A 21-year-old student of Azim Premji University, Ashwin Nambiar, died by suicide on November 10 in the private university’s Sarjapur campus in Bengaluru Rural. The family of the student has said that the university has failed to send them an official mail, even though 17 days have elapsed since the incident. The university, through a statement to TNM, said that they had been engaging with the family, and any suggestion to the contrary was regrettable.
“My little brother took his life 17 days back at @azimpremjiuniv and we haven't received a single official email from them. I spoke to some undergrads and it seems that resentment is at an all-time high. As an alumnus, I feel ashamed of the state of the university,” said Ashish Nambiar, Ashwin’s brother in a social media post.
Ashwin further said that despite the claims made by the university, the management and faculty treat their students with apathy. “They do not support the formation of a *recognised* student body and actively bust student unions,” he added.
Ashwin was a final-year BSc student of Azim Premji University and a native of Hyderabad. He was residing in the hostel on the university premises. Following his death, the student body of APU submitted a memorandum to the University demanding an elected student council to represent the struggles and needs of the students.
“For an institution that believes in serving the ideals of ‘community’ and ‘care-ethics’, the various instances of mental health failures expose the glaring ignorance and discrepancies in such claims. There is a need for the Azim Premji University management to recognise and take accountability for the damaging role it has played in the deteriorating mental health of the student body as a whole. We stand by and echo the sentiments expressed by Ashwin’s brother and former APU student, Ashish Nambiar – the only way to prevent such incidents from happening is having a unified student body,” the memorandum said.
The University however has a different version. “We are deeply distressed by the unfortunate demise of one of our students. We have extended all possible support to his family as they cope with this devastating loss. We have been engaging with family members, including working with both the hospital and investigating authorities to complete all necessary procedural formalities. The University will continue to extend all assistance. Any suggestion to the contrary is regrettable,” a spokesperson said.
APU spokesperson also said that the University has had a team of trained mental health professionals who provide socio-emotional support to the students. “In addition to mental health support, the University has several other support mechanisms such as a dedicated academic resource centre, one-on-one faculty mentor support, peer support etc. The University has been engaging with the students on their demands and suggestions. Several student volunteers have been contributing significantly towards this effort. We are confident that these should be in place in the coming months.”
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