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“I felt very hurt that she asked about my daughter's character. I continued standing there with my hands folded, requesting them to somehow admit her,” P Thavamani (40) told TNM, recounting the incidents of the day before her 16-year-old daughter P Nishanthi died by suicide.
Thavamani had taken Nishanthi to meet Vimala Devi, headmistress of the Government Model Higher Secondary School in Usilampatti, Madurai, on August 24 to apply for admission to class 11. Instead, Vimala Devi allegedly humiliated the girl for leaving her previous school, and her ‘character’ was scrutinised.
“Seeing my folded hands, my daughter tapped my hand to ask me to lower it,” Thavamani continued. This triggered a sharp reaction from Vimala Devi, who allegedly asked, “Can't you fold your hands in front of me? Are you that arrogant?”
“She repeatedly shouted at my daughter, calling her arrogant and questioning what she had done at the previous school. Unable to tolerate the berating, my daughter started crying. [Vimala devi] then told her, ‘Get out. Leave the school.’ Those words affected my daughter deeply. She immediately ran out,” Thavamani recounted.
Nishanthi’s family alleged that the incident caused her deep distress. Speaking to TNM four days after her death, the family solely blamed the allegedly casteist treatment she received from Vimala Devi for her death.
Police have registered a case of abetment of suicide based on her mother’s complaint, naming headmistress Vimala Devi. The headmistress has denied the allegations, including any casteist remarks.
‘Character’ questioned
Nishanthi hailed from Usilampatti in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district and belonged to the Hindu Paraiyar community, which is classified under Scheduled Castes (SC). She was the second of three children born to Thavamani, a tailor in a garments factory, and Palaniswamy, a daily wage labourer. “She was very attached to us and was highly inclined towards studies. She would not even waste time enjoying festivals,” her family remembered.
After completing class 10 from a government school in Thottappanayakkanur, she joined the Government Kallar Higher Secondary School (GKHSS) in Poochipatti for class 11 in June this year.
Nishanthi had joined the Biology-Mathematics stream with ambitions of becoming a nurse, her sister Nikila told TNM. But when she struggled with some of the subjects, she wished to join the Commerce stream. However, the school refused to let her change the stream.
“My daughter went to school unwillingly for some time. After that, she stopped going to school and stayed at home. She kept saying, ‘I don't like it. I don't want to go. Please put me in another school’,” Thavamani said.
On August 24, Thavamani took Nishanthi to the Government Model Higher Secondary School in Usilampatti, where they met the headmistress Vimala Devi, who belongs to the Hindu Kallar community, which is classified as Other Backward Class.
According to Thavamani, the headmistress questioned them over why they had come there after Nishanthi had already joined another school. “She asked, ‘What mistake did you commit there? You come here after having joined another school and we have to admit you? Don’t we have any other job?’”
Vimala Devi then allegedly tried to contact the Government Kallar Higher Secondary School that Nishanthi had previously joined, in order to know about her ‘conduct’. When there was no response, she called the Thottappanayakkanur school where Nishanthi studied class 10.
“She put the call on speaker phone. The teacher from Thottappanayakkanur said my daughter was a good student,” Thavamani said. Vimala Devi then allegedly asked, “How is her character?”
This question about her daughter’s character hurt her deeply, Thavamani said. That was when she requested the headmistress with folded hands to admit her daughter to the school, prompting Nishanthi to gesture to her to not fold her hands.
‘She was emotionally drained’
After Vimala Devi asked her to “get out” of the school, Nishanthi walked for around five kilometres towards Nallamalpatti. When Thavamani found her, she brought her home in an autorickshaw.
“When we got home, she lay down. I asked her to eat, but she refused. I don't know whether she slept properly that night. She was emotionally exhausted,” Thavamani told TNM.
The next day, August 25, Thavamani left for work, telling Nishanthi that she would return later to take her to the Kallar school to get her transfer certificate (TC). “I rarely get leave so I managed to get a 10 minute break to go get the TC,” she said. There, she was asked to wait for some more time.
“I told the teacher, Manikkyan, that my daughter stopped going to school because he said she couldn’t be reassigned to the Commerce stream and told her to go to another school. He replied that they have to discipline students, and asked if that is reason enough to stop coming to school,” Thavamani alleged. “After some argument, we finally received the TC,” she said.
She then returned to work, while Nishanthi went home, where she was alone. When Thavamani reached home that evening, she couldn’t initially find Nishanthi.
“I searched the house, only to find her dead,” she said, breaking into tears.
“While I was away, my daughter must have been thinking about everything that had happened. There was nobody at home to talk to her. I had gone to work, while she kept thinking about everything, and it caused her tremendous mental distress,” Thavamani said.
‘Each word headmistress said cost my daughter’s life’
For Thavamani, there is grief over losing her daughter, as well as anger over how Nishanthi was treated. She alleged that the headmistress Vimala Devi is solely responsible for her daughter’s death, and demanded legal action against her.
“The headmistress is well educated and is in a higher position, administering a school. Wouldn’t she know how to speak to a common person like us?” she asked, adding, “Each word she said cost my daughter her life. Wouldn’t they know to speak kindly? If not kindly, at least humanely?”
Nishanthi's uncle P Sangili (52), a share-auto driver, said the family wants justice for her death. “The headmistress’ behaviour deeply affected her. There should not be an incident like this involving another student. We want justice for her death,” he told TNM.
‘Headmistress denied casteist remark’
The Usilampatti Taluk police told TNM that a case of abetment of suicide has been registred based on Thavamani’s complaint, which named Vimala Devi. The investigation is headed by Usilampatti Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Jai Ganesh.
The police added that provisions of the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have not been invoked in the case yet, and that a decision on whether or not to include it will be made based on probe findings.
Vimala Devi denied the allegations during questioning, the police said adding that she denied making casteist remarks.
According to the police, Vimala Devi said that she had only asked Nishanthi why she kept tapping her mother’s hands while her mother was standing with her hands folded. “She told us that Nishanthi replied inappropriately when asked why she kept tapping her mother’s hand,” police told TNM.
“She claimed there were no class 11 seats available immediately and said that she needed to enquire about the student. She said she had asked them to come the next day,” police added.
The School Education Department has also conducted an inquiry and a report has been submitted to the District Collector. Further investigation by the Department is underway.
Nishanthi’s body was taken for postmortem examination to Madurai Rajaji Government Hospital on Tuesday, August 25. Her mortal remains were cremated on August 26.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide-prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.
