176 - Rising expectations force Jabalpur youths to commit suicide

Rising expectations force Jabalpur youths to commit suicide

Manjari Mishra, TNN Jan 10, 2013, 05.42PM IST

JABALPUR: Fourteen year old Sameer (name changed) just hated maths and did not have the courage to tell his parents who wanted him to crack IIT entrance. Unable to cope with the pressure Sameer opted for the easy way out. 

On way back from school last summers he bought a can of pesticide mixed it in his mango shake and gulped it before anyone could suspect anything wrong. Death was painful but fast for the boy who his parents swear was too full of life to contemplate ending it in such a gruesome manner.

Psychiatrists find it difficult to explain this phenomenon. But with its highest recorded cases- last year the tally touched an all time high at 779- , Jabalpur earns the dubious distinction of being the suicide capital of Madhya Pradesh. 

The disturbing inclusion of the minor's among the victims has experts particularly in knots. In 2012 out of 482 suicides recorded , 68 covered boys and girls below the age of 18. The list, it is widely believed, could be much longer as number of cases in the suburb normally tend to go unreported. Factors triggering off the tendency varied from examination phobia, bad results (a major killer it claimed 21 victims), spat with parents and broken heart, over sensitivity to ridicule and even eve teasing in two cases where two teen girls ended lives in frustration.

175 - IITs launch war on student suicides

IITs launch war on student suicideshttp://www.indianexpress.com/news/iits-launch-war-on-student-suicides/1059043/0

ANUBHUTI VISHNOI: NEW DELHI, JAN 14 2013, 03:27 IST

New Delhi: Its decision to hike tuition fee by 80 per cent got the most attention but the meeting of the IIT Council held last week also addressed a grave issue: all IITs agreed to put in extra effort to check suicide and suicidal tendencies among their students.

The council accepted the report of the task force constituted to prevent suicides and promote wellness in the Centrally Funded Technical Institutions — such as IITs, NITs — and resolved to improve counselling and hand-holding of new students. They have every reason to: the report, accessed by The Indian Express, reveals that in such institutions, 18 students attempted and 12 committed suicide in the past two years. Seven of the 12 belonged to SC, ST or OBC.

The report notes that the reasons for the suicides were quite complex, not uni-dimensional; they ranged from relationship issues, personal problems, mental stress, family problems, and in one case, multiple factors such as poor results, personal issues and inability to cope with teaching methods.

Most suicides, the report adds, were not linked to a particular period such as examinations, results, thesis submission, soon after admission or at the time of placement.

It, however, notes that a new IIT student is particularly vulnerable to suicidal thoughts: most new entrants adjust to the pressures of IIT within the first 3 to 6 months but there is a fraction of students that gets stuck in a vicious loop of missing classes, poor performance, inability to share, loneliness, stress, depression and relationship issues. A very small percentage may also have a history of illness and may resort to self-harm when they experience the first setbacks in academic or personal relationships.

The report suggests a four-level action plan to check suicides at CFTIs. One, if a student attempts suicide, he should immediately be provided medical help and his confidentiality, privacy and dignity guarded.

Two, the student should be counselled daily for at least a week and watched, with his consent, by peers and volunteers. If necessary, he should be shifted out of his hostel room and put under the supervision of a parent or guardian. His close friends and peers who may be traumatised by the incident should also be counselled.

New students should be taken special care of; the first fortnight of the session should focus on building their social, communication and interpersonal skills to encourage self-esteem, emotion management, problem solving and time management skills besides warning against substance abuse.

Three, faculty should be alert to stress symptoms in students and conscious of the impact of their words and actions on their self-esteem. Confidential counselling should be made available to the faculty, staff and their dependents for any personal and professional conflicts.

Four, each IIT must clear rules on failure, termination, appeal, reinstatement and attendance of students as well as cut-off for grades. The task force also recommends a sophisticated counseling structure at every institute.

Lives cut short

5.7% or 7,696 of all suicides are by students

74% students who commit suicide are 15-29 years old

3% suicides are by graduates and post graduates

The reason

2,000 after failing exams

4,586 due to love affairs

Data: National Crime Records Bureau, 2011

174 - For better or worse, they made headlines - The Hindu

For better or worse, they made headlines

JULIE MERIN VARUGHESE

December 31, 2012

2012 - Looking Back From Kolaveri to IIT, Chennai was in the news more than once, across the nation and the globe. Some of it gave us cheer, while others made us cringe. In the concluding part of a three-part series, Julie Merin Varughese does a round-up of who hit the right notes and who didn’t, in 2012

The year 2012 rode in on the back of the success of a song — Why this kolaveri di — that put Chennai lad, actor Dhanush, and, to an extent the Tamil film industry, on the world map.

But it wasn’t all song and dance for the city this year. Chennai made it to the national headlines on several occasions, cyclone Nilam and the Velachery encounter apart.

IIT-Madras, its director Bhaskar Ramamurthi and a couple of other faculty members shot to fame this year thanks to a few unsavoury developments.

The premier institution, expected to train young minds to spearhead technological advancements and innovative thinking, seemed to go retro and not fashionably, at that.

The management attempted to introduce regulations that restricted the movement of students, especially women, at night. Though students cried hoarse over the moral policing, the administration insisted the rules — such as a curfew of 11 p.m. for women students and increased surveillance — were intended to protect them.

The institute refused to engage in a dialogue with students over the matter. and worse, it suggested that escorts – male students – be provided to women students who desired to venture out of their hostels after the deadline. This apart, another proposal sought to ban women students from entering boys’ rooms.

The institute seemed to be propagating the very thinking that today’s society is struggling to battle and change.

IIT-Madras was in the news, yet again, for the wrong reasons in August. A news photographer, who reached the campus after news of a student suicide broke out, was attacked by a faculty member and security guards. The lensman ended up injured, but the institute stood by their actions.

Though Mr. Ramamurthi, tendered an apology to the press later, after journalists in the city raised a hue and cry, he insisted the photographer was in the wrong and claimed the faculty had only manhandled him to protect the dignity of women students on the campus.

One can only hope 2013 proves to be a little more empowering for students of IIT-M.

173 - IIT-Gandhinagar introduces Masti Ki Pathshala to curb suicides

IIT-Gandhinagar introduces Masti Ki Pathshala to curb suicides

SATURDAY, 12 JANUARY 2013 17:24 DEEPAK KUMAR JHA | NEW DELHI

The IITs have woken up to the frequent cases of suicides within their campuses. Taking the lead in initiating innovative steps to check suicides, IIT-Gandhinagar has introduced an innovative initiative called  Masti Ki Pathshala. New entrants to the institute will not have to attend classes for the first five weeks and during this period the students will get time to play games, indulge in sporting activities, cinemas, outings and several other extracurricular activities where they will get an opportunity to interact with each other, seniors and institute staff.

According to IIT-Gandhinagar Director, Prof Sudhir K Jain, “Initial bonding  is more important than beginning studies during the first few weeks for new candidates. Social orientation of the students and acquainting them to the ground realities of society is important.”

“Our B-Tech students will go through a five-week Foundation Programme to enable them to cope better with the challenges that lie ahead in their years at IIT-Gandhinagar and in their professional life beyond this institute.

“They will enjoy themselves and at the same time the students, staff and faculty will bond together as one big family,” Jain said about his new initiative to arrest cases of suicide.

Other IIT’s too have expressed their interest in this initiative and may implement the Masti Ka Pathshala from the forthcoming academic session. However, the IITs are still grappling with the harsh reality that students have access to drugs and liquor in the campuses. This is one of the major cause for suicides in IITs and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTI).

Prof Sanjay Dhande, Director, IIT-Kanpur, described suicides as a “social scourge”.

In a presentation of a report on Prevention of Suicide and Promotion of Wellness in the CFTIs by the MHRD-constituted task force comprising all IIT Directors, it said that every institution should have a dedicated system to cater to the mental health and counseling needs of the students.

Astonishingly while the Centre has announced a major hike in the fee structure of IITs, the panel suggested that there should be mechanism of reducing the financial burden of students. It suggested that adequate financial support is made available according to the budgetary provisions of the institution and the Government.

The Directors discussed at length about the ‘intrusion’ of drugs and alcohol within the campus and into the hostel room. “The issue is as how these intoxicating agents reach the hostel rooms. Once these items are in the hands of the students’ then there are many associated problems. We need to think and ponder over how we check this (drugs and alcohol) menace within the campus,” said the presentation made before the HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju during the Council of IIT Meeting early this week.

The panel formed to look into reasons behind the spate of suicides had attributed drug addiction, failed love also as also the reason for growing number of suicides within various IIT campuses. The report also talks about the technology like mobile phones and internets which too have become a menace. 

The logic given by the panel was constant internet use left students too tired to concentrate on lessons. A case which came to point of discussion was that about a student who committed suicide at an IIT when one of his female classmate deleted the boy’s name from a social website.

172 - Government proposes task force to stop suicides among IITians

Government proposes task force to stop suicides among IITians Published: Sunday, Sep 11, 2011, 10:35 IST  Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI Concerned over rising cases of suicides among IIT students in recent years, the government has proposed setting up a task force to study the situation and suggest systemic measures to address the issue. "The task force would analyse the issue threadbare, study the present situation in IITs, review the support systems available, and suggest the measures which can be undertaken to address the situation," an HRD Ministry official said. The constitution of the task force, which would be discussed at the IIT council meeting here on Wednesday, would have representation from students, alumni, deans, parents and teachers. Some experts on the subject of suicide can also be considered for membership of such a task force, the official said, indicating it could be headed by an eminent person such as director of National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences. The need for such a body was being increasingly felt as steps taken so far to address the problem including measures to de-stress students did not prove sufficient enough, the official said. Studies have suggested that most of the students took such extreme measure either due to stress-related disorder or had succumbed to depression. In recent years, cases of suicides have been reported from several of the IIT campuses - the latest one being from IIT Patna on September 1 where a 20-year-old girl from Andhra Pradesh allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the roof of her hostel as she was depressed with her performance in the elite institute.

171 - IIT-Madras squabble turns into war with media - Indian Express

IIT-Madras squabble turns into war with media

Gopu Mohan : Chennai, Mon Sep 03 2012, 01:34 hrs

A squabble between a photojournalist and a faculty member of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras triggered by incidents in the aftermath of a student’s suicide has snowballed into a major struggle between the institute and the media, with a police case being registered and a professor absconding.

The incident happened on August 21 when the media came to the institute to report the suicide of an MTech student, Nerugu Manasa. According to reports, as photojournalist Albin Mathew of The New Indian Express (not connected to this paper) was taking pictures of the hostel and some of the grieving students, a senior faculty, Prakash M Maiya, asked him to stop, saying he was making the girl students uneasy. Maiya is also the chairman of the council of wardens.

An argument ensued, and the professor along with a few security guards allegedly manhandled Mathew. The photojournalist and his newspaper claim the guards and the faculty assaulted him and tried to snatch his camera, and detained him for about an hour in the administrative building. After the newspaper took up the matter with senior officials, police were called in.

According to the institute, dean of students L S Ganesh first urged Mathew not to take photos of the students. When Mathew persisted, hostel warden Indumathi Nambi requested him to delete the “objectionable pictures”. Nambi then asked the hostel affairs secretary Praveen to ensure that the pictures were deleted. It was at this juncture that professor Maiya intervened, leading to the alleged altercation. The institute also claims that it was Mathew who assaulted the professor first.

On Mathew’s complaint, police registered a case of rioting, wrongful confinement, voluntarily causing hurt and threat to cause death against Maiya and the security personnel.

Three security persons have been arrested, while Maiya is absconding.

To defuse tension, IIT-M director Bhaskar Ramamurthi issued a statement the next day of the altercation, regretting the “unfortunate incident” and apologising to Mathew and media at large. But by then, various associations representing media personnel including the Chennai Press Club, Madras Reporters’ Guild and Tamil Nadu Union of Working Journalists had taken up the matter with police and institute higher-ups seeking action. Several political parties, too, joined in their protest.

This prompted the administration to go on the offensive. In subsequent letter to editors, reporters’ guild and the Press Council of India, Ramamurthi said the institute would lodge a complaint against the “unethical behaviour of the photojournalist”. He alleged in the letter, signed by faculty members and students who were present at the time of the incident, that the photographer abused and punched Maiya.

Without naming Mathew, the institute lodged a case of assault and under Section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act.To counter this, The New Indian Express published a full-page package including photographs Mathew took to claim that none of the pictures was close-ups of girl students as alleged by the IIT administration.

Deputy resident editor, The New Indian Express, G Babu Jayakumar told The Indian Express: “When the persons there tried to snatch the camera from him, Mathew held on to it like any professional in the situation would do. For that he was beaten up. Instead of manhandling him, the authorities there should have either contacted the police or the journalist’s higher-ups and then checked the camera with their assistance to see if their suspicion of him having taken any objectionable photos was true.”

170 - Task force draft on campus suicides ready -TNN

Task force draft on campus suicides ready

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

169 - No institute is an island - The Hindu

LEARNING LESSONS

No institute is an island

VASUDHA VENUGOPAL

The response of authorities changes when it comes to internal issues

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

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

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

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

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

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

168 - Iit Madras Student Commits Suicide Over Love Failure

Iit Madras Student Commits Suicide Over Love Failure

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHENNAI, April 9, 2012

IIT-M student ends life by hanging in room

• DEEPA H. RAMAKRISHNAN

• VASUDHA VENUGOPAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- Agencies

Apr 09, 2012

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

IIT Madras student hangs self in hostel

• April 9, 2012 DC chennai

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

164 - Suicide shocks IIT as therapy falls short - TNN

Suicide shocks IIT as therapy falls short

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IIT students require better mentoring for mental stability'

TNN Apr 9, 2012, 03.29AM IST

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IIT-Madras student kills self over love failure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exam stress, failed love drive students to suicide

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IIT Madras: Drifting from liberal campus to island of exclusivity

The New Indian Express

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(By D Suresh Kumar)

158 - IIT students, staff protest media glare - TNN

IIT students, staff protest media glare

TNN Aug 28, 2012, 03.34AM IST

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

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

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

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

Readers' opinions (4)

Sort by:Newest|Oldest

Dr.Chandran Peechulli (Chennai) 

28 Aug, 2012 08:50 AM

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

Abheek (Chennai) replies to Dr.Chandran Peechulli 

28 Aug, 2012 02:36 PM

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

shubhangi (Bangalore) replies to Dr.Chandran Peechulli 

28 Aug, 2012 01:44 PM

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

HypocriteJounalist (Chennai) replies to Dr.Chandran Peechulli 

28 Aug, 2012 11:33 AM

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

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

Famous People Who Failed At First

Business Gurus 

1. Henry Ford

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

2. R. H. Macy 

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

3. Soichiro Honda

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

4. Bill Gates 

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

5. Harland David Sanders 

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

                                                  

6. Walt Disney

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

Scientists 

                                                  

 7. Albert Einstein 

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

8. Charles Darwin 

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

9. Isaac Newton 

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

10. Thomas Edison 

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

11. Orville and Wilbur Wright 

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

Public Figures 

12. Winston Churchill 

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

13. Abraham Lincoln 

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

14. Oprah Winfrey 

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

Writers and Artists 

15. Steven Spielberg 

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

16. J. K. Rowling 

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

Athletes 

17. Michael Jordan 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

State students not creative enough for IIT standards

R. Ravikanth Reddy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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