19-Year-Old LSR Student Commits Suicide, Family Says Hit By Lockdown, Unable To Fund Studies

A student of Lady Shri Ram College for Women in Delhi died by suicide on November 3 after failing to receive an installment of her scholarship that was due in March.

A resident of the Rangareddy district in Telangana, her father said she was an IAS aspirant but the family was unable even to buy her a second-hand laptop to pursue online classes during the ongoing pandemic.

Aishwarya Reddy was the state class 12 examination topper and had mortgaged her house to fund her higher education. In her suicide note, the 19-year-old said that she did not want to burden her family and did not want a life without education.

According to local police, Aishwarya, a B.Sc. Mathematics (Honours) student, hanged herself at her home in Shadnagar on November 2. The family said she left behind a note written in Telugu. “Because of me, my family is facing many financial problems. I am a burden to my family. My education is a burden. If I can’t study, I can’t live,” the note reads.

The student Union representative Unnimaya told Outlook that Aishwarya was residing in a college hostel, however, the LSR authorities decided to convert it into a first-year student hostel. Aishwarya, a second-year student, was asked to vacate the hostel. Her parents had to arrange Rs 30,000 to get her tickets booked back for Delhi. “Her younger sister also had to drop out of school so that Aishwarya could continue her studies.”

“In a survey conducted by LSR student Union, Aishwarya had clearly mentioned that she won't have a laptop and proper electricity at her home. We tried to bring this to the Principal’s attention, however, there was no response from her side,” Unnimaya said.

Aishwarya was also a recipient of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s INSPIRE scholarship, and her note states: “Ensure INSPIRE scholarship is given at least for one year.”

Earlier, after actor Sonu Sood had tweeted about his scholarship initiative for students, Aishwarya wrote an email to him on September 14, attaching her certificates as proof. “I don’t have a laptop and I am unable to do practice papers. I am afraid I may fail in these papers. Our family is completely in debt so there is no way to buy a laptop…I am not sure whether I will be able to complete my graduation,” the email read.