The premature end of exams and an early start to the Diwali break has left me in a mixed mood. Being in 3^rd year Electronics I start fantasizing the end of exams long before they actually start. I remember the euphoric response of my classmates (and mine too) after the end of 1^st internal exams. The feeling of elation increasing exponentially with passing away of each subject and releasing the excruciating pain endured for a week and a half.

But this time around things took an unexpected turn circumventing three exams and paving way for Diwali vacations. On the second day of exams, just three hours before the paper my roommate told me about the suicide committed by a 1^st year boy and his body being found the previous night. An hour later, when I was half way through practicing a derivation the hostel was rife with rumors about the postponement of exams and soon these rumors turned into reality.

The news of suicide really rattled me and sent me in a state of shock and disbelief. This was something unexpected. But then was it? Imagine a boy coming to study in an unknown city from a faraway village. His parents can’t afford to come with him due to financial condition. He does not know what the college system is, how everything works and maybe he is not the brightest in academics. He feels homesick, he is an introvert, stays withdrawn, does not study well and fails miserably in his first ever college exams. He dreads the approaching second exams and commits suicide.

If this is what caused him to take the extreme step, then certainly it was avoidable. All that the poor guy needed was a lot of emotional support. And this where the seniors come into the frame. The stringent rules enforced to avoid ragging have lead to what even ragging did not lead to. If he had the support of the seniors calming and comforting him, the incident could have been avoided.

I am not trying to justify ragging in any way but some amount of senior-junior interaction must be encouraged by the college. The college authorities have to look after so many 1^st yearites and cannot cater to the emotional needs of each and everyone. But this void can be filled by the seniors whose helping hand can certainly help the college to avoid such an episode.

The Supreme Court law does not even allow interaction with 1^st yearites cutting them out from the rest of the college as if they are a different species from an alien planet. This aspect of the law has to be looked into and a solution needs to be discovered before the situation aggravates.

May the boy’s soul rest in peace.