Covid: ‘Blind leaders immune to suffering,’ says St Stephen’s principal as 18-year-old student dies

An 18-year-old student of Delhi University’s St Stephen’s College has died of the coronavirus disease at a private hospital in Rajasthan, PTI reported on Thursday. Satyam Jha was a first-year student of history at the university.

Jha was a member of the college’s Gandhi Ambedkar Study Circle, debating society and the organising committee of the Students’ Federation of India unit.

“He succumbed to the disease on Tuesday after being on ventilator for eight days,” the SFI said.

This is devastating.#RiP Satyam Jha, History class of 2023@StStephensClg https://t.co/9e9kWa1Tb4

— Stephanians (@CafeSSC) May 27, 2021

Grief-stricken and angry, St Stephen’s College Principal John Varghese wrote a note – “From Pandemic to Panacea” – on the college website after Jha’s death.

“The pandemic has brought the world to its knees,” Varghese said. “The second wave of the pandemic has been heartless in its ruthless rampaging through our country exposing our hollow claims of being prepared, of being one of the largest producer of pharmaceutical products in the world, of even being a civilisation that places value on the higher things in life. But if life itself is gone, then wither all these claims?”

The principal said Jha was looking forward to life, expectantly. “The claims of belligerent and blind leaders who are immune to the suffering and deaths of simple…

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