On the 11th of April this year, Abdul Basit, a dental surgery student at the Hamdard University, committed suicide by setting himself ablaze after being refused permission to sit his final year examinations.

Let’s take a minute to try and assess what must have gone through his mind to lead him to this decision.

Suicide, or any kind of self-harm, for that matter, isn’t an ‘easy’ decision to make. It requires an astonishing amount of will power to put oneself through that degree of pain and suffering. But more so, it requires the individual to believe, enduringly and with conviction, that this decision is better than what would have been otherwise. And that is exactly where the problem lies.

Unfortunately, we have a medical and dental education system that places undue stresses and burdens on its students, condoning an atmosphere that is not conducive to their growth. Educators expect you to be at the top of your game at all times and there is absolutely no room for second best in the system.

There is a concept of finality associated with every hurdle that you might face -- that once you have faltered, there is absolutely no coming back from it. Which leaves little to no room for appreciation of individual improvement or personal strengths.

Any call to reform is met by the rather infamous response: "Hamara zamana iss se bhi mushkil tha!" (our times were even harder), which eventually puts to rest any complaints that the students might have about their hardships. And this, in a way, legitimises educators to perpetuate archaic ideas of what the correct teaching methodologies are and the culture within which they exist as long as it makes for ‘better’ doctors.

How overburdening students to the extent that the idea of self-harm is brought about in the back of their minds makes for better doctors is a question I’m still unable to answer.

The hostile environment that is created is a latent problem. Most students dismiss it rather casually because they presume that this is inevitably the way it is supposed to be, sort of like a part of the package.

Due to a lack of acknowledgement of the problem, it ceases to even exist as a concern in the first place. The onus lies on us to build a support system that actively recognises this problem and allows for greater discourse and discussion on issues that plague the daily lives of these students. Each one of us has a part to play in countering the depression, anxiety and unhappiness that is triggered as a result of students boxing up their emotions and isolating themselves from each other.

It’s time we allowed ourselves to seek help if we need it, from our peers, parents or counsellors, instead of letting society’s stigmatisation get the better of us.

Next time you go to college, be a source of positive energy that opposes the prevalent discord between the system and us. Try and internalise the fact that nothing is permanent; neither your mediocre grades nor the lapses in your studies, and that your self-progression and growth are paramount.

Don’t allow educators to garb the problem by pretending it doesn’t exist. Instead open their eyes to it and pull them onto your bandwagon. Aspire to build a community where the suffering of students like you and me hasn’t been in vain.