How IIT Kharagpur’s Mental Health Inititative Enforces Stereotypes
Sharanya Manivannan | 17 July 2025 | The New Indian Express
In a commendable acknowledgement of mental health issues affecting its student population — after at least three suicides were reported so far this year — IIT Kharagpur recently announced that it will be introducing programmes that offer support for students in distress. However, the first initiative that was widely publicised, ‘Campus Mothers’, has rightfully been criticised for its patriarchal underpinning. The institution has since clarified that ‘Campus Mothers’ is only a part of a five-pronged approach to inculcating greater mental health among students, and is not to be treated as a stand-alone effort.
The idea behind ‘Campus Mothers’ is that trained volunteers who reside on campus, who may be faculty or non-faculty — and who necessarily must be women and mothers — will provide mentorship for students in the form of conversations and shared meals…