Balram Sampla
Geopolitics
(Asian independent) Sahil Wakode came from a modest family in Yavatmal. His mother is a school teacher and his father works in a bank’s security team. He earned his place at IIT Bombay through years of effort, and his friends remember him as studious, with a strong first-year record. For families like his, an IIT seat is more than a degree. It is a hope carried by the whole household.
According to his parents, that hope was slowly worn down. His mother says a professor made casteist remarks to him months ago. His father alleges caste-based abuse, threats and sustained mental harassment. Classmates say that on the day he died, he was shouted at in a corridor and warned he could be thrown out of the institute for a year. For a first-generation student, who often feels he has no margin for error, such a threat can feel like the collapse of everything his family sacrificed for.
The pain of caste discrimination is often quiet. It can be a remark, a look, or a feeling that you must prove you belong. Students from marginalised communities have long described the isolation of hiding hurt, fearing that speaking up will cost them, and carrying the burden alone. The institute says Sahil never filed a caste complaint, and that is worth examining, because many students stay silent precisely out of fear. Whether that was so here is for the investigation to establish.
His death is a reminder that institutions must be safe places, not just prestigious ones. Every student deserves to be treated with dignity, to be able to report abuse without fear, and to find real support when they are struggling. His mother’s plea for justice is one the country should hear, and the truth should come out through a fair and transparent probe.
Reference
1.https://m.thewire.in/article/education/anger-at-iit-bombay-after-20-year-old-dalit-student-suicide/amp
2.https://www.republicworld.com/india/iit-bombay-student-suicide-case-father-alleges-casteist-slurs-crime-branch-takes-over-probe-2026-09-20-137348
3.https://www.thedailyjagran.com/india/news/iit-bombay-student-suicide-case-sent-to-crime-branch-after-parents-claim-caste-based-discrimination-what-has-happened-so-far-10329796
