A student at the Lady Shri Ram College for Women in Delhi died by suicide on November 3 after not receiving a quota of her scholarship that expires in March. A resident of the Rangareddy district in Telangana, she was first in the state’s class 12 exam and had mortgaged her home to fund her higher education.
Aishwarya, a math student who couldn’t afford her education, said in her suicide note that she didn’t want to be a burden to her family and she didn’t want a life without an education. Since then protests have erupted demanding justice for her and her death has been labeled “institutional murder.”
Delays in the scholarship and notice to leave the shelter
Aishwarya was receiving the INSPIRE Fellowship from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Government of India. However, the scholarship has been cruelly delayed by the government since March, putting her and her family under extreme financial pressure, according to a statement released by the Student Federation of India (SFI).
Aishwarya had made it clear to the Integrated Education Committee of the LSR student union that she did not have a proper internet connection for online classes, which had already put an additional financial burden on her family due to spending on data packets. She had said that she could not do her best for her studies because she did not have a laptop and did not have study materials available. In addition, the schedule of his classes clashed with his housework.
The committee’s co-convener, Lekshmi, said: “The committee has repeatedly sent emails to the LSR administration, but all to no avail as they received no fruitful response. Furthermore, the delay in the scholarship points to the apathy of the government. central to student workers of those origins. “
LSR Student Union general secretary Unnimaya issued a statement after verifying the facts about Aishwarya’s death saying the student was also affected by the sudden decision of the LSR administration to revoke the hostel facilities for all students except freshmen. She said: “The university administration must answer for the steps they take regardless of their impact.”
“Supposedly he was informed that the amount of the scholarship could only come after the conclusion of the second year. The UGC and other agencies have not provided scholarships and have cited the pandemic as an excuse for the same. Therefore, a retrospective scholarship promise, at an uncertain date when the student who gains the most from it needs it now, is an act of deliberate negligence and callousness, ”he said in the statement.
Students demand the disbursement of scholarships
Various organizations have condemned the incident, while noting that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has frozen the disbursement of Junior Research Grants (JRF) and Senior Research Grants (SRF) as well.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) issued a statement saying: “This amounts to institutional murder. LSR and DST are complicit and must be held accountable.”
The government must judiciously allocate the available resources, the students demanded as “due to the lack of disbursement of the INSPIRE scholarship (awarded by the Department of Science and Technology), a student at the Lady Shri Ram College of the University of Delhi was forced to commit suicide 4 days ago. “
Research students also raised the issue of delayed scholarships in August.
Dissenting voices
LSR alumni association ELSA issued a statement saying: “The principal and the university are equally surprised that the ‘name of the deceased’ had never approached the department, administrator, principal or faculty looking for help. LSR has a certified counselor who is there to help students. University policies are very transparent regarding one-year hostel accommodation. “
Condemning the statement, Dissenting Voices, a student body made up of Bahujan alumni, said: “In the wake of the institutional murder of our friend, the LSR Alumni association has released an extremely insensitive statement that indulges in blaming the victim and defending to the defective and exclusive educational system of the university “. The collective also claimed that ELSA’s position blamed the victim for not approaching the administration, despite the fact that it was the university’s responsibility to ensure that all students had access to education.
The students condemned the administration’s “utterly hostile and unfair move” of asking students to leave shelters on short notice in the midst of a pandemic and forcing them to seek alternative and expensive accommodations even when there is no urgency.
Meanwhile, the LSR administration expressed their shock at the death, “The LSR community has received, with deep pain and shock, the news of the passing of one of our students. The unfortunate incident occurred in his hometown, where he lived after the LSR shelter was closed as part of a national closure of educational institutions ordered by the Union and the Delhi government. “
They added: “LSR remains committed to the well-being of each of its students in these difficult times.”
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