Recently, the Supreme Court of India formed a National Task Force to address the increasing deaths by suicide among students on campuses.

• The Court also directed Delhi Police to register an FIR based on the complaints from the families of two students who died by suicide at IIT Delhi in 2023.
• Following a series of suicides at IITs, the IIT Council, led by the Education Minister, emphasized a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination and a need for robust support systems for students.

Challenges associated with Mental Health and Suicide identification

• Reductionist Approach: The response to suicides is often individualistic, focusing mostly on the appointment of more psychologists on campuses, rather than addressing deeper socio-structural causes like discrimination and biased institutional policies.
• Institutional Bias: Psychologists and counselling centres often fail to critique biased institutional policies, which deeply affect students’ mental health.
• Lack of Language Inclusivity:  The official websites of the 23 IIT counselling centres do not use inclusive language such as “queer affirmative” or gender-neutral personal pronouns.
  • Language is more than just a tool of communication; it carries power, influences thoughts, and shapes actions.
  • The absence of inclusive language reflects a larger institutional failure to engage with gender non-conformity and sexual diversity.
• Violation of Legal Frameworks: Gender exclusionary language contradicts the 2014 NALSA judgment by the Supreme Court, which granted equal representation to gender non-binary individuals.

Way Forward

• Unbiased Language: In 2023, the Supreme Court launched the Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes, which emphasizes the need for unbiased language to reflect legal interpretations and societal perceptions.
  • The use of unbiased language is critical not just for legal compliance, but for fostering an environment that promotes mental well-being, especially for gender-diverse students.
• Linguistic Resources: Research highlights that gender pronouns are crucial for trans and non-binary students, fostering an inclusive environment.
• Trans-Affirming Pedagogy: Collecting pronoun information and addressing misuse of pronouns are key strategies in creating a trans-affirming pedagogy.
• Role of Pronouns: Using gender-inclusive pronouns and creating inclusive frameworks in institutions are preventive public mental health care interventions.
• Anti-Discrimination Policies: Establishing anti-discrimination policies that support gender inclusivity is essential in maintaining mental well-being and promoting equity across educational institutions.
• Limited Focus on Grades: A student shared: “Teachers talk only about grades. A grade is the parameter by which students are judged as good or bad.”
  • This perspective contradicts the ethic of care, which emphasizes the human value beyond academic performance.
• Compassionate Communities: The classroom should not only focus on intellectual scholarship but also on creating compassionate, non-judgmental, and empathetic communities.
• Better attendance Policies: Fragile attendance policies—implemented arbitrarily by some teachers—pose a serious challenge to mental health. 
  • Such policies can exacerbate stress and anxiety for students, contributing to a toxic environment that undermines well-being.
• Cultural Safety and Empathy: Cultural safety and empathy are essential in the classroom, and regular interaction between teachers and students is key to fostering these qualities.
• Changing Current focus: The current approach to mental health on campuses is limited to increasing mental health services and focusing on clinical interventions.
  • However, this approach does not address the structural issues affecting students’ mental health.
• Mobilising Resources: There is a crisis in public mental health ethics when psychologists align with counter-therapeutic institutional policies that violate constitutional and statutory safeguards.
  • Counselling centres must mobilize resources and ensure that care becomes the central value in addressing student needs.
• Ethics of Care: It is essential for institutions to embed the ethics of care into their policies, responding to avoidable mental distress.

Conclusion

Inclusive practices in language and policies are critical for creating safe spaces for students of all identities. Teachers play a pivotal role in nurturing compassionate, empathetic, and non-judgmental communities, fostering mental health, and supporting student well-being.

DOWNLOAD PDF