What Matters Most..Reputation of the Institutes Or Well-being of Our Students..?
A very detailed report by this press on IIT-Madras student Fathima Lathif's death after directly interviewing her family reveals a lot of shocking details.
Just two of such disturbing details are...
1. It seems only Fathima's sister found the suicide note of her sister from Fathima's phone which had been kept in the police station and Police did not find it till she finds it.
This raises a question that why did not Police investigate her death properly, check her phone at the time of the incident itself and just only believed some sources from IIT-M and informed the media about the reason for her suicide.
This was the news published in almost all news media on the next day of her death.
"This was the first time Fatima was staying away from her family in the hostel. She was very homesick. Also, she recently got low internal marks. So, these might have driven Fatima to commit suicide," a police officer said.
2. According to the initial report informed to the media by Police (by according to their IIT-M sources) is that she, getting low internal marks is one of the two reasons for her suicide. But the fact reveals that she was first in her class in that exam (her mark being 13 out of 20). Didn't the Police check these facts and think whether a person who topped in her class will really take such an extreme step for such marks..??
Only after Fathima's sister found the suicide note, the issue now has got the full limelight and some serious (!) investigations have started by the Govt.
This is the fifth or sixth suicide at IIT-M in the last one year (one asst. professor and rest are students) and every year such sad stories are reported in IITs of our country. Now I fear how many such cases are overlooked and investigations were not done properly and the Police blamed the victims itself for their death just to save the reputation of our institutions.
If our Govts are serious about the well being of the students, that is, the future builders of our nation, then they must look into investigating all past cases.. or at least more seriously into every single case in future by some independent central investigation agency.
And nobody will deny the necessity of immediate actions on the IIT-M student body's past request that includes establishing a complaints committee, appointing counselors and inviting independent experts to review students' psychological well-being.
Back in Fathima's home, strengthless and sedated Fathima’s mother has only a few words to say - “No one else should have to face this again.”
And her father at Chennai says “I will not leave Chennai until those who tormented my ponnumol (golden girl) are arrested and behind bars.”
Myself too being a father of two girls I know what is it that word "ponnumol" meant to be.. :-(
Hope the honest investigations happen and justice will prevail soon (God willing).
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| Fathima Latheef |
Just two of such disturbing details are...
1. It seems only Fathima's sister found the suicide note of her sister from Fathima's phone which had been kept in the police station and Police did not find it till she finds it.
This raises a question that why did not Police investigate her death properly, check her phone at the time of the incident itself and just only believed some sources from IIT-M and informed the media about the reason for her suicide.
This was the news published in almost all news media on the next day of her death.
"This was the first time Fatima was staying away from her family in the hostel. She was very homesick. Also, she recently got low internal marks. So, these might have driven Fatima to commit suicide," a police officer said.
2. According to the initial report informed to the media by Police (by according to their IIT-M sources) is that she, getting low internal marks is one of the two reasons for her suicide. But the fact reveals that she was first in her class in that exam (her mark being 13 out of 20). Didn't the Police check these facts and think whether a person who topped in her class will really take such an extreme step for such marks..??
Only after Fathima's sister found the suicide note, the issue now has got the full limelight and some serious (!) investigations have started by the Govt.
This is the fifth or sixth suicide at IIT-M in the last one year (one asst. professor and rest are students) and every year such sad stories are reported in IITs of our country. Now I fear how many such cases are overlooked and investigations were not done properly and the Police blamed the victims itself for their death just to save the reputation of our institutions.
If our Govts are serious about the well being of the students, that is, the future builders of our nation, then they must look into investigating all past cases.. or at least more seriously into every single case in future by some independent central investigation agency.
And nobody will deny the necessity of immediate actions on the IIT-M student body's past request that includes establishing a complaints committee, appointing counselors and inviting independent experts to review students' psychological well-being.
Back in Fathima's home, strengthless and sedated Fathima’s mother has only a few words to say - “No one else should have to face this again.”
And her father at Chennai says “I will not leave Chennai until those who tormented my ponnumol (golden girl) are arrested and behind bars.”
Myself too being a father of two girls I know what is it that word "ponnumol" meant to be.. :-(
Hope the honest investigations happen and justice will prevail soon (God willing).
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