India, Oct. 3 -- Student suicides often evoke myriad responses. For some, it is a failure, for some, unbearable pressure. For some, an escape and for others, a crime, even institutional murder. In recent years, public attention has been drawn to a series of high-profile student suicides. For a few days, these tragedies spark debate and outrage. But in an age of vanishing attention spans, the larger crisis continues to unfold every single day. India loses nearly 14,000 students to suicide each year. Data from the National Crime Records Bureau released this week showed the number of student suicides in India climbed to 13,892 in 2023, climbing 34.4% from 10,335 in 2019 and 64.9% from 8,423 in 2013. A total of 117,849 students died by suicide between 2013 and 2023. For every suicide death, research suggests there may be 20 attempts. The number of students silently contemplating suicide or enduring severe mental anguish might be manifold. Suicides are robbing us of young lives brimming with potential - a student's journey ending before it begins. The majority of these deaths occur among those aged 18-30, the very demographic that should be shaping our country's future. Unlike many causes of death among young people, suicide is entirely preventable. And preventing it requires no vaccine or rocket science. What it needs is a socio-political movement grounded in evidence-based interventions and a willingness to listen to young people. In March, the Supreme Court in Amit Kumar & Ors vs Union of India & Ors directed that every suspected suicide must be registered through an FIR. Recognising that student suicides now outnumber even farmer suicides, the court sought to go beyond reactive measures. It constituted the National Task Force for Student Wellbeing and Suicide Prevention under the chairmanship of justice (retd.) S Ravindra Bhat, with subject experts and senior officials from multiple ministries. The mandate: To consult stakeholders, review policies, and present to the court a holistic understanding of the causes of student suicides and the path to prevention. Attempts to study this epidemic have been made before, but they were fragmented and often limited to specific academic streams. This task force marks the first comprehensive effort to examine suicides across the entire spectrum of higher education. And the scale is immense: India has over 60,000 higher education institutions, 1.5 million faculty members, and 45 million students. This population is as diverse as India itself - by geography, caste, class, religion, gender, disability, and course of study. To capture this diversity of experience, the task force launched nationwide online surveys (ntf.education.gov.in). Students, faculty, mental health providers and parents are encouraged to respond; concerned citizens can also share their perspectives. Alongside this, higher education institutions are required to provide data on student well-being as part of their institutional accountability. Some may see this as a grand samudra manthan (ocean churn) to extract the amrit (nectar) of suicide prevention. But let us be clear: India does not suffer from a lack of policies or documents. The Mental Healthcare Act (2017) and the National Suicide Prevention Policy (2021) already exist. Numerous committees have produced detailed reports. Just last month, the Supreme Court issued guidelines on preventing student suicides. And yet, young lives continue to be lost. Why? Because our systems continue to respond with apathy - and sometimes, with active oppression. Students are cornered into desperation by discriminatory practices, punitive academic policies, financial barriers, and neglect of mental health services. Their deaths are not just personal tragedies; they are social failures and, too often, institutional ones. The task force may chart a path forward, but it is ultimately up to us - as educators, policymakers, parents, peers, and citizens - to act. We must build a future where young people can live, learn, and lead without fear. A future where suicide is not seen as a personal failure or a lack of resilience, but as something we, collectively, can and must prevent through systemic and individual change. Let us resolve to change the narrative. Because every student life lost is one too many. It's a national emergency we can no longer afford to ignore....