Student found dead inside IIT Madras campus
PTI, August 31, 2011 at 09:08
Chennai, Aug 31 (PTI) A 36-year old student of IIT Madras was found dead in a hostel room inside the institute campus here today after he allegedly consumed poison, police said.
Gowrishankar, the deceased, was found dead in a room in Cauvery hostel inside the IIT campus in Guindy in the city around 11.30 am, they said.
Family dispute is said to be the reason behind the alleged suicide, police said. The student, whose family live in Thiruvottiyur, Chennai, is reported to have consumed poison, they said.
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Student found dead inside IIT Madras campus _ Deccan Herald
Chennai, Aug 31, (PTI):
A 36-year old student of IIT Madras was found dead in a hostel room inside the institute campus here today after he allegedly consumed poison, police said.
Gowrishankar, the deceased, was found dead in a room in Cauvery hostel inside the IIT campus in Guindy in the city around 11.30 am, they said.
Family dispute is said to be the reason behind the alleged suicide, police said. The student, whose family live in Thiruvottiyur, Chennai, is reported to have consumed poison, they said.
__________________________________
Student found dead inside IIT Madras campus
August 31, 2011 at 09:08
Chennai, Aug 31 (PTI) A 36-year old student of IIT Madras was found dead in a hostel room inside the institute campus here today after he allegedly consumed poison, police said.
Gowrishankar, the deceased, was found dead in a room in Cauvery hostel inside the IIT campus in Guindy in the city around 11.30 am, they said.
Family dispute is said to be the reason behind the alleged suicide, police said. The student, whose family live in Thiruvottiyur, Chennai, is reported to have consumed poison, they said.
____________________________________
IIT-M student found dead in hostel- Times of India
A Selvaraj & M Ramya, TNN Sep 1, 2011, 03.45am IST
CHENNAI: A second-year postgraduate student at IIT-Madras was found dead inside his hostel room on Wednesday.
B Gowri Sankar, a 36-year-old MTech mechanical engineering student, was an employee of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore. Police said there was no suicide note.
"We have sent his laptop to the cyber crime department to see if it contains any documents that could give us clues as to why he committed suicide," a police officer said.
This is the third suicide in the past six months at IIT-M. In February, V Anoop, an MTech mechanical engineering student, committed suicide, and in May, L Nitin Kumar Reddy, another MTech mechanical engineering student, hung himself.
Police said Sankar was a senior engineer at HAL and the company had sponsored his studies at the IIT. He joined the institute on August 8, 2010 and was staying in Cauvery hostel on the campus. Sankar's wife Geetha was trying to reach him on his mobile phone on Wednesday morning and as he did not answer despite repeated attempts, she asked his friend Krishnamurthy, also an MTech student at IIT-M, to check on him.
Geetha and his two sons live at a house in Bangalore. Police said Krishnamurthy went to Sankar's room around 12.30pm and found the door unlocked. He found Sankar lying on his bed with froth at his mouth. He informed the hostel warden and the security officer, who alerted the police. Police inspector B Jaisankar sent the body to the government hospital in Royapettah for postmortem.
Police said Sankar stayed in the room allotted by the college. "He has been doing well academically. We can rule out health problems because not a single report has been filed with the institute hospital in his name," said V G Idichandy, director in-charge at IIT-M.
One of the professors who handled several courses said Sankar was scheduled to leave for Bangalore on Wednesday morning. "He did well in the last semester and didn't seem to be under any stress. He had spoken to his friends in other hostels last evening and they did not notice anything out of the ordinary. He was regular to class and hadn't taken a day off in the last six months," the professor said.
SUICIDES AT IIT-M
October 2008 – Sankar Perumal, MTech mechanical engineering student
May 12, 2010 – R Sandeep, MTech electrical engineering student
February 24, 2011 – V Anoop, MTech mechanical engineering student
May 4, 2011 – L Nitin Kumar Reddy, MTech mechanical engineering student
Aug 31, 2011 – B Gowri Sankar, MTech mechanical engineering student
Showing posts with label 2011 L. Nitin Kumar Reddy IITM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2011 L. Nitin Kumar Reddy IITM. Show all posts
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
114 - 15th May 2011 IT student commits suicide on campus - TOI
CHENNAI: A final year IIT-M student committed suicide in his hostel on Wednesday at 2.45pm. Nitin Kumar Reddy, a mechanical engineering student, ended his life minutes after he was told that he would not be able to pass out along with his batchmates this May. Three months ago, another student of the same department killed himself for the same reason.
According to his batchmates, Nitin, 22, was upset after the head of the department Venkateshan SP told him that his course has been extended by six months when he went to submit the abstract for his project. Nitin emailed his father Lakshmana Murthy Reddy, a DRDO official working in Delhi, saying that he was going to end his life as he was scared that the course extension might ruin the job he was offered by a software company. He also called his friend in Bangalore to inform her about his decision. By the time his parents and friend could alert his batchmates, Nitin had hung himself from the ceiling fan inside his hostel room no 463 with the bedspread. IIT-M officials refused to speak. Adyar Deputy Commissioner V Sithanan said they were waiting for his parents to come. A case of suicide has been registered.
According to his batchmates, Nitin, 22, was upset after the head of the department Venkateshan SP told him that his course has been extended by six months when he went to submit the abstract for his project. Nitin emailed his father Lakshmana Murthy Reddy, a DRDO official working in Delhi, saying that he was going to end his life as he was scared that the course extension might ruin the job he was offered by a software company. He also called his friend in Bangalore to inform her about his decision. By the time his parents and friend could alert his batchmates, Nitin had hung himself from the ceiling fan inside his hostel room no 463 with the bedspread. IIT-M officials refused to speak. Adyar Deputy Commissioner V Sithanan said they were waiting for his parents to come. A case of suicide has been registered.
Readers' opinions (340)Sort by:Newest|Oldest
Quarks@IITM (UK)
07 Jun, 2011 08:50 PM
I am an IIT-M graduate. Do not blame the profs for this fiasco. There are rules to be followed in every walk of life. Schools and Uni are solely the stepping stones to making us successful further in life, and many a time people dont even need this to be successful. Many a time we meet with failure, and that should only build our resolve to succeed in the future. In a country of 1.1 billion people, if you don't take your chance when you get it, you miss the opportunity. IITians are well aware of this fact, as also the fact that they have to compete with fellow IITians across the country and students across the world when it comes to getting into a top US Uni for their Masters. If a deadline to complete a thesis successfully is given, it must to be adhered to and there can be no negotiation on that. The business world is a tough place to exist and the IITs provide a more wholesome development than any other Indian Uni. It is a shame that the misinformed Indian public is trying to pinpoint the blame of the IIT M profs and absolving a student who probably in wind down mode ever since he got an offer from the placement cell a couple of months prior to course completion. Students such as these are seen all too frequently, threatening to throw themselves from the water tank unless they are given a passing grade; and the University cannot be held to ransom by such tomfoolery.
07 Jun, 2011 08:50 PM
I am an IIT-M graduate. Do not blame the profs for this fiasco. There are rules to be followed in every walk of life. Schools and Uni are solely the stepping stones to making us successful further in life, and many a time people dont even need this to be successful. Many a time we meet with failure, and that should only build our resolve to succeed in the future. In a country of 1.1 billion people, if you don't take your chance when you get it, you miss the opportunity. IITians are well aware of this fact, as also the fact that they have to compete with fellow IITians across the country and students across the world when it comes to getting into a top US Uni for their Masters. If a deadline to complete a thesis successfully is given, it must to be adhered to and there can be no negotiation on that. The business world is a tough place to exist and the IITs provide a more wholesome development than any other Indian Uni. It is a shame that the misinformed Indian public is trying to pinpoint the blame of the IIT M profs and absolving a student who probably in wind down mode ever since he got an offer from the placement cell a couple of months prior to course completion. Students such as these are seen all too frequently, threatening to throw themselves from the water tank unless they are given a passing grade; and the University cannot be held to ransom by such tomfoolery.
Sad IITM student (IITM)
15 May, 2011 10:10 PM
Guide's at IIT's think that they have hired student. Student might work the way they want. Their ideas are killed, and one best quotation in IIT is ....... It my bloody money what I am spending. Please inform them, its not money which belong to them, its tax paid by our parents and people of india to generate great leader. But unfortunately in IIT's they generate them in coffins. When student and guide will come together to do research, they want to publish paper in order to get grant. No institute in India is doing real research. Just they are trying to manipulate things in different ways. Whole system is opposite where research will be conducted. I have friend in IITM- They say we dont want to be Almunai of this graveyard. Please try to change the attitude of prof's and gave them class of research life. I just want you people to comment something related to Prof's attitute....... The grilling they do to us everyday and scolding's as if we r beggers. People we r IITian's. Confirm from any US institute, they have respect for us but these killer's dont. We r the one who changed the face of world, but unfortunate we couldn't change the mentality of Indian Prof. Shame of them who say its satistically insignificant. Life of student is not bar graph or standard deviation. U r killing heros of India. Hope my words will reach to IIT management. May god save us all.
15 May, 2011 10:10 PM
Guide's at IIT's think that they have hired student. Student might work the way they want. Their ideas are killed, and one best quotation in IIT is ....... It my bloody money what I am spending. Please inform them, its not money which belong to them, its tax paid by our parents and people of india to generate great leader. But unfortunately in IIT's they generate them in coffins. When student and guide will come together to do research, they want to publish paper in order to get grant. No institute in India is doing real research. Just they are trying to manipulate things in different ways. Whole system is opposite where research will be conducted. I have friend in IITM- They say we dont want to be Almunai of this graveyard. Please try to change the attitude of prof's and gave them class of research life. I just want you people to comment something related to Prof's attitute....... The grilling they do to us everyday and scolding's as if we r beggers. People we r IITian's. Confirm from any US institute, they have respect for us but these killer's dont. We r the one who changed the face of world, but unfortunate we couldn't change the mentality of Indian Prof. Shame of them who say its satistically insignificant. Life of student is not bar graph or standard deviation. U r killing heros of India. Hope my words will reach to IIT management. May god save us all.
raunak (iit-g)
09 May, 2011 08:06 PM
IIT life is the coolest life I have ever seen or known. It is what defines us, makes us the best of the best. It is who we are. Without pressure IIT is nothing
09 May, 2011 08:06 PM
IIT life is the coolest life I have ever seen or known. It is what defines us, makes us the best of the best. It is who we are. Without pressure IIT is nothing
raju (dammam)
08 May, 2011 05:26 PM
Getting education is just the beginning of life. One should be big enough to chanllenge the "challenge in life". That should be the attitude, not suicide. Parents should encourage their wards and support to relieve their mental tension. Professors should review their conduct in similar situation and arrange for counciling to students before announcing the information.
08 May, 2011 05:26 PM
Getting education is just the beginning of life. One should be big enough to chanllenge the "challenge in life". That should be the attitude, not suicide. Parents should encourage their wards and support to relieve their mental tension. Professors should review their conduct in similar situation and arrange for counciling to students before announcing the information.
Bunty (Orissa)
08 May, 2011 12:50 AM
Teacher's in higher education have created such a situation that it is not at all acceptable in a civilized society. Instead of focussing on good education and innovations, their behaviour is more centered towards their ego This is best illustrated in the film "3 Idiots" which demontrates the factual scene from a college campus. The education system is also to be blamed which fails to understand that an IITian is a premier institution where the very best are studying. Having said that, why are the professors mute and they should be held responsible for the mess around.
08 May, 2011 12:50 AM
Teacher's in higher education have created such a situation that it is not at all acceptable in a civilized society. Instead of focussing on good education and innovations, their behaviour is more centered towards their ego This is best illustrated in the film "3 Idiots" which demontrates the factual scene from a college campus. The education system is also to be blamed which fails to understand that an IITian is a premier institution where the very best are studying. Having said that, why are the professors mute and they should be held responsible for the mess around.
C Suresh (Charlotte, USA) replies to Bunty
08 May, 2011 11:43 PM
3 Idiots is a a big copy from the english movie Patch Adams acted by Robbie Williams. We made 2 movies one as Munna Bhai MBBS and another as 3 idiots. Sad to hear the news... Scientists think that Suicide mentality creates within oneself through genes or something.. Friends and family should keep a watch of their dear ones and help them.
08 May, 2011 11:43 PM
3 Idiots is a a big copy from the english movie Patch Adams acted by Robbie Williams. We made 2 movies one as Munna Bhai MBBS and another as 3 idiots. Sad to hear the news... Scientists think that Suicide mentality creates within oneself through genes or something.. Friends and family should keep a watch of their dear ones and help them.
113 - 14th May 2011 - IIT’s stressed-out geeks opt for suicide solution - Tehelka
Management and counseling cells come under fire for failing to tackle spike in deaths
Sai Manish , Chennai
Sai Manish , Chennai
By the time Nitin Reddy’s door on the third floor of the Jamuna Hostel in IIT Madras was broken open by his friend after a frantic call from his father, it was too late. The 24-year-old’s limp body was hanging from the fan.
Barely hours before he cut his life short on 4 May, Nitin had made his intentions clear to his father and friends. “I tried hard but I lost,” wrote Nitin, lovingly called ‘Swamy’ by his friends, on his Facebook wall. He emailed his father A Lakashmana Murthy who works in DRDO and told him he was going to kill himself and what should be done with his possessions after he was gone. By the time Murthy, who works in New Delhi, alerted the local guardians in Chennai, it was all over.
On 2 May, Nitin, a final-year MTech (mechanical engineering) student was ordered to do another semester, which meant he could not pass out with his batchmates and faced the prospect of losing the lucrative job that he had landed at a Bengaluru-based software company.
Like the many bright sparks who fly out of IIT every year, Nitin was an adventure-loving geek. He had hugged a tree, loved someone he shouldn’t have, attended martial arts classes, feigned sickness, slept through an entire flight, performed on stage, ridden a horse, broken a bone, enjoyed his daily dose of World of Warcraft, cheered for Lionel Messi, disapproved of IIT’s skewed sex ratio, gatecrashed a party and anonymously donated to charity
Barely hours before he cut his life short on 4 May, Nitin had made his intentions clear to his father and friends. “I tried hard but I lost,” wrote Nitin, lovingly called ‘Swamy’ by his friends, on his Facebook wall. He emailed his father A Lakashmana Murthy who works in DRDO and told him he was going to kill himself and what should be done with his possessions after he was gone. By the time Murthy, who works in New Delhi, alerted the local guardians in Chennai, it was all over.
On 2 May, Nitin, a final-year MTech (mechanical engineering) student was ordered to do another semester, which meant he could not pass out with his batchmates and faced the prospect of losing the lucrative job that he had landed at a Bengaluru-based software company.
Like the many bright sparks who fly out of IIT every year, Nitin was an adventure-loving geek. He had hugged a tree, loved someone he shouldn’t have, attended martial arts classes, feigned sickness, slept through an entire flight, performed on stage, ridden a horse, broken a bone, enjoyed his daily dose of World of Warcraft, cheered for Lionel Messi, disapproved of IIT’s skewed sex ratio, gatecrashed a party and anonymously donated to charity
“Nitin was the core (coordinator) under whom I worked at the Centre of Innovation. He was always in the thick of action and was a person who would be up for a discussion any time during the budget meetings,” says hostel mate Sai Prasad. “Two nights before his suicide, he casually mentioned that he feared getting an extension and he could lose his job. But he did not look tense. It was just one of those pre-dinner talks about our personal lives that invariably get mingled with academics. But I didn’t really imagine that he would go this far.”
“He was just asked to serve one more semester,” says IIT director MS Ananth. “As a teacher, I have been shaken by his actions. Professors will always make performance demands and that is how students excel. We can’t run an institution where students have become so sensitive to pressure. We have to look at an individual’s personal history also to examine what made him end his life.”
The management’s attitude has not gone down too well with Nitin’s distraught father who has lodged a police complaint, moved the National Human Rights Commission and is demanding a broader inquiry.
“The management is trying to discredit my son. If he was depressed then we should have been informed by his professors or by the counseling cell,” says Murthy. “I want a probe into this. If it is my son’s fault, then I am ready to take the blame. But if it is the IIT’s fault then the professor who denied my son the opportunity to pass out with his batchmates in May should be suspended.”
It is surprising that despite having personal guides and a Guidance and Counseling Unit (GCU), the management is playing a blame game by invoking Nitin’s history of depression. It is also surprising that Nitin’s guide PV Mannivannan and the management waited until just a week before the last day of the term to tell Nitin that he would have to attend classes for one more semester.
Nitin had landed a plum job at a campus interview. Despite his low CGPA, he was looking to capitalise on the great opportunity and that’s when his professor burst his bubble. His employers were not willing to wait. And also at stake were the innumerable questions that prospective employers might ask about his extension. Moreover he was the only one in his department to have been asked to serve and that amplified his embarrassment. All this created immense psychological stress, which eventually made him take the extreme step.
The death is part of a shocking trend of a spike in suicides among final-year students across IITs. Nitin’s suicide is the third such death in IIT Madras in as many years. Other IITs are even more notorious for their unusually high rates of academically linked suicides.
IIT Kharagpur — called the “suicide hotspot” by students — saw as many three suicides between 23 April and 15 July 2009, and has since averaged one suicide a year. IIT Bombay has been rocked by almost one suicide every year with two suicides in 2007. IIT Roorkee witnessed its first suicide this year when a BTech student jumped to death from the eighth floor of his hostel.
The most notorious of the lot has been IIT Kanpur, which has seen eight suicides in the past five years. In face of these figures, the IIT managements have acted in a manner that even students term “stupid and bizarre”.
If IIT Madras has blamed Nitin for being “depressed”, a four-member committee appointed by IIT Kanpur after the death of final-year student Madhuri Sale last year made even more ridiculous suggestions to prevent suicides. After Madhuri hung herself in her hostel room, the committee comprising professors recommended removing all ceiling fans from hostel rooms and replacing them with pedestal fans. Among the other measures included reducing Internet speeds to curb “web addiction”, which was being touted as one of the main reasons for suicides. There was also a plan to limit the use of cell phones so that parents could not easily talk to their children and pressurise them and also abolish the concept of single rooms and make room sharing mandatory. The plan became the butt of all jokes among the students and invited ridicule from across the board.
Many complain that the GCUs serve no useful purpose. This flaw was bared prominently when IIT Bombay student Srikanth Malepulla, 21, hanged himself in his hostel room. Despite having a GCU that includes professors and professionals, he was not identified by the mentor system as “troubled and prone to suicide”.
“We keep an eye on students in the first year and monitor every move. When they enter the second year, most have formed their friend circle and we stop monitoring their personal lives actively. The GCU cannot be a peeping tom after that and plays a more passive role,” says Ananth.
However, psychologists believe that students and parents should be willing to shoulder the blame as well. “Parents are responsible for this too,” says psychologist Divyan Varghese. “They lower the stress threshold limit of their child due to high expectations. And many kill themselves because of the fear that their parents would not accept failure. The stress on an IITian is more than the stress outside in the real world.”
Tanuj Bansal, who passed out of IIT Delhi in 2007, has an interesting take on why an IITian is under immense duress. “The first two years are the most academically challenging in IIT. But many who come think, just by entering IIT, the battle has been won,” says Bansal. “Ironically, the first two years are the best time to have a good CGPA. Even though the third and fourth years are more relaxed, it is extremely hard to improve in the last two years if one has had low grades in the first two.
“I was in the placement cell and I saw the madness among the final-year students. Out of 1,200, we managed to place 900. But the remaining had to struggle because companies wouldn’t hire them due to low CGPAs. In Nitin’s case, he had low grades but got a good job offer. And then he was given an extension that jeopardised his employment. So it was a combination of stress and embarrassment that made him take the extreme step.”
Bansal’s point becomes even more relevant when seen in the light of Nitin’s outbursts on social networks. For instance, when he received an internship offer from a firm in Texas last year, Nitin wrote on Google Buzz, “Am going to the US for summer internship. All you 9 pointers - IN YOUR FACE”. That gives a rare insight into how Nitin felt about overachievers in a fiercely competitive environment.
“Every kid who comes here has stood first in his school. And in IIT, in a class of 50, somebody out of the No. 1s has to be No. 50. The competition is huge,” says Ananth.
Despite the blame games that ensue after every suicide, there has been no concerted effort at a scientific study of the suicide phenomena that has reached epidemic proportions across IITs. The management has been reluctant to discuss the issue with the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The ministry seems to be oblivious that every few months, stressed out IITians like Nitin are succumbing to a competitive culture that doesn’t afford them the opportunity to breathe easy.
It needs to wake up and conduct a study that transforms the culture of institutes that are producing brilliant engineers and entrepreneurs, but also mental wrecks.
Sai Manish is a Correspondent with Tehelka.
sai.manish@tehelka.com
“He was just asked to serve one more semester,” says IIT director MS Ananth. “As a teacher, I have been shaken by his actions. Professors will always make performance demands and that is how students excel. We can’t run an institution where students have become so sensitive to pressure. We have to look at an individual’s personal history also to examine what made him end his life.”
The management’s attitude has not gone down too well with Nitin’s distraught father who has lodged a police complaint, moved the National Human Rights Commission and is demanding a broader inquiry.
“The management is trying to discredit my son. If he was depressed then we should have been informed by his professors or by the counseling cell,” says Murthy. “I want a probe into this. If it is my son’s fault, then I am ready to take the blame. But if it is the IIT’s fault then the professor who denied my son the opportunity to pass out with his batchmates in May should be suspended.”
It is surprising that despite having personal guides and a Guidance and Counseling Unit (GCU), the management is playing a blame game by invoking Nitin’s history of depression. It is also surprising that Nitin’s guide PV Mannivannan and the management waited until just a week before the last day of the term to tell Nitin that he would have to attend classes for one more semester.
Nitin had landed a plum job at a campus interview. Despite his low CGPA, he was looking to capitalise on the great opportunity and that’s when his professor burst his bubble. His employers were not willing to wait. And also at stake were the innumerable questions that prospective employers might ask about his extension. Moreover he was the only one in his department to have been asked to serve and that amplified his embarrassment. All this created immense psychological stress, which eventually made him take the extreme step.
The death is part of a shocking trend of a spike in suicides among final-year students across IITs. Nitin’s suicide is the third such death in IIT Madras in as many years. Other IITs are even more notorious for their unusually high rates of academically linked suicides.
IIT Kharagpur — called the “suicide hotspot” by students — saw as many three suicides between 23 April and 15 July 2009, and has since averaged one suicide a year. IIT Bombay has been rocked by almost one suicide every year with two suicides in 2007. IIT Roorkee witnessed its first suicide this year when a BTech student jumped to death from the eighth floor of his hostel.
The most notorious of the lot has been IIT Kanpur, which has seen eight suicides in the past five years. In face of these figures, the IIT managements have acted in a manner that even students term “stupid and bizarre”.
If IIT Madras has blamed Nitin for being “depressed”, a four-member committee appointed by IIT Kanpur after the death of final-year student Madhuri Sale last year made even more ridiculous suggestions to prevent suicides. After Madhuri hung herself in her hostel room, the committee comprising professors recommended removing all ceiling fans from hostel rooms and replacing them with pedestal fans. Among the other measures included reducing Internet speeds to curb “web addiction”, which was being touted as one of the main reasons for suicides. There was also a plan to limit the use of cell phones so that parents could not easily talk to their children and pressurise them and also abolish the concept of single rooms and make room sharing mandatory. The plan became the butt of all jokes among the students and invited ridicule from across the board.
Many complain that the GCUs serve no useful purpose. This flaw was bared prominently when IIT Bombay student Srikanth Malepulla, 21, hanged himself in his hostel room. Despite having a GCU that includes professors and professionals, he was not identified by the mentor system as “troubled and prone to suicide”.
“We keep an eye on students in the first year and monitor every move. When they enter the second year, most have formed their friend circle and we stop monitoring their personal lives actively. The GCU cannot be a peeping tom after that and plays a more passive role,” says Ananth.
However, psychologists believe that students and parents should be willing to shoulder the blame as well. “Parents are responsible for this too,” says psychologist Divyan Varghese. “They lower the stress threshold limit of their child due to high expectations. And many kill themselves because of the fear that their parents would not accept failure. The stress on an IITian is more than the stress outside in the real world.”
Tanuj Bansal, who passed out of IIT Delhi in 2007, has an interesting take on why an IITian is under immense duress. “The first two years are the most academically challenging in IIT. But many who come think, just by entering IIT, the battle has been won,” says Bansal. “Ironically, the first two years are the best time to have a good CGPA. Even though the third and fourth years are more relaxed, it is extremely hard to improve in the last two years if one has had low grades in the first two.
“I was in the placement cell and I saw the madness among the final-year students. Out of 1,200, we managed to place 900. But the remaining had to struggle because companies wouldn’t hire them due to low CGPAs. In Nitin’s case, he had low grades but got a good job offer. And then he was given an extension that jeopardised his employment. So it was a combination of stress and embarrassment that made him take the extreme step.”
Bansal’s point becomes even more relevant when seen in the light of Nitin’s outbursts on social networks. For instance, when he received an internship offer from a firm in Texas last year, Nitin wrote on Google Buzz, “Am going to the US for summer internship. All you 9 pointers - IN YOUR FACE”. That gives a rare insight into how Nitin felt about overachievers in a fiercely competitive environment.
“Every kid who comes here has stood first in his school. And in IIT, in a class of 50, somebody out of the No. 1s has to be No. 50. The competition is huge,” says Ananth.
Despite the blame games that ensue after every suicide, there has been no concerted effort at a scientific study of the suicide phenomena that has reached epidemic proportions across IITs. The management has been reluctant to discuss the issue with the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The ministry seems to be oblivious that every few months, stressed out IITians like Nitin are succumbing to a competitive culture that doesn’t afford them the opportunity to breathe easy.
It needs to wake up and conduct a study that transforms the culture of institutes that are producing brilliant engineers and entrepreneurs, but also mental wrecks.
Sai Manish is a Correspondent with Tehelka.
sai.manish@tehelka.com
111 - 10th May 2011- Outrage over IIT students' deaths- TOI
10 May 2011, 1612 hrs IST, AGENCIES
The father of a final year IIT-Madras student, who allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room, demanded an inquiry into the incident and said he will soon approach the NHRC in this regard. A Nitin Kumar Reddy (24), student of M Tech (Mechanical), committed suicide on May 4 by hanging himself from a ceiling fan. His family alleged that he took the step after his professor extended his project by six months, which meant he would not be able to pass out with his batch mates this May.
“I want an inquiry into the incident...if found responsible, the professor should be suspended. I have lost my son but I do not want incidents like these to recur. I will soon approach the NHRC in this regard," Nitin's father Lakshmana Murthy Reddy, a DRDO official working in Delhi, told reporters in New Delhi. Nitin, who wanted to work in NASA since childhood as he was interested in aerospace, had written an apologetic and disconcerted e-mail to his father and some other relatives before taking the extreme step.
On May 4, before committing suicide, Nitin spoke to his father, telling him about his disappointment over the professor's decision to extend his project. "I tried to console him. I booked my tickets and told him that I would come to Chennai," 59-year-old Murthy said. Nitin was supposed to join a banking software company as a systems analyst by July, he said, adding, the extension of his project meant he would not have been able to do so.
The institute has reportedly said that Nitin was suffering from depression, a claim that Murthy rebuts. “I know my son. He wasn't a patient of depression. And if the institute is claiming so...why didn't they inform us (parents) about it," he said. In February this year, V Anup, a final year student undergoing the same course in the same college had committed suicide.
“I want an inquiry into the incident...if found responsible, the professor should be suspended. I have lost my son but I do not want incidents like these to recur. I will soon approach the NHRC in this regard," Nitin's father Lakshmana Murthy Reddy, a DRDO official working in Delhi, told reporters in New Delhi. Nitin, who wanted to work in NASA since childhood as he was interested in aerospace, had written an apologetic and disconcerted e-mail to his father and some other relatives before taking the extreme step.
On May 4, before committing suicide, Nitin spoke to his father, telling him about his disappointment over the professor's decision to extend his project. "I tried to console him. I booked my tickets and told him that I would come to Chennai," 59-year-old Murthy said. Nitin was supposed to join a banking software company as a systems analyst by July, he said, adding, the extension of his project meant he would not have been able to do so.
The institute has reportedly said that Nitin was suffering from depression, a claim that Murthy rebuts. “I know my son. He wasn't a patient of depression. And if the institute is claiming so...why didn't they inform us (parents) about it," he said. In February this year, V Anup, a final year student undergoing the same course in the same college had committed suicide.
110 - 9th May 2011 - IIT suicide: Kin calls for exam system change - Asian Age
May 09, 2011
Dr. A. Lakshmana Murthy, whose son A. Nitin Kumar Reddy (24), a final year student of M. Tech (mechanical) in IIT Chennai who committed suicide in his hostel room on Wednesday, said such suicides could have been avoided if the process of evaluation of students and announcement of their results be thoroughly reviewed.
Dr Murthy is working in the ministry of defence while his wife A. Sailaja is an employee of Andhra government, currently posted in Hyderabad.
The grieving father of the IIT student on Sunday also raised several questions pertaining to the evaluation procedure and the role of professors.
“The process of evaluation of students and announcement of their results should be thoroughly reviewed and necessary corrective measures should be put in place to prevent further loss of young promising lives. It is also requested to see whether the professors are objective while judging the students or they are selective in their approach. If any professor is found to be not acting objectively, he or she should be punished in accordance with the law,” he said.
“What action is contemplated against people or concerned teachers who, in an attempt to save the skin of their colleagues, are denying dignity to Nitin even in death?” Dr Reddy asked.
108 - 9th May 2011 - Father of IIT Madras student seeks probe into his 'suicide' - India Today
IIT student Nitin Kumar Reddy
Days after an M Tech student committed suicide on the campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, its dean attacked media for reporting the incident. Following the authorities' "irresponsible" response, the victim's father has demanded an inquiry into the incident and said he would soon approach the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in this regard.
In his response to the incident, the dean of the institute, Govardhan M., reportedly said: "Why are you always reporting negative news about IIT Madras? We also have the maximum number of patents but you did not report that. But you would want to report the death of three out of 5,000 students, which is statistically not important. Why don't you go to other engineering institutes and find out how many died there. Why only IIT?"
Twenty-four-year-old Nitin Kumar Reddy had allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room on May 4. Minutes before he hanged himself, the mechanical engineering student had written an e-mail to his parents asking for forgiveness after he was told that he would not be able to graduate in May with the rest of his batchmates.
The dean's "insensitivity" outraged the grieving parents of the student. They demanded an apology from the institute.
Nitin's father Lakhsmana Moorthy Reddy, who works with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Delhi, filed an FIR on his son's suicide calling for a probe. He said his son had died under mysterious circumstances.
"I want an inquiry into the incident. If found responsible, the professor should be suspended. I have lost my son but I do not want incidents like these to recur. I will soon approach the NHRC in this regard," Nitin's father said.
107 - 09th May 2011 - Yet another IIT suicide - Deccan Chronicle
Anxious parents do a balancing act between expectations
and fear of losing their child to academic pressure
On Wednesday afternoon, Nitin Kumar Reddy, a final year mechanical engineering student from IIT, Madras committed suicide.
Nitin left a Facebook message on the wall that read: “I fought hard but lost.”
There is more to that final post than what meets the eye. It is not just Nitin.
In the past five months three students from the same institution (including V. Anoop from the same department) have ended their life. Faculty members and officials say that such incidents cannot be attributed to academic pressure alone, but call for immediate attention.
“This is a complex issue that needs to be addressed. No one can say it’s because of academic pressure. There could be several reasons,” says M. Govardhan, dean (students) at IIT-M.
Academicians and educationists feel that students are aware of the pressure they have to handle while they are at such an institution.
“It is a known fact that studying at IIT is no easy task. The students who are part of that institution are self-motivated and are aware of the academic expectations. Moreover, every student may be facing personal and cultural problems as well. The education system cannot be blamed,” says E. Balaguruswamy, former vice-chancellor of Anna University.
Nitin’s department-mates, appeared sad yet strangely indifferent. Maybe because of their exams. They say it’s all about the survival of the fittest.
“It’s exam time and all of us are trying to perform well. We come here to clear the course and such incidents are unfortunate. While some students work with a clear-cut timetable, some may lose their confidence mid-way,” says a second year mechanical engineering student on condition of anonymity.
“I have never felt the pressure of studying at IIT. But it is the survival of the fittest. Entering this prestigious institution is a task on its own. But students have to be responsible and not lose hope,” says a first year M-Tech student.
Nitin’s life changed course when he approached the head of the department to learn that his course needed to be extended by six months. About this incident, the HOD said that the department was still in shock.
“We are all very upset because of this incident. If we lose a student, it’s traumatic but nothing can be done about it,” says S.P. Venkateshan, HoD. of mechanical department, who informed Nitin that he wouldn’t be graduating in May along with his batch mates. “He visited my office twice and that’s when I interacted with him,” says Venkateshan.
Counselling could to an extent help students manage the stress and pressure. Asked if the system is in place at IIT-M, Govardhan says: “We have recently appointed a qualified, fulltime counsellor who is extremely helpful. Students are allowed to approach the department with their problems. Once in a while, the dean of HoDs also interacts with the students so as to make sure they’re comfortable.”
Reasons may be many and yet to be identified, but the frequency at which students commit suicide is alarming and worth an investigation.
Nitin left a Facebook message on the wall that read: “I fought hard but lost.”
There is more to that final post than what meets the eye. It is not just Nitin.
In the past five months three students from the same institution (including V. Anoop from the same department) have ended their life. Faculty members and officials say that such incidents cannot be attributed to academic pressure alone, but call for immediate attention.
“This is a complex issue that needs to be addressed. No one can say it’s because of academic pressure. There could be several reasons,” says M. Govardhan, dean (students) at IIT-M.
Academicians and educationists feel that students are aware of the pressure they have to handle while they are at such an institution.
“It is a known fact that studying at IIT is no easy task. The students who are part of that institution are self-motivated and are aware of the academic expectations. Moreover, every student may be facing personal and cultural problems as well. The education system cannot be blamed,” says E. Balaguruswamy, former vice-chancellor of Anna University.
Nitin’s department-mates, appeared sad yet strangely indifferent. Maybe because of their exams. They say it’s all about the survival of the fittest.
“It’s exam time and all of us are trying to perform well. We come here to clear the course and such incidents are unfortunate. While some students work with a clear-cut timetable, some may lose their confidence mid-way,” says a second year mechanical engineering student on condition of anonymity.
“I have never felt the pressure of studying at IIT. But it is the survival of the fittest. Entering this prestigious institution is a task on its own. But students have to be responsible and not lose hope,” says a first year M-Tech student.
Nitin’s life changed course when he approached the head of the department to learn that his course needed to be extended by six months. About this incident, the HOD said that the department was still in shock.
“We are all very upset because of this incident. If we lose a student, it’s traumatic but nothing can be done about it,” says S.P. Venkateshan, HoD. of mechanical department, who informed Nitin that he wouldn’t be graduating in May along with his batch mates. “He visited my office twice and that’s when I interacted with him,” says Venkateshan.
Counselling could to an extent help students manage the stress and pressure. Asked if the system is in place at IIT-M, Govardhan says: “We have recently appointed a qualified, fulltime counsellor who is extremely helpful. Students are allowed to approach the department with their problems. Once in a while, the dean of HoDs also interacts with the students so as to make sure they’re comfortable.”
Reasons may be many and yet to be identified, but the frequency at which students commit suicide is alarming and worth an investigation.
106 - 9th May 2011 - IIT student's suicide raises storm - India Today
May 9, 2011Days after M Tech student Nitin Kumar Reddy committed suicide on the campus of IIT-Madras, it's dean Govardhan M. attacked media for reporting the incident, parents lodge FIR. Story
105 - 6th May 2011 - Day after suicide at IIT-M, blame game on- TOI
A Selvaraj and Ishan Srivastava May 6, 2011, 12.51am IST
CHENNAI: Nitin Kumar Reddy's friends were still in shock a day after his suicide. His father Lakshmanamurthy, in his police complaint against the IIT-M administration and his son's project guide, has said that his son called him in his mobile on Wednesday afternoon before he died. He sounded depressed. Lakshmanamurthy pacified his son over the phone and assured that he will visit him in Chennai and talk to his guide and professors about the problem.
Lakshmanamurthy said in his complaint that he informed his relative Sudhakar Reddy who was also the local guardian of his son. He asked Sudhakar Reddy to go see his son. But it was already too late. Nitin's hostel warden, professor Sathyanarayanan, called Lakshmanamurthy and asked him to rush to Chennai at once. Fearing the worst, Lakshmanamurthy rushed to Delhi airport when Sudhakar Reddy called him and said Nitin was dead. ( IIT student commits suicide on campus )
Lakshmanamurthy said in his complaint that he informed his relative Sudhakar Reddy who was also the local guardian of his son. He asked Sudhakar Reddy to go see his son. But it was already too late. Nitin's hostel warden, professor Sathyanarayanan, called Lakshmanamurthy and asked him to rush to Chennai at once. Fearing the worst, Lakshmanamurthy rushed to Delhi airport when Sudhakar Reddy called him and said Nitin was dead. ( IIT student commits suicide on campus )
Lakshmanamurthy has said that the IIT-M administration and Nitin's guide PV Manivannan should have informed him and his son earlier about the delay in filing the project. He said that Nitin had been told suddenly at the very end that his project would be extended.
Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of Criminal Procedure Code. "We will pursue and alter the case after detailed interrogation," a police officer said.
Meanwhile, the family members and the relatives of the victim Nitin Kumar Reddy staged a protest at Government Hospital in Royapettah demanding action against the IIT-M officials. But they were pacified by police personnel.
Nitin's body was handed over to his parents after an autopsy, who took it to Kuthalapattu near Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.
When asked as to what the Institute in general and Guidance and Counselling Unit (GCU) in particular was doing to address the situation and to improve the response against such incidents, dean of students Govardhan M said, "Why are you always reporting negative news about IIT Madras? We also have the maximum number of patents but you didn't report that. But you would want to report the death of 3 out of 5000 students which is statistically not important. Why don't you go to other engineering institutes and find out how many died there. Why only IIT?"
He went on to say, "Do you know the student who died yesterday had a medical history of psychological problems from childhood? But obviously you don't want to investigate." But he quickly corrected the "childhood" part to say, "We have come to know from his friends that when he could not clear JEE in an attempt, he went into depression."
Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of Criminal Procedure Code. "We will pursue and alter the case after detailed interrogation," a police officer said.
Meanwhile, the family members and the relatives of the victim Nitin Kumar Reddy staged a protest at Government Hospital in Royapettah demanding action against the IIT-M officials. But they were pacified by police personnel.
Nitin's body was handed over to his parents after an autopsy, who took it to Kuthalapattu near Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.
When asked as to what the Institute in general and Guidance and Counselling Unit (GCU) in particular was doing to address the situation and to improve the response against such incidents, dean of students Govardhan M said, "Why are you always reporting negative news about IIT Madras? We also have the maximum number of patents but you didn't report that. But you would want to report the death of 3 out of 5000 students which is statistically not important. Why don't you go to other engineering institutes and find out how many died there. Why only IIT?"
He went on to say, "Do you know the student who died yesterday had a medical history of psychological problems from childhood? But obviously you don't want to investigate." But he quickly corrected the "childhood" part to say, "We have come to know from his friends that when he could not clear JEE in an attempt, he went into depression."
104 - 6th May 2011 - IIT-Madras student Nitin Kumar Reddy's suicide is statistically insignificant, says dean Govardhan
Friday, 6th May 2011
Here is perhaps a scene straight from 3 idiots. An insensitive administration at IIT-Madras allegedly drove a student Nitin Kumar Reddy to suicide. Nitin's father has even lodged a police complaint against Nitin's guide and the tragic incident is now under investigation.
When a Times of India reporter spoke to dean Govardhan M, the man had the gall to say that the death of 3 out of 5000 students was not statistically important. His comments in full:
"Why are you always reporting negative news about IIT Madras? We also have the maximum number of patents but you didn't report that. But you would want to report the death of 3 out of 5000 students which is statistically not important. Why don't you go to other engineering institutes and find out how many died there. Why only IIT?"
Then he blames Nitin's death on his mental status.
"Do you know the student who died yesterday had a medical history of psychological problems from childhood? But obviously you don't want to investigate."
The learned dean went to add, according to Times of India: "We have come to know from his friends that when he could not clear JEE in an attempt, he went into depression."
Publication : Times of India
When a Times of India reporter spoke to dean Govardhan M, the man had the gall to say that the death of 3 out of 5000 students was not statistically important. His comments in full:
"Why are you always reporting negative news about IIT Madras? We also have the maximum number of patents but you didn't report that. But you would want to report the death of 3 out of 5000 students which is statistically not important. Why don't you go to other engineering institutes and find out how many died there. Why only IIT?"
Then he blames Nitin's death on his mental status.
"Do you know the student who died yesterday had a medical history of psychological problems from childhood? But obviously you don't want to investigate."
The learned dean went to add, according to Times of India: "We have come to know from his friends that when he could not clear JEE in an attempt, he went into depression."
Publication : Times of India
103 - 5th May 2011 - IIT - Madras student commits suicide due to depression in academic course
Thursday , 5th May 2011 09:50:13 PM
A 24-year-old engineering student of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) allegedly committed suicide because of "depression due to extension of his academic course" at Guindy on Wednesday.
L Nitin Kumar Reddy, a native of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, enrolled himself for a dual degree in mechanical engineering at the Institute in 2007, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Guindy) S Senthil Kumaran told Express.
Nitin was scheduled to pass out in May 2011, but was given an extension of six months because of arrears.
Nitin was suffering from depression due to the extension, the officer said.
Around 2 pm, a hostel student Pawan received a call from Nitin's friend in Andhra Pradesh, asking him to check the victim’s room (No. 463) on the third floor at Jamuna Hostel on the IIT campus.
On forcibly opening the door, Pawan found that Nitin had hanged himself from the ceiling fan, the ACP said.
On information, the Velachery police recovered the student's body and sent it to the Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy.
Before his death, Nitin sent an email to his father Lakshman Murthy Reddy, who is director of the Defence Research and Development Organisation wing in New Delhi. His mother Shylaja was an Andhra Pradesh government employee, the official said.
Nitin left a Facebook message for his friends, saying "I fought hard and lost."
IIT Dean (students) Govardhan told Express that Nitin had a history of depression. "According to the feedback I received, Nitin was someone who was either happy or highly-depressed when he faced setbacks. He had a medical history of the same," Govardhan said.
Police are questioning the faculty and staff.
L Nitin Kumar Reddy, a native of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, enrolled himself for a dual degree in mechanical engineering at the Institute in 2007, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Guindy) S Senthil Kumaran told Express.
Nitin was scheduled to pass out in May 2011, but was given an extension of six months because of arrears.
Nitin was suffering from depression due to the extension, the officer said.
Around 2 pm, a hostel student Pawan received a call from Nitin's friend in Andhra Pradesh, asking him to check the victim’s room (No. 463) on the third floor at Jamuna Hostel on the IIT campus.
On forcibly opening the door, Pawan found that Nitin had hanged himself from the ceiling fan, the ACP said.
On information, the Velachery police recovered the student's body and sent it to the Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy.
Before his death, Nitin sent an email to his father Lakshman Murthy Reddy, who is director of the Defence Research and Development Organisation wing in New Delhi. His mother Shylaja was an Andhra Pradesh government employee, the official said.
Nitin left a Facebook message for his friends, saying "I fought hard and lost."
IIT Dean (students) Govardhan told Express that Nitin had a history of depression. "According to the feedback I received, Nitin was someone who was either happy or highly-depressed when he faced setbacks. He had a medical history of the same," Govardhan said.
Police are questioning the faculty and staff.
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