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Admission and Counselling Strategy
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Dedicated Counsellor
Beyond Grades and Discipline: The Tragic Story of Jyoti Sharma at Sharda University
Jyoti Sharma was more than another student from Sharda University. She wasn’t just a face in a photo or a headline quote. She was someone’s daughter. Friend to others. Probably worried about the deadline, she laughed and wept, shared inside jokes with her hostel mates, and called home after long days. She is dead at just 21.
Jyoti Sharma made a choice last week in the peaceful quiet of her hostel room at Sharda University that no one should ever have to make. She killed herself. Finding out was different; it led to a letter instead of mere loss. A letter indicating her chronic depression. A letter that named two teachers and explained details of how her deep brokenness had resulted from their words, actions, and disrespect for her as a human being.
She did not raise her voice. She did not point a finger, either. She simply wrote, Sorry, I can’t do this anymore.
And that should shatter us all.
Because Jyotis’s story is not merely about one individual. It highlights what transpires when a person yells for help but does not get heard. When discipline is equated with shame. When advice is translated as bullying. When pressure is dismissed as normal in the school environment.
Her friends told her she was accused of tampering with a signature on a project. Nevertheless, the manner in which she was treated brought about the real harm, not in the accusation itself. Public humiliation. Jeering comments. Laughter at her expense. She was made to feel inferior. Not merely once. Frequently, however.
Yet she continued to return again and again. Attempting to smile. Struggling to maintain normalcy.
She just couldn’t until one day.
Students gathered after her death. They did not only seek answers in grief. Two scholars were arrested. Many more were suspended. The Supreme Court intervened, inquiring what went wrong in our systems.
But perhaps the answer is already within us.
We exist in a world where students are coerced to excel, to validate themselves, to persevere through their internal battles. Vulnerability is weakness; requesting assistance resembles failure. What about the structures surrounding them? Too lazy, too ignorant, too removed far too often to notice issues before it is too late.
This situation transcends one institution. One incident or several. It touches every young individual who has ever woken up questioning their health. All students who have quietly wept after being punished in a classroom. Every individual who has felt inadequate, regardless of how hard they work.
Perfection was not what Jyoti dreamed of. She didn’t require punishment. She needed someone to assure her that one mistake isn’t all of her. That she remained worthy. That she was still noticed and highly valued.
We let her down. All of us.
And we need to do better.
Let this be a warning to all of us, not only university administrators and instructors. Mental illness is not a privilege. It is not a topic only for emergency meetings. We must make it a part of our daily conversations. It should permeate our exam rooms, dorms, and classrooms.
To any student who reads this: You are not alone. Your value is not measured by your grades. You are not merely a reflection of what a person says in the heat of anger. You are actually so much better than that. Here, you deserve your place. You should be treated with compassion, kindness, and love.
And for the adults that were introduced, educators, guardians, and this is our fault. Not to shape young minds, but to nurture them. Respected them. To demonstrate that in spite of adversity, they remain valuable.
Jyoti should still be alive.
Make her absence felt.
