Minister and working president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) KT Rama Rao on Saturday said that he would be visiting the family of Aishwarya Reddy, the student who died by suicide due to her poor financial condition that had become an obstacle in pursuing education further. Responding to journalist Barka Dutt’s tweet seeking the intervention of the minister to aid the family, KTR said, “I’ll personally meet with the family and ensure all support is provided.”
Aishwarya was a BSc (Honours) in Mathematics student from Lady Shri Ram (LSR) College in New Delhi. The student with an impressive academic credit score died by suicide on November 2 at her residence in Shadnagar, Hyderabad. In her suicide note, Aishwarya had said that she had become a burden to the family, as they had to spend a lot towards her education. She said that only death was the “right choice”.
Absolutely Barkha. I’ll personally meet with the family and ensure all support is provided https://t.co/HoYFwJIxBv
— KTR (@KTRTRS) November 14, 2020
Aishwarya’s parents had pledged their gold and took a loan against their house for her studies. “I cannot live without studies. I have been pondering over this for a long time,” she had written. She concluded the letter by saying, “I am not a good daughter.”
According to her family, Aishwarya required a laptop, a device that has become essential during the pandemic, to take classes online. The family, which was already struggling to meet ends, could not afford it. Aishwarya’s father, Srinivas Reddy, is a mechanic while her mother, Sunitha Reddy is a tailor.
Speaking to TNM, Srinivas Reddy had said, “Our financial condition is too bad. If the Minister comes, we will ask for some government job to sustain ourselves. We don’t need any money. I will be grateful if the government provides me with any job that I am qualified for.”
The death of the student yet again highlighted the deep digital divide brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. This has been depriving education to a large section of students coming from marginalised backgrounds. Students of the LSR have dubbed Aishwarya’s death as an “institutional murder” as the administration failed to address the concerns of the students coming from poor financial backgrounds.