‘13,000 student suicides a year’ | Hafta panel on why elite institutes are failing students

1 hour ago 7

Tune in to the full episode: https://www.newslaundry.com/2026/08/29/hafta-604-reservation-merit-and-the-unbearable-pressure-on-indias-students Trigger Warning: This video discusses suicide. On Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Anand Vardhan are joined by Dr Aqsa Shaikh, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed National Task Force on Student Suicide Prevention in Higher Education, and law professor Dr Sameena Dalwai, to discuss suicides at hyper-competitive campuses, prompted by the recent death of an IIT Delhi student. Aqsa offers up some stark numbers, noting that there are “13,000 student suicides happening in this country every year,” amounting to roughly 40 student deaths a day. Medical colleges, and certain “premier institutions like IITs”, she argues, are places where the proportion of students dying by suicide and suffering discrimination of all sorts is very high. She also flags systemic underreporting where deaths occurring off-campus often go uncounted by institutions keen to distance themselves from their students. Abhinandan draws a controversial parallel to military training deaths, comparing IIT stress to soldiers training “behind enemy lines”, a comparison Sameena firmly rejects, arguing that unlike soldiers, students never signed up for war. She says, “We are supposed to be living in a peaceful democracy, but we are constantly being made to feel like we are at war.” Manisha pushes back on the idea that sensitised faculty can fill the gap. Teachers, however well-meaning, are “not equipped no matter how sensitive you are,” to handle a clinically diagnosed student, and may themselves, “in a moment of exasperation,” say the wrong thing, says Manisha. She calls instead for funded and professional mental health cells at institutions like IITs. Subscribe to watch the full conversation: https://pages.razorpay.com/nlsm If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for support. Tele-MANAS: 14416 or 1-800-891-4416 (24/7 free tele-mental health service) Sanjivini Society for Mental Health: 011-4076-9002 (psychological counselling) Vandrevala Foundation: Call +91 9999 666 555 for free, confidential crisis intervention. Tune in to the full episode: https://www.newslaundry.com/2026/08/29/hafta-604-reservation-merit-and-the-unbearable-pressure-on-indias-students Subscribe to Newslaundry: https://pages.razorpay.com/nlsm Contribute to Project Vande Mataram: https://www.newslaundry.com/project-vande-mataram Join the NL-TNM Book Club: https://www.newslaundry.com/book-club Join us on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va61PEo0QeacOqU9vr2k Download the accessible Newslaundry app: https://www.newslaundry.com/download-app Follow and engage with us on social media: Facebook: https://facebook.com/newslaundry Twitter: https://twitter.com/newslaundry Instagram: https://instagram.com/newslaundry

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