IIT Kharagpur is exploring the installation of smaller ceiling fans in its 21 hostels, housing approximately 16,000 students, to prevent their use in self-harm, following four student suicides in 2025, institute director Suman Chakraborty announced on Thursday. The move, part of a broader mental health strategy, comes after the tragic deaths of Ritam Mondal (July 18), Shaon Malik (January 12), Aniket Walkar (April 20), and Mohammad Asif Qamar (May 4), all found hanging in their hostel rooms.

Chakraborty emphasized that smaller fans, incapable of supporting self-harm attempts, are a supplementary measure, not a substitute for addressing mental health challenges. “The absence of means to self-destruct during impulsive moments, combined with counseling, can make a critical difference,” he told PTI, noting that no timeline for the phased replacement has been set. The initiative mirrors earlier efforts at institutions like IIT Kanpur, which proposed replacing ceiling fans with pedestal fans in 2010 after eight suicides in five years, and IISc Bengaluru, which began installing wall-mounted fans in 2021 following six suicides in two years.

The institute has also launched a 10-member committee, including psychologists, legal experts, and alumni, to investigate the suicides and recommend mental health interventions, with a report due by August 2025. Additional measures include 24/7 student outreach, bi-monthly parent interactions, a “campus mothers” program with women faculty as emotional mentors, permanent psychiatrists, and QR-coded helpline numbers on hostel room gates for immediate counseling access. These steps aim to address academic pressure, isolation, and personal stressors, particularly among students from marginalized communities, who accounted for 58% of suicides in premier institutes over eight years, per 2021 Ministry data.

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Student reactions, drawn from similar moves at IISc, suggest skepticism. A 2021 IISc poll showed 88% of 305 students opposed fan replacements, arguing they don’t address root causes like inadequate mental health support. Youth counselor Bharathi Singh, commenting on IISc’s approach, called such measures “impulsive” and urged focus on counseling and empathetic faculty training. IIT Kharagpur’s suicides, including Mondal’s just days after returning from a two-month vacation, highlight the urgency of holistic solutions. The institute’s efforts, while proactive, face scrutiny to ensure they tackle underlying issues like academic stress and social isolation, critical in a high-pressure academic environment.

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