Two days after the suicide of IITian Sachin Kumar Jain, posters had popped up on the walls of the IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Madras campus demanding justice for the late Mechanical Engineering research scholar.
These posters, which were placed at several locations on the campus, accused IIT Madras of mistreating and PhD scholars. Additionally, they alleged that Sachin’s suicide was rather an “institutional murder”, and demanded an investigation into the matter.
The posters have now been taken down by the administration.
The 31-year-old’s friends, who wish to stay anonymous, have allegedly accused his PhD guide of mistreating and verbally humiliating Sachin, and believe it to be the factor that drove him to suicide. They further alleged the mistreatment was ongoing and that it seem to have begun when Sachin took two days of absence to attend a conference without informing his guide last year.
Allegations come in from APPSC - IIT Bombay too
Similarly, IIT Bombay’s Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSCIITB) has taken to its social media handles and posted, “Friends of the deceased allege that the wrongful treatment from the guide is responsible for the suicide.”
Talking about these allegations, a third-year PhD, on the condition of anonymity, says that guides demeaning students verbally is commonplace. “However,” he says, “a lot of people think that it is normal. A few students even defend this behaviour, saying that the guides act like this for their (the students’) own good.”
He also says that students who take issue with this treatment cannot speak up about it and have no choice but to stay silent.
“Among Sachin’s labmates,” he adds, “there are people who are actively justifying the guide’s behaviour, while the remaining students are silent about it.” He is, however, not aware of who it was behind the posters.
Guides are to blame?
“Students, especially PhD scholars do not have any support to stand up against ill treatment metted out by guides and superiors,” says a third-year PhD student of Physics at IIT Madras. “There is no system to check and ensure that PhD scholars are treated well by their supervisors, and there is no way that students can raise complaints against bad behaviour,” he adds. He also says that the grievance cells are also of little help.
Talking about the mistreatment of PhD scholars at IITs, APPSC spokesperson Praveen Jeevan says, “At IITs, a few PhD scholars are illtreated by their guides at a harsher level and they cannot do anything except switch their guides. If they do this, no other guide will want to supervise them as these scholars are perceived to be troublesome. They cannot even stand up to this treatment as IIT students are not politically organised like other public universities in India are,” he said. He further adds that guides must treat the scholars with respect and dignity.
On March 31, Sachin was found dead by his former roommate in his house. He had reportedly posted a WhatsApp story saying, “I am sorry, not good enough.” This is the third case of suicide at IIT Madras this month.
EdexLive has reached out to IIT Madras for an official comment. The story will be updated once they respond.
