The story so far:

A 24-year-old student who was a topper at IIT Madras was found dead in his Chennai hostel on the 13th of February. On the same day, two similar incidents took place an 18-year-old student at the IIT Bombay died apparently after jumping off the seventh floor of his hostel in Powai, Mumbai. Another student of the institute hailing from Karnataka also made a bid on his life by consuming some tablets.

Why have IITs had this much of suicide cases? Do the IITs make pressure cookers out of students? Is there any kind of discrimination taking place? In the past eight years, premier technical institutions and central universities witnessed 58 percent of student suicides from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and minority communities. A total of 41 students from the OBC community died by suicide between 2014 and 2021. Thus the possibility of caste discrimination cannot be avoided. A total of 122 students of IITs, IIMs, and central Universities committed suicide during 2014- 2021. According to statistical data, IIT Guwahati has the largest number of suicide deaths followed by Bombay and Madras.

History:

Fathima Latheef was an Indian teenager and a first-year post-graduate humanities student at IIT Madras who committed suicide in her hostel room on 9 November 2019. Her family and others alleged that she ended her life because she had been discriminated against based on her religion. She had named three professors for her death. An inquiry by CBI is ongoing regarding the case.

The other causes:

If there is no academic pressure or caste discrimination what are the other causes? What tempts these students to suicide? Social isolation is a risk factor for suicide. Being alone, with little interaction with others, wears on your mental well-being. Loneliness is associated with a modestly increased risk of death by suicide for men. People need to feel connected. We need to have a sense of belonging.

Depression is a hard thing to fight with. There is only a thin line between depression and suicide. You may not know what might cause a friend or loved one to attempt suicide. The person chooses to be alone and avoids friends or social activities. They also lose interest or pleasure in activities they previously enjoyed. Other causes may be thoughts of having no reason to live, being a burden to others, feeling trapped, or being in severe emotional pain.

Solution:

Having someone who is willing to listen and ask concerned questions can make all the difference. A single good friend is enough to overcome these traumatic situations. Being open to anybody relieves much of the pain. However, even the most caring and involved friends or family members may not be enough when depression is more severe. In such cases, it is important to seek professional help. The students are even thinking of their parents and loved ones. The new generation of kids has a weak and rebellious mindset. they get upset over simple things in life. IQ and EQ are both entirely different. what these top IIT students lack is EQ.

The IIT campuses are often far removed from the main city, limiting their chances of social activity. The high level of competition among students, academic pressure, strict rules from professors, deadlines, and all of these without a break from studies makes these students' life highly stressful. The institute needs good counselors to help students deal with psychological issues. The faculty members must be empathetic towards students.

End note:

According to WHO, Indian youths of both sexes aged 15-29 registered the highest suicides across all demographics: 30-40 of 100,000 youths killed themselves. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people. A major cause of suicide is mental illness, very commonly depression. People feeling suicidal are overwhelmed by painful emotions and see death as the only way out. But we do not know yet what leads to these killing depression. They have their own sensible reasons that we might don’t understand.

What we cannot afford is the rumors about suicide. What society is thinking and concluding is utterly absurd. Society needs some awareness regarding this. At least respect the emotions of lost ones. In some cases we can't find answers, also we can't stop asking questions.

There are situations of helplessness. But he in those circumstances only had a revelation about it. But remember where there is life there is hope. Some people commit suicide in fear of life and some others live in fear of death.

.    .    .