Another young life sacrificed at the altar of this parasitic system!

In the fourth such incident in this year alone in IIT-Kharagpur, 21-year old Mechanical Engineering student Ritam Mondal was found dead by hanging in his room on Thursday, 17th July. Following their routine, the police have started an investigation and IIT has set up a panel to probe the incident, but we are well aware that things will go on per usual. There will be no real measure to prevent the fifth and the sixth incident and so on. Because to do so, the entire education system of our country will have to be called into question.

The issue of student suicides, or systemic murders, has become so rampant that we are desensitised to it by the media and institutions. But let us take a look at the terrifying numbers. Student suicides have increased by 64% from 2013 to 2022 according to a report by NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau). Of the 1,64,033 people who died by suicide in India in 2021, 10,732 were below 18 years old and 56,543 were in the 18-30 year old group. Characteristic of any data in the fascist era, it is reported that NCRB numbers are 37% lower than those reported by Global Burden for Disease (according to The Lancet’s report). A UNICEF report reveals that 1 in 7 Indians aged 15-24 suffer from poor mental health. A report by IC3 institute, a volunteer mental health organisation, stated that suicides among Indian students were increasing at a rate of 4% every year, double of 2% increase in overall suicide rate.

A more specific survey by NIMHANS found that among 8,542 students across 30 universities in 9 states, found that 12% were suicidal while 5% had attempted suicide. We cannot believe in the illusion that these are personal tragedies. It is the failure of a society and system that trains students to become cogs in a machine, to become obedient, unthinking servants for the capitalist class. Our entire education system is geared to make us mechanical bearers of some knowledge, without a holistic understanding of the subject or of the world at large. The IIT and the engineering craze in the country have rampantly spread rote learning, alienated students, and bloodsucking coaching industries. But the truth is that even all of this torture during studies does not guarantee any bright future! According to Unstop Talent Report 2025, 83% of engineering graduates of 2024 have yet to receive a job or internship offer. The overall condition of unemployment among youth needs no introduction.

Any namesake measures taken by the government for improving “mental health” do not provide any real solution, because they only focus on the individual and maintaining their productivity. We must also seriously ask how many students and youth coming from the families of the toiling masses can even access quality care for mental health problems. Even if they do manage to seek treatment, the real root cause—a decaying, exploitative and parasitic system—has an integral role to play in leading so many students and youth towards pessimism, mounting stress, and even clinical depression and suicidal tendencies. The path to prevent such tragic loss of life is tied to the path of fighting for a better society, better healthcare system and a better education system. If we are pained by the death of Ritam Mondal, the only fitting way to pay our respects is to build a fight that ensures that other students do not lose their lives the same way, engulfed in the pressures of this rat race called education and employment in India today.

-DISHA STUDENTS’ ORGANIZATION