The Weight of Dreams: Student Suicides at India’s IITs Raise Concerns About Pressure and Caste

Nashik, India – As Sanjay Nerkar returns from his office in Nashik, a minor town in Maharashtra state, he waits almost instinctively for a phone call – one he knows will never come. For nearly a decade, while his son, Varad Nerkar, lived away from home for studies, he called his father at dusk.

“No matter how busy he was, he would say, papa, bas awaaz sunni thi [I just wanted to hear your voice],” recalls the 55-year-traditional government employee.

That routine between the son and the father broke two years ago.

In 2022, Varad achieved a lifelong dream: Admission to one of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) across India, including the seven legacy IITs established before 2000 and considered the most prestigious.

Varad joined the master’s programme at IIT-Delhi – one of the original seven in the national capital. “He didn’t get a BTech there, but he refused to provide up,” Nerkar says. When the MTech result came, the family distributed sweets. “It felt like the dream belonged to all of us.”

And then his voice breaks. “If I had known what IIT-Delhi would take away from me, I would never have sent him,” he told Al Jazeera, his voice softening. “Oh, Varad… Why did you leave so early?”

On February 15, 2024, Varad died by what IIT-Delhi termed a suicide – one among at least 65 student suicides across the IITs and the eighth at IIT-Delhi since 2021. The Quint reported on the case, highlighting allegations of mental harassment.

Varad was 26. Only days earlier, he had told his mother about intense academic stress and alleged pressure from his supervisor.

Why IITs Hold Weight

In India, admission to an IIT symbolizes academic excellence and social prestige. The competition is fierce.

In 2025, about 1.3 million high school graduates are expected to take the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main, a computer-based screening conducted by India’s National Testing Agency twice a year. Only about 250,000 qualify for the JEE Advanced, the final round for approximately 18,000 Bachelor of Technology (BTech) seats, allocated based on rank, category, and preferences.

For MTech programmes, 800,000 to 1,000,000 candidates appear for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) annually, with about 8,500 securing admission – an average of one in 72 for BTech and one in 117 for MTech courses.

Over the decades, the IITs have produced prominent figures such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, along with numerous Indian billionaires and leading politicians. According to 6figr.com, an AI-driven career data platform, the average salary of an IIT graduate working in the United States ranges between $216,000 and $235,000 annually, nearly four times the national average salary in the US.

Dheeraj Singh, founder of the Global IIT-IIM Alumni Support Group, which supports students’ mental wellbeing and bereaved families, emphasizes the prestige associated with being an IITian. “Being an IITian is not just a tag; it brings respect to the entire family,” he told Al Jazeera.

‘They Took My Only Son Away’

Despite their reputation, life at the IITs is often marked by intense pressure and relentless competition. While the institutes highlight record placements, a significant number of graduates remain unemployed. In 2024, about 38 percent of IIT graduates went unplaced, according to institute data – a reality often overlooked to preserve institutional prestige.

“IITs publicise top placements but seldom talk about the other side. Nearly half the students struggle during placements,” said Singh.

Expectations are enormous. “When academic pressure combines with placement stress, the situation becomes extremely serious.” Singh recalled a student at IIT-Kanpur who contacted his support group fearing unemployment: “He said, ‘If I don’t get placed, I will end my life.’ Despite our efforts, he later died by suicide.”

According to data compiled by Singh, 160 student suicides have been recorded across the IITs in the past two decades – 69 of them in the last five years.

Among them was Darshan Solanki, a 20-year-old who dreamt of an IIT degree. His father, Ramesh, a plumber in Ahmedabad, says Darshan cleared the IIT entrance test in 2022 but didn’t get his preferred branch and tried again the following year. In 2023, he joined the chemical engineering course at IIT-Bombay.

“That was the happiest day of my life. I cried, and Darshan told me, ‘Papa, I have done it. Our life now will become easier.’ He wanted me to leave plumbing once he got a good job,” Solanki told Al Jazeera. “I had never imagined he would not even finish his studies.”

On February 12, 2023, Darshan Solanki died by suicide at IIT-Bombay. Solanki said his son often spoke about being mocked over his caste background. The Solankis are Dalits, historically marginalized and discriminated against.

“We belong to a lower caste. Why should that matter? The humiliation affected my son deeply, and then came the academic pressure. How can a 20-year-old bear both mental harassment and studies?” Solanki asked.

He alleged the IIT authorities blamed his son for not coping with academic pressure. “They said he wasn’t good enough, but how could that be when he had cracked the IIT twice? He was brilliant, my best son,” he said. “They took my only son away from me.”

Singh of the Global IIT-IIM Alumni Support Group agreed that caste-based discrimination remains prevalent at the IITs and that many reported suicides involve students from marginalized communities. Government data supports this concern: between 2014 and 2021, approximately 55 percent of student suicides at IITs, IIMs, central universities, and other federally-funded institutes involved students from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Castes – despite their lower representation.

‘Power Imbalance’

Experts and students at the IITs have also flagged a power imbalance, particularly between PhD scholars and their supervisors. Fellowships often end after five years, forcing students to complete their theses within that timeframe.

“When funding ends, usually around the age of 30, the uncertainty becomes deeply distressing,” Sushant, a doctoral student at IIT-Kanpur, told Al Jazeera. “The supervisor controls whether the thesis is approved, making us entirely dependent on one person. Many supervisors are toxic, and this traumatises students and can push them towards suicide.”

Recently, IIT authorities announced that PhD scholars unable to complete their thesis within seven years could face termination. The most recent suicide at IIT-Kanpur involved PhD scholar Ramswroop Ishram, who died by suicide in January. Students protested, demanding accountability.

A similar case occurred at IIT-Madras in March 2023 when PhD scholar Sachin Kumar Jain died by suicide. An investigation found that academic pressure from his supervisor contributed to the death, and the faculty member was suspended. No suicides have been reported at the campus since.

Al Jazeera attempted to contact the IIT authorities for comment but did not receive a response.

Fixing Accountability

S Ravindra Bhat, chairman of a National Task Force on Mental Health, stated the situation was “deeply troubling,” noting that his task force has received thousands of complaints. He said the crisis has a structural dimension and is rooted in broader social realities and within the institutions.

Singh said the IITs “can and should do far more” to prevent such deaths, accusing the tech schools of often distancing themselves from responsibility. He noted that if a student was doing well academically, the death was blamed on “personal issues,” while if the student was struggling, the suicide was attributed to an inability to handle competition. In both cases, accountability is sidestepped.

Experts say suicides at the IITs are preventable through timely intervention. Aqsa Sheikh, a member of the National Task Force on Student Suicide Prevention, told Al Jazeera that while the IITs have appointed mental health counsellors, their efforts fall short. “There has to be greater accountability and proactive intervention. Students under severe stress are unlikely to seek help on their own. Institutes must identify them and develop the first move.”

Singh agreed, adding that his support group has counselled hundreds of IIT students. “If a small organisation like ours can do this, why can’t the IITs?” he said. “The issue is not resources but intent, and the will to prevent suicides.”