Opinion | When Pressure Becomes Too Much, Life Must Still Go On

Lt Gen Devendra Pandey

The IIT Bombay tragedy should make us ask a larger question. What are we teaching our young people about failure, pressure and responsibility?

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The recent death by suicide of Sahil Wakode, a second-year BTech student at IIT Bombay, has once again brought student pressure, academic standards and institutional responsibility into public debate. Wakode died on September 18, 2026, hours after an incident during a mid-semester examination in which he was allegedly found using a mobile phone. The circumstances surrounding his death, including allegations made by his family and the conduct of those involved, are being investigated. The Mumbai Police Crime Branch is examining CCTV footage and other evidence, while the National Commission for Scheduled Castes has separately sought preservation and examination of relevant evidence.

That investigation must be allowed to establish the facts. But we should also resist the temptation to immediately politicise a young person’s death or assign blame to a faculty member, the administration, an institution, or society before the facts are established. A grieving family deserves justice, but justice requires evidence, due process and restraint.

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At the same time, this tragedy should make us ask a larger question. What are we teaching our young people about failure, pressure and responsibility?

There are growing demands that academic pressure........

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