6)
  • 2019 - Ranjana Kumari PhD-IITM (8)
  • 2019 - Rushik Reddy - IITM (1)
  • 2019 - S Shahal Kormath - IITM (2)
  • 2019 - Sujoy Manekar (1)
  • 2019- Pichikala Siddarth - IIT Hyderabad (7)
  • 2020 - Bhavanibhatla Kondal Rao -IIT KGP (1)
  • 2020 - IIT Kgp (1)
  • 2020 - Man Mohan Mall - IIT Kgp - ALUMNUS (2)
  • 2020 - Piue - IITGandhinagar (2)
  • 2020 - Pramod Subramaniam-IITK Faculty (2)
  • 2020 - Sasidhar Reddy - IIT Tirupathi (1)
  • 2020 - Subashri - NEET (1)
  • 2020- Man Mohan Mall - IIT ALUMNUS (1)
  • 2021 - Hari Prasath - IITD (3)
  • 2021 - Pushpak Sambhe - IIT Nagpur (1)
  • 2021 - Samarpit Sahu - IITD (2)
  • 2021 - Sarthak Vijayvat - IIT Kgp (1)
  • 2021 - Shubshankar - Kota (1)
  • 2021 - Unni Krishnan - IITM (3)
  • 2021 - Vipin Veetil - IITM (1)
  • 2021-Satish Reddy-IIT Kgp (1)
  • 2021-Unni Krishnan nair-IITM (1)
  • 2022 - Darshan Malviya- M Tech - IITB (2)

9 Dalit Suicides in IITs

  • 2007 Shrikant Mallepula IITB - Dalit
  • 2009 G. Suman M.Tech IITK - Dalit
  • 2010 Madhuri Salve IITK - Dalit
  • 2011 Manish Kumar IIT Roorkee - Dalit
  • 2014 - Aniket Ambhore - IITB - Dalit
  • 2016 - Rohit Vemula Dalit Hyderabad University
  • 2017 - Dara J Bhim Raju - IIT BHU-Dalit
  • 2017- Lokesh Meena IIT Kgp - Dalit
  • 2018 - Bheem Singh - Dalit - IITK
  • 2018 -Pradepa( NEET Aspirant)- Dalit

Kota - 32 Suicides of IIT Aspirants

  • 2014 - K.Swetha - IIT Aspirant
  • 2015 - Kota Student Suicide
  • 2016 - Aman Kumar Gupta - Kota
  • 2016 - Arvind Kushwah - Kota
  • 2016 - Ashish Satyam - Kota
  • 2016 - Kota Student Suicide
  • 2016 - Mahima Yadav-Kota
  • 2016 - Nikhil - Kota
  • 2016 - Preeti Singh - Kota
  • 2016 - Prince Kumar Singh-Kota
  • 2016 - Sneha Suman-Kota
  • 2016 -Kriti Tripathi’s -Kota
  • 2016 Rupesh Kushwaha - Kota
  • 2016-Avinsh Keshav Meena-Kota
  • 2017 - Aaditya K. Bharti - Kota
  • 2017 - Abhishek Kumar Yadav - Kota
  • 2017 - Ajit Pramanick - Kota
  • 2017 - Amaandeep Singh - Kota
  • 2017 - Amandeep Singh - Kota
  • 2017 - Arijit Pramanick - Kota
  • 2018 - Abhishek Maurya - Kota
  • 2018 - Aniket Anand - Kota
  • 2018 - DEEPAK DADICH - KOTA
  • 2018 - DIKSHA SINGH - KOTA
  • 2018 - JITESH GUPTA - KOTA
  • 2018 - Rishab Kumar - Kota
  • 2018 - Sidarth Pal - Kota
  • 2018 - Surya Pratap Singh - Kota
  • 2018 -Pradepa( NEET Aspirant)- Dalit
  • 2019 - Amit - Kota
  • 2019 - Kratika Jadon - Kota
  • 2020 - Subashri - NEET
  • Kota

STASTISTICS

Suicide count of known suicides listed in the Blog from 1981 to 2016

IIT Kanpur: 21

IIT Kharagpur 21

IIT Madras 19

IIT Bombay: 14

IIT Guwahati 10

IIT Roorkee 8

IIT Delhi: 6

IIT Hyderabad 4

IIT Gandhi Nagar 2

Other New IITs 3

Total 124 (1981 - 2019)

Year wise Count

1981 - 1, 1987 - 1, 1999 - 1, 2003 - 1, 2004 - 1, 2005 - 4. 2006 - 5, 2007 - 3, 2008 - 5, 2009 - 8. 2010 - 6, 2011 - 10, 2012 - 3, 2013 - 5, 2014 - 14, 2015 - 7, 2016 - 7, 2017 - 6, 2018 - 15, 2019 - 14

Total 127


INDEX

  • "Death of Merit" documentary
  • "Faces of Discrimination in Higher Education in India: Quota Policy
  • "IIT Madras Confessions"
  • "Life under the Canopy"
  • 'Anti-Suicide Fans'
  • 'There Is Nothing Meritorious about IITs
  • -Wire
  • 1 - Koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti
  • 1 to 1 help.net
  • 122 students from central institutes died by suicide in seven years: Centre
  • AIPMT - All India Pre Medical Test
  • AJANTA SUBRAMANIAM
  • ANKIT IIT-D ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
  • AP: Lokesh lashes out on Jagan over student suicide
  • APSC-Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle
  • ARGHYA BANERJEE
  • ASIM SIDDIQUI - IIT Delhi
  • Academic Stress
  • Aditya Birla
  • Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)
  • Allahabad high court judge Ashok Kumar Roopanwal
  • Alma Matters Review: Big Dreams Come at a Heavy Price
  • Alok Kumar Pandey
  • Alok Kumar Pandey-IITK
  • Alumni Speak
  • Ambedkar Periyar Study Group
  • Ambedkar Students Association (ASA)
  • Amita Tagare-IITB Counsellor
  • Among 122 student suicides since 2014
  • An Open Letter by Anil Chawla
  • Anand Kumar
  • Ananda Krishnan IITK BOG Chairman
  • Anil Meena - AIIMS
  • Anita - Dalit
  • Anjuli Bhargava
  • Ankit Modi
  • Ankit Shaw
  • Anshika Ravi
  • Anshul Sinha-Doc on Agri
  • Apoorva Pathak
  • Arvind Kejriwal
  • Ashok Arora Ex Secretary Supreme Court Bar Open Letter to Prime Minister Modi
  • Assembly Line
  • Assistant registrar at IIT Kanpur commits suicide
  • Asst Professor Complains to OBC Commission
  • Australian Suicide Plan
  • BITS Pilani
  • Bal Mukund - AIIMS
  • Banning LAN
  • Bansal Coaching Clsses
  • Biswa Kalyan Rath
  • Blue Whale Challenge
  • Breaking the Glass ceiling
  • Bring me back my Childhood!
  • CBI
  • Care IITB: counselling and mental health
  • Caste Discrimination at IIT-Madras?
  • Caste and the IITs: What ‘quota students’ experience on campus
  • Casteism In The IITs: A Thriving Culture Of Subordination And Hegemony
  • Chairman IITK Counselling
  • Chetan Bhagat
  • Chhichhore
  • Chinta Bar
  • Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB)
  • Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir -by Yashica Dutt
  • Confession Box
  • Copy Cat Suicides
  • Counselling
  • Counselling Centre
  • Counsellors
  • Culture & expectations
  • DALITS
  • Dalit Students-Senthil Kumar-Hyd Cent Uni
  • Dalit Suicides
  • DalitStudent Suicides
  • Dark tales in Andhra Pradesh’s IIT success story - Hindu
  • Darpan Bajaj-IITR
  • Dean Students IITB
  • Dean of Students Affairs - IITB
  • Death by wish
  • Deccan Herald
  • Deja Vu the Film by Anshul Singhal
  • Delta Meghawal-Dalit Girl
  • Devang Khakhar-IITB Director
  • Director IITK
  • DoSA
  • Dr Harish Shetty-Senior Psychiatrist -IITB
  • Dr Hemachandran Karah and Milind Brahme.
  • Dr Subrahmanyam Saderla
  • Dr.Jaspreet Singh- Govt Med College Chandigarh
  • Dr.Lakshmi Vijay Kumar - SNEHA
  • Dr.Shinka Jain-Counsellor IITR
  • EKTA
  • Eight Suicides in 5 years at IITK
  • Emraan Hashmi
  • Ensure at least next Generation is happy
  • Etoos
  • Exam Stress - Failed Love
  • FAILURES AND SUCCESS
  • FAILURES ARE STEPPING STONES TO SUCCESS
  • FARMER SUICIDES
  • FILMMAKER HEMANT GABA
  • Face Book Page "ICareIITB"
  • Faculty Quota
  • Faking News
  • Fifth Estate
  • Foundation Program IITGN
  • From watchman to IIM professor- Ranjith pursued his dream with will and grit
  • Gautam Biswas IITG Director
  • Gautam Dev
  • Gender Gap
  • Ghosts
  • Governments pass the buck of suicides
  • Govt says 34 IIT students died by suicide from 2014-21
  • HRD Manual on Suicides
  • HRD Minister Pallam Raju
  • HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar
  • HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
  • HRD Ministry
  • HRD Task Force on Suicides
  • Happiness City’
  • Happiness Hostels
  • Happiness Programme
  • Help Line
  • Horlicks
  • How Big Tech Is Importing India’s Caste Legacy to Silicon Valley
  • How Dogs Get Treated at IIT Madras
  • How YourDOST has grown in the emotional wellbeing space
  • Human Library
  • Humanity Prof Seema Singh- IIT Kgp calls her students "Bloody Bastards"
  • IIIT
  • IISc begins removing ceiling fans in hostel rooms
  • IIT Bombay
  • IIT Council
  • IIT Delhi
  • IIT Drop Outs
  • IIT FACULTY RESPONSES
  • IIT Gandhi Nagar
  • IIT Gandhinagar
  • IIT Guwahati
  • IIT Hyderabad
  • IIT Indore
  • IIT Kanpur
  • IIT Kgp
  • IIT Kgp 2017
  • IIT Madras
  • IIT Madras Suicides
  • IIT Madras: Social Justice Down the Drain
  • IIT STUDENTS NOT CREATIVE ENOUGH
  • IIT Student's views
  • IIT- Mandi
  • IIT-K May Revoke Thesis of Prof Who Had Flagged Caste-based Discrimination
  • IIT-Kanpur assistant professor kills self at campus - Indian Express
  • IIT-Roorkee
  • IITB
  • IITB Faculty Members Son
  • IITD
  • IITG
  • IITK Restrict Internet Use
  • IITK removes Ceiling Fans
  • IITK to Ease Rules
  • IITM & Casteism
  • IITM - Happiness Course
  • IITs & NITs: Govt in Lok Sabha
  • IITs witness 50 suicides in 5 years- 14 at IIT Guwahati alone
  • If IIT Bombay Can
  • India needs to do more for its students through access to student loans - The Print
  • Indian Housewives
  • Institutionalised Murder
  • Internet
  • Is it Fair to Conduct JEE & NEET Amid Pandemic ? - QUINT
  • Islamaphobia
  • It Is Always Darkest Before Dawn
  • JEE (Mains) exam fraud: CBI makes 4 more arrests - including assistant professor
  • JEE Advanced
  • JNU
  • Jackie Chan Story
  • Jisha - Govt Law College Kerala
  • Jogesh Krishna IIT Bhu
  • Judicial safeguards against dowry deaths
  • Jyotirmaya Tripathy
  • KEVIN BRIGGS
  • Kalpit Veerwal - Dalit
  • Kilkil Sachan IITK Blogger
  • Kota
  • Kota Collector's letter to parents
  • Kota Suicides
  • Kota business owners say city will become ‘suicide hub’ as education industry is hit by lockdown- The Print
  • Kota. 2018 - Devesh Kumar-Kota
  • LAN
  • LGBT
  • Laakhon Me Ek
  • Laakhon Mein Ek
  • Ladies Finger
  • Laying out a path for India’s national suicide prevention strategy
  • Legacy Project
  • Life Skills
  • Lights Out IIT Kgp
  • Live Mint
  • M A Kalam-Prof.Anthropology
  • MBBS beyond reach of meritorious poor
  • MERITOCRACY VS RESERVATION
  • Mahatma Gandhi
  • Mahtab Ahmed-IITK
  • Mandatory Induction
  • Manish - IIT R
  • Mental Health Startup
  • Message from IITMadras - Dean Alumni and Corporate Relations
  • Millenium Post
  • Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Mahendra Nath Pandey
  • MoodCafe
  • Most Suicide Victims are mentally Ill
  • Muzaffarnagar Abhi Baki Hai
  • My cousin Vikram hanged himself because of JEE pressure. September dates made it worse
  • NCPCR Guidelines for Hostels
  • NEET
  • NEET -Suicides
  • NEET SEAT SCAM
  • NEWS
  • NHRC
  • NIT
  • NRC BILL
  • Narayana IIT College
  • National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
  • National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)
  • National Education Policy
  • National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)
  • Neerja Birla
  • Neither is suicide a crime
  • Netflix's Alma Matters is here to depict the inside details of the IIT Dream! Watch the trailer
  • Nikhil Dey Activist
  • Nirmal Yogi-Kota
  • Nitin Gupta IITB
  • No life
  • Nobody Held Accountable.
  • Nobody gets the IIT story right- 3 Idiots- TVF- to Netflix’s Alma Matters
  • Not a single ST student was admitted in 11 depts at IIT Bombay the last five years- RTI reveals
  • OBC
  • OP India
  • OPINIONS
  • On the e-book 'Young Mental Health' - The Hindu
  • Online IIT-Pal
  • Orygen
  • Outlook India
  • PAL
  • PAL-Peer Assisted Learning
  • PIL IITM Suicides
  • PRINT
  • PUBG
  • Pagalguy
  • Parliament Updates
  • Parliamentary Committee
  • Partha Pratim Chakraorty IIT Kgp Director
  • Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) - IIT Gandhinagar
  • People must learn to read early signs showing suicidal tendency or turn to experts - National Herald
  • Prakash Javadekar-Union HRD minister
  • Prakash Javedkar-Union HRD minister
  • Pratyush Paras Sarma - IITG
  • Pressure from Parents
  • Prof A Meher Prasad Civil Engg IITM
  • Prof A.K.Ghosh - Dean Student Welfare IITK
  • Prof Kannan Maoudgalya - IITB
  • Prof Shiv Sethi-Dev Samaj College
  • Prof Soumyo Mukherji
  • Prof. A.R.Harish
  • Prof. Anurag Mehra-IIT B
  • Prof. Ashok Misra IITB Director
  • Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi IITM Director
  • Prof. Dheeraj Sanghi IITK
  • Prof. Indranil Manna
  • Prof. M.K.Ghorai
  • Prof. M.S.Ananth IITM Director
  • Prof. Omkar Dixit
  • Prof. P.V.Manivanna IITM
  • Prof. Prakash M Maiya IITM
  • Prof. R. Nagarajan IITM
  • Prof. S.M. Srinivasan IIT-M - Head of Mitr
  • Prof. Sangeeta Das Bhattacharya -IIT Kgp
  • Prof. V.K. Gupta IITK Faculty
  • Prof.H.C.Verma IITK
  • Prof.Idichandy IITM
  • Prof.K.S.Venkatesh Elec Engg IIT Kanpur
  • Prof.L.S Ganesh IITM - Dean Students
  • Prof.M.Govardhan IITM (Dean Students)
  • Prof.Nitin Gupta
  • Prof.Santhakumar IITM
  • Prof.Sathyanarayana IITM
  • Prof.Sivakumar Srinivasan - MITR
  • Professor Kabeer Jasuja-PAL
  • Professor Miland Brahme
  • Professor Sivakumar M Srinivasan-Dean (Students)-IIT Madras
  • Promod Bansal
  • Psychiatrists Well Being Model
  • Puneet Munja-Your Dost
  • Quality Education
  • REMEDIAL ACTIONS
  • RICHA SINGH CO-FOUNDER OF DOST
  • Ram Krishnaswamy
  • Rashmi Uday Kumar-Public Relations Officer-IIT-Bombay
  • Researchers Identify Key Networks In Brain That Play Role In Suicide
  • Runway2Life
  • S.K.Jain Director IIT Gandhinagar
  • SANDEEP PANDEY
  • SC & ST
  • SOCIAL AUDIT
  • SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT
  • SV Krishna Chaitanya -Indian Express
  • Saathi
  • Sana Iqbal
  • Sandipan Deb
  • Sanjay Dhande IITK Director
  • Sanjeev S Kashalkar IITK Registrar
  • Sathi
  • Saurabh Khanna - Kota Factory - Producer
  • Scheduke Caste Commission Chairperson P L Punia
  • Section 377
  • Sekhar Saxena - Psychiatrist
  • Shankar Devarajan-CEO Shankar IAS Academy
  • Sharmishta Chakrovorti student counsellor of IIT Kanpur.
  • Snigdha Poonam - Huffington Post
  • Social Justice and the Dalits".
  • Soumyo Mukherjee- Dean of Student Affairs at IIT-B
  • Soumyo Mukherji
  • Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
  • Stalin
  • Stress Buster IIT Kgp
  • Student Suicides in Mumbai
  • Student suicide rising
  • Sudarshan Padmanabhan-IITM Faculty
  • Suicide By LSR Student
  • Suicide News Dated 23rd Oct 2021
  • Suicide is a bigger concern than murder
  • Suicides at IITK
  • Supreme Court
  • Supreme Court on PIL
  • Surat Trtagedy
  • Suvam Poddar
  • T V Commercials
  • THE F LIST.
  • TT Jaganathan
  • TTK Centre
  • Tamil Brahmins were the earliest to frame merit as a caste claim and it showed in IITs by Ajanta Subramaniam
  • Tanaji Rao Biradare-IITR
  • Tehelka
  • The All India Save Education Committee (AISEO)
  • The Ananda Krishnan committee report on suicides in IITs
  • The Community Has a Critical Role in Suicide Prevention
  • The Kids Aren’t All Right: Mental Health And Indian Youth
  • The Print
  • The Silicon Valley Suicides
  • The futile search for rationale in the act of suicide
  • Tread Will
  • Treating the Root Causes of Suicide
  • UGC's 2012 regulations to check discrimination
  • Union HRD Minster Smriti Irani
  • V.N.Pal-IIT Alumnus
  • V.P.Singh
  • V.Ramgopal Rao-IITD Director
  • Varun DhimanMarch
  • Vivekananda Centre IIT Kharagpur
  • WHO Report on Suicides
  • War on Suicides
  • Wellness Centres
  • Why Cheat India-Movie
  • Why IIT students need a political space
  • Why Not Others? - NDTV
  • Why did Fathima Latheef hang herself?
  • World Mental Health Day
  • World Suicide Prevention Day
  • Yogita Krishna-IIT Bhu
  • You Tube
  • Your Dost
  • YourDost
  • an informal pan-IIT LGBT group - Pravritti
  • burnout
  • dalit
  • depression
  • every one hour one student commits suicide in India
  • every time - QRIOUS
  • getting women into IITs
  • induction courses
  • kirt
  • lost childhood — the price students pay for a prized IIT seat - THE PRINT
  • mbedkar Study Circle-IITD
  • no hobbies
  • nor can one be driven to it
  • student suicides
  • suicide
  • suicides in iits
  • yesha's Suicide
  • youth ki aavaaz
  • ‘Making Kota
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