On Tuesday (2 July 2019), a student at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) committed suicide. The police stated anxiety and depression as plausible reasons. Allegedly, he hung himself from the ceiling fan in his room. This is the second suicide in the Institute in the last six months.
Left An Eight-Page Note
The boy, Mark Andrew Charles, hailed from Varanasi. He was a second-year Masters in Designing student. Before taking the extreme step he left an eight-page note in his diary.
He wrote that he had poor scores and no one would hire him. Considering his time at IITH as a lost opportunity he wrote, “Two years away from home, at the best institute, with the best of people around me, I wasted it all.”
The police said that anxiety and depression may have been the reasons behind his demise.
Talking about his mental health and his relationship with his peers he wrote, “I did have dreams, just like everyone. But now, it’s pretty empty. All this positivity, the constant smiling, telling people that I am OK, even though I’m not…I never thought I would end up letting all of you down. Do not miss me. I don’t deserve it. I am not worthy. Just know that I love you all back just the way you did because that is what friends do right?”.
He also expressed regret to have wasted his parents’ sacrifices: “Thank you for being the best parents. I am sorry I turned out to be such a waste,” he wrote in the note.
Furthermore, advising his friends to not waste their lives in “IT jobs” he wrote, “Ankit, Rajjo, IT me kaam karte karte apni life matt bhul jana (Ankit, Rajjo, don’t forget yourself in your IT jobs). Live a little everyday. Ek hi zindagi mili hain (You have got only one life)“.
Second Case In Six Months
This is the second such incident at IITH in the past six months. In February, Anirudhya Mummaneni, a mechanical and aerospace engineering student in his fourth year, had jumped off a hostel building.
Before ending his life, he had sent an email to his friends in which he wrote, “The decision to end my life is purely logical, based on my estimation of what the future contains…Life holds no intrigue anymore and the daily grind is becoming more difficult with time.”
The institute has extended its condolences to families and friends of the deceased.
Take help
Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed by the struggles you may be going through. You may feel unheard and your struggle underestimated.
Please do not give up. You matter, your story matters. There are people who are always listening.
If you are need of support or want to support a friend, contact the following 24/7 hotlines:
1. Aasra – 022-27546669/ Helpline List
2. Sahai – 00-25497777
3. Befrienders Worldwide Hotline List
