Hyderabad: Students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Monday staged a protest here demanding justice for Aishwarya Reddy, the scholarship student at Delhi’s prestigious Lady Shri Ram (LSR) college who died allegedly by suicide at her residence in Telangana’s Shadnagar.
Students demand release of fellowships
The students also demanded the release of delayed fellowships stating that it is putting pressure on them as they are unable to continue with their studies.
“The recent suicide of an LSR student Aishwarya Reddy is a very unfortunate incident. The reason for her suicide is because the student was not receiving her fellowship for the last one year. The national fellowships don’t come regularly, but once in every two to three months. Another than Aishwarya, there are many other students who haven’t received their fellowships for the last one or one and a half year. Due to this, the students have been facing a lot of problems,” Sahana, a student told ANI.
Sahana said that it has been problematic for many students to continue with their studies and research work as many colleges and institutions have been shut down due to this pandemic situation.
“During the lockdown, students were forced to vacate the hostels and were not provided with any financial assistance from the government,” she said.
Delay in scholarships, fellowships
Another student Kripa said this was not the first time that a student has died by suicide due to the delay in scholarships and fellowships.
“Most of the students who receive this fellowship belong to marginalized communities and is very difficult for them to survive without this fellowship. Especially in this case of Aishwarya, being a girl child from an economically backward class, it is even more difficult to get education,” she said.
“Her family was supportive enough to send her to pursue her high studies by mortgaging their only house and when she finally achieves it, the institution itself becomes a villain leading to her suicide,” she added.