4 Suicides, 3 States: Students' Notes Expose India's Silent School Bullying Crisis

In three states, four young students died within weeks of one other. Different cities, different classrooms-but the same haunting theme runs through their last words: they felt alone, unheard, and unprotected.

In Jaipur, a Class 4 student spent 18 months begging for help. She approached her teacher five times on the morning of November 1, pleading to be rescued from relentless bullying. According to a CBSE probe, she was repeatedly told to "adjust." Minutes later, the nine-year-old jumped from her school building. Her mother had earlier recorded the child sobbing, begging, "Mumma, I don't want to go to school. Everyone troubles me." No action was taken.

In Delhi, a Class 10 student, aged 16, walked in front of a metro train. His suicide note apologised to his family and asked for his organs to be donated. He wrote about being “mentally harassed for years” by teachers who allegedly mocked him, even when he fell during a drama class. His father recalls the last incident: “He slipped, and instead of helping him, the teacher pushed him and accused him of acting.” The family was already planning to shift him after exams.

In Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, a Class 11 girl aged 17 left behind a five-page note detailing months of physical humiliation. She wrote how her teacher pressed a pen between her fingers as punishment, held her wrists tightly and taunted her to open his closed fist. Her family says she was deeply loved at home and had no personal troubles—“Someone at school was torturing her,” they said.

In Rajasthan's Karauli district, a 14-year-old boy was found hanging from a tree near his home after he was allegedly beaten and harassed by two teachers and a school administrator. In his note, he pleaded with his parents to ensure they were punished.

These deaths are triggering anger, grief, and urgent questions across India. Parents and experts warn that bullying in schools is no longer an isolated behavioural issue but an escalating public safety and mental-health crisis.

Probes are underway across three states. Child-rights activists are demanding strict anti-bullying protocols, trained counsellors in every school, and transparent reporting systems-before more children feel their only escape is death.