IIT Student Suicides: 45 Deaths Across 23 IITs In 5 Years, 28 From SC, ST & OBC Communities, Official Data Shows

In the span of five years, from 2020-21 to 2024-25, 45 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) students have taken their own lives, according to data obtained from all 23 IITs. A significant portion of these 45 deaths - 28 - involved students belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities. This statistic accounts for more than 62 percent of all reported suicides by IIT students during the given period.

Out of the 28 students who died, 12 were from OBC backgrounds, nine from SC communities, and seven from ST communities. Sixteen students belonged to the General category, and one was from the Economically Weaker Sections category.

The increase in suicides was most noticeable in the 2023-24 academic year, when 16 deaths were reported, a sharp rise from six deaths the previous year. In 2024-25, there were 13 reported suicides. IIT Hyderabad recorded the highest number of suicides over the five years, with seven deaths. IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi, and IIT Kanpur each reported six suicides, while IIT Madras reported five, and IIT (BHU) Varanasi reported four.

The data also reveals that in 2024-25, four of the 13 students who died by suicide belonged to the OBC category, three were from ST communities, two were from SC communities, and four were from the General category.

The compilation of these figures, however, does not provide further information on the courses the students were pursuing or the circumstances surrounding their deaths. Consequently, it is difficult to deduce the reasons behind these tragic events just from the raw numbers.