Denied entry to UPSC exam centre, Varun Chandran killed himself. Who should we blame?
Scrolling through news articles on my phone, I was struck by one inparticular — the news of a UPSC aspirant's suicide.
The circumstances of the suicide left me shocked.
Varun Subhash Chandran (28) committed suicide after he was denied entry to an exam centre where young aspirants were taking the preliminary test for the coveted civil services on June 3. Chandran reached the venue just a few minutes later. He was not allowed to enter the centre because of the delay.
According to his friends, Chandran reached the venue on time but found that he was at the wrong centre. He then rushed to his centre, but was not allowed to appear in the exam.
Following the suicide, many suggested that exams should not be taken so seriously. Many said that such acts reflect cowardice and that one should fight adversities in life. All these opinions appear to be true - but only partially.
It is the authorities which must be blamed for such incidents because students continue to be the most fooled community across the country.
Many admit cards do not mention the address of the examination centres accurately and precisely and students are often denied entry even if they are late by a minute. This spoils the future prospects of young aspirants. It is hard to imagine the amount of stress and frustration a student has to go through because of this. Many break down and choose to end their lives. Authorities increase the pressure on students in various ways, such as denying them entry for not reaching centres in time, or letting question papers with misprinting even reach students.
I have never heard of action being taken against anyone in a position of authority over such problems.
Had Chandran been allowed to sit for the exam, he would have been alive today. But the rules seeded in insensitivity don't seem to care about lives. I consider his death nothing but a murder at the hands of an insensitive administration.
I am part of the student community and I can feel the stress students are subjected too - I see many Chandrans in the making because of the apathy of the authorities.
One of my friends prepared for around six months for the Lok Sabha secretariat exam; it was his dream job. He, however, did not attempt a few questions because of a misprint in the question paper.
Now, even the authorities know that there was a misprint but they are not ready to consider the fallout of this. Even when the authorities did get to know about the problem, they chose to do nothing about it. The matter was never highlighted. It is shocking how little accountability lies with our authorities. My friend, however, lives under great stress simply because of what happened in that exam. He often tells me, "Yaar, nahi clear hua to zinda nahi rahunga. Itni taiyari ki thi, yaar (If I don't clear the exam, I will kill myself. I prepared so hard for it.").
Chandran's suicide has left me scared for my own friend.
But who killed Chandran? This is a question we must all ask to ensure a more sensitive society that cares for all its members, especially its future generation, its youth who are trying so hard to achieve their dreams.
It is high time civil society starts discussing this issue. Students particularly should come together and be vocal about their problems and the issues they face related to examinations.
India can't afford to lose its young to suicides. This must stop.