NEW DELHI: Demanding justice for second-year Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) student Aishwarya Reddy who committed suicide after being unable access her scholarship and pay her fees, the All India Student Association (AISA) along with other Delhi University students have planned to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar on November 12.
The student community will also demand the release of all pending scholarships to the students of DU and other Central universities. Reddy, who was a Mathematics Honours student died by suicide at her Shadnagar house in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district on November 2. In a suicide note purportedly
written by her, the 19-year-old woman said she did not want to burden her parents with her educational expenses, police said.
Reddy was a state topper and was subsequently awarded the INSPIRE scholarship by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The scholarship amount of `1.2 lakhs was however delayed since March. “Her family lives in a house that had been mortgaged to finance her college education. The girl and her family were already struggling to make both ends meet, and the added economic strains, owing to the nationwide shutdown against the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic, made the struggle feel like spiked chains around their necks,” said Saumya Samal, a member of the All India Democratic Student Organisation (AIDSO).
The students’ community has also alleged that Aishwarya had mentioned that she could not attend the online classes like others due to lack of internet facilities, a laptop and network issues. “What happened with Aishwarya is not any random incident. It voices the story of hundreds of students like her who are grovelling under the burdens of esconomic pain due to the exclusive policies and divisive schemes of the Central government, which delineates the fact that education, today, is only accessible to the rich. We demand justice for Aishwarya Reddy and demand disbursal of funds and pending scholarships to the students,” said Samal.