Student suicides in universities are often a product of institutional violence. We must take a stand

Indian Express

4 days ago

Ganesh Gaigouria and Vidyasagar Sharma
The suicide and death of a 19-year-old woman student in Odisha has brought back the debates around sexual harassment and gender oppression in Indian higher education institutes. This incident adds to a series of cases, where the silencing of women, Dalits, and other marginalised communities has become a practice in these spaces. The case of Rohith Vemula, the suicide of Dr Payal Tadvi, or the rape and murder of a medical student at R G Kar Medical College reveal the repeated failure of institutions to ensure a safe space within universities.
Notably, the perpetrators of such violence are, in most cases, a person in authority, be it a faculty member or someone from the dominant caste group. Against this backdrop, we must talk about a space that promotes empathy and solidarity, necessary to live a dignified life.
The growing number of student suicides and sexual harassment cases across campuses exposes the deep failure of existing redressal systems in public institutions. For instance, the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) appears to be a largely symbolic and dysfunctional body, often prioritising institutional interests over those of the complainants.
The SC/ST cells are no better, which are constituted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to safeguard the rights of SC/ST students in educational institutions. N Sukumar, in his book Caste Discrimination and Exclusion in Indian Universities highlighted how SC/ST cells lack autonomy, resources and accountability. Instead of being proactive and taking serious actions against perpetrators, they do nothing more than completing the bureaucratic formalities. The Odisha case illustrates such non-functionality of the ICC or any gender-based grievance redressal structures.
We urgently need new institutional measures that reflect the intersectional realities of caste and gender. The demand for the Rohith Act, raised after Rohith Vemula's death, must be revisited with renewed urgency. This Act ensures legal accountability for institutions in cases of caste-based discrimination and suicide, including provisions for time-bound redressal, independent grievance committees, and legal protection for complainants.
We also highlight here that the earlier GSCASH (Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment) system at JNU, which was participatory and student-inclusive, may be considered a model for creating effective redressal systems. Unlike ICC, which operates under administrative control and power hierarchies, GSCASH had autonomy and democratic representation.
Beyond institutional measures, we need to reimagine educational spaces as grounded in emotional and ethical culture. Institutional measures alone cannot ensure inclusivity and justice unless we are willing to bring a radical shift in civic emotions and ethics. There needs to be a reframing of existing gender and caste sensitisation programmes within a radical perspective, which must go beyond the ritualistic 'ticking off the checkboxes'.
Students from marginalised communities must be empowered to speak about their everyday suffering and trauma without the fear of retaliation. This can only happen in spaces that foster courage, solidarity, and radical empathy, not silence and alienation.
The institutionalised silencing of marginalised students is embedded in the everyday socio-spatial architecture of caste, gender and systemic violence. Solidarity must become law, beyond mere expressions and feelings. Only then can we restore trust among students.
Gaigouria is a Visiting Faculty at the National Law School of Indian University, Bengaluru. Sharma is a research scholar at the Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, Germany