Why it is in the news
Students at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay have been protesting since the death by suicide of a 20-year-old Dalit second-year B.Tech student on 18 September 2026. His parents allege caste discrimination and have registered an FIR against IIT-Bombay faculty under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; the Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating.
The exam angle
Issue: India has widened access to elite higher education for SC, ST and OBC students, but has not built campuses that retain and support them. How should institutions, regulators and courts share responsibility for student well-being and non-discrimination?