India, Sept. 25 -- There can be no debate over reservations in the Indian Institutes of Technology. Privilege is often the hand that tilts the scale, and it is usually invisible - so much so that many of the privileged do not see themselves as such.

There can also be no debate over restrictions on cheating in examinations - at the IITs and anywhere else - no matter a student's background; allowing this would be tantamount to creating a separate and more liberal code for the underprivileged.

And while the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 remains relevant, there are instances of its misuse.

In the interstices between the three lies the real story of the death by suicide of a second-year Sched...