Nip Tragedy In Bud

The parents of Prakriti Lamsal had sent their beloved daughter to pursue her dream of higher education at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. They might have hoped that they would travel to the university to be with her amid the celebration of her graduation.  Instead, they arrived at the university the other day, a year or so before that grand day, for a sobering reason: to pick up her body. How heartbreaking this must have been! 

The 20-year-old third-year student is reported to have killed herself, unable to cope with the harassment by one of the students at the same college.  It is unknown why the college administration failed to take action against the perpetrator of harassment despite Prakriti filing a complaint. The tragic death sparked furore across Nepal and India, both online and offline, with news channels in both countries extensively covering the matter. Appalled by the tragic turn of the event, hundreds of fellow Nepali students there staged protest, voicing their concerns that they felt unsafe at the college and demanding justice. In response, some of the college faculty threatened the students with disciplinary actions. 

In a widely viewed video, some female college staffers are seen not only berating Nepali students but also asking them in a humiliating way to vacate the university premises as soon as possible. They even belittled Nepal and its budget and GDP. This is nothing but going out of the real issue that needed due solution. Such remarks are uncalled for, to say the least, and tarnish the reputation of their institution and the close bond between Nepal and India. An issue that crops up demands due and amicable procedure for solution and the move to evict the students en masse is very objectionable. 

The incident ignited widespread resentment - online and offline - with a high number of Indians standing with Nepali students, feeling bitter about the incident and expressing heartfelt condolence for the departed soul.  Following the public reaction, the college has publicly apologised to Nepali students, urging them to return to their hostels, suspended the staff involved in mistreating them and vowed to take appropriate legal action. The two lady staffers have also issued public apologies, saying that it happened on the spur of the moment.

The issue generated such widespread concerns that it was not only hotly discussed in the parliament but also prompted Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to initiate diplomatic channels to look into the issue.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nepali Embassy in India also swiftly leaped into action and prevented the matter from spiralling out of control. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba on Wednesday held a telephone conversation with Odisha's Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj and talked about the death in the university hostel. Nepal's demand is a fair probe of the student's death and a safe learning environment for Nepali students.

The Odisha minister has ensured a fair investigation into the matter and promised to take legal action against those responsible and guarantee a safe learning environment for Nepali students at the university. When a death happens in the hostel, the natural way for an institution of higher learning is to investigate to uncover the truth. Moreover, the fact that the complaints made by Prakriti at the University's administration remained unheard is also a serious matter. Had the complaints been heard and addressed, the alleged offender could have been caught on time and the precious life could have been saved.