65 Student Suicides at IITs in the last 5 years

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 💥💥 𝗜𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.

I hesitate to raise this subject. 

65 Lives Lost over five years at IITs in India. Not a Statistics. Reminds me of the movie "3 Idiots"

❓𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀?

𝗡𝗢 - When some of the brightest minds with big dreams, feel trapped, isolated, and hopeless, the question isn’t Individual Resilience.

And the most disturbing part?

👉 We are just unwilling to make it our mission to confront them deeply enough.

The Core Reasons — And We Know Them

🚨 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆

Problem - Constant comparison. Fear of falling behind. Grades tied to self-worth. Performance is celebrated; struggle is stigmatized.

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

➡️ Shift evaluation from rank obsession to mastery & growth.

➡️ Train faculty to detect Emotional Distress, not just academic gaps.


🚨 𝗧𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 & 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Problem - Students enter as toppers — and suddenly become “average”. Identity collapses when self-worth is built only on achievement.

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

➡️ Mentorship programs where seniors share real struggles, not success stories alone.

➡️ Redefine “success” beyond grades and placements.


🚨 𝗜𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴

Problem - Being surrounded by thousands doesn’t mean feeling connected. Students from different socio-economic backgrounds. 

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

➡️ Strong peer-support circles (not token clubs).

➡️ Safe spaces where students can speak *without fear of judgment*.


🚨𝗜𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁

Problem - Counselling exists — but often too little, too late. Students fear being labeled “unstable”.

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

➡️ Proactive mental health check-ins (like physical health). Confidential, stigma-free counselling with real accessibility

➡️ Integrate mental well-being into daily campus life, not crisis moments


🚨 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆 & 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

Problem - Brilliant academicians are not automatically empathetic mentors. Emotional Intelligence is missing from leadership equations.

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

➡️Mission mode - training for faculty on empathy, psychological safety & mentoring

➡️ Accountability - Leadership KPIs must include student mental health indicators.

👉 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 — Inclusion of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) as a mandatory subject, like STEM, in Schools -- Long term and Not Cosmetic. 

Follow Sukhvinder Singh for more on Growth, Leadership and Transformation.

DM me for IGNITE Workshops - Sukhisr@yahoo.com 


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