Indian students' deaths in the US – the community wants answers

Neel Acharya, 19, was found dead on Purdue University campus – he died of asphyxia with exposure to cold

Dejected. That’s how Jey Sushil, a student at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, says he feels.

Mr Sushil is still shaken by the death in February of fellow student Amarnath Ghosh, a 34-year-old classical dancer from India. Local police are investigating it as a homicide case.

Mr Sushil says he found out about Ghosh’s death through a friend in India before receiving any information from his university.

“They told us after two days. Students are not very happy with the overall response. It’s like, who cares about how Indians feel?”

Ghosh was fatally shot off campus in a city street. The university clarified that it communicates a student’s death only after law enforcement confirms the identity, a process that takes time, and with consent from the student’s next of kin.

Calling it a “horrible tragedy”, the VC of Marketing and Communications at Washington University in St. Louis, Julie Flory said, “We shared this sad news with members of our community as soon as we could and according to the wishes of Amarnath’s closest contacts.”

The St. Louis Police Department said it “takes 48 hours to establish identity” of the deceased and “in many cases, much longer”.

Ghosh is among the 11 Indian or Indian-origin students who have died in the US so far this year, sparking fears about personal safety within the community.

The causes of death have varied, from hypothermia to suicide to shooting. Experts say there is no discernible link between these unrelated incidents. As each tragedy echoes through campuses, students carry on with their daily routines, balancing fears amid academic demands.

“We avoid going out after dark. We have identified places in the city that are unsafe in the evenings. What else can we do?” Mr Sushil asks.

Thousands of Indian students move to the US every year to get degrees from American universities

Like him, others also complain that their universities do not report the deaths on time, and they find out about them through Indian media or from relatives back home.

Mohammad Abdul Arfath, 25-year-old student of Cleveland State University (CSE), was found dead earlier this month after he went missing in March.

A student, who wanted to stay anonymous and joined the college at the same time as Arfath, said he found out about his death through a WhatsApp message from his parents.

“My parents reminded me that I have to stay on guard,” he said.

Nearly 267,000 Indians enrolled in US universities in 2022-23 and the number is projected to reach a million by 2030.

“The desire, the draw or pull of an American degree is very strong in India and appealing to Indian families,” says Rajika Bhandari, a New York-based education expert.

Sangay Mishra, an associate professor at Drew University in New Jersey, says there is no “clear pattern” that connects the deaths and that “it’s important to not fall into the trap of building an overarching narrative that it’s happening because they’re Indians”.

“I haven’t seen anything which suggests that these are cases of racial hostility or attacks based on race.”

Indian parents say they try to maintain regular contact with their children.

“It scares us whenever we hear such kind of news sitting far away in India,” says Meenu Awal, whose son studies at the University of Southern California.

Ms Awal says that she’s instructed her son to “not retaliate” even in a case of a robbery. “I have told him to just give cash or whatever, and walk away.”

Neetu Marda from Jaipur city says she talks to her daughter at New York University every day and keeps her friends’ phone numbers handy. “I ask her not to go out alone with unknown people.”

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-68832876