AMU Schedules Campus March for Suicide Prevention on 10 September

Aligarh Muslim University will hold a “March for Hope and Suicide Prevention” on Thursday, 10 September, as part of its observance of World Suicide Prevention Day. The march is scheduled to begin at the Arts Faculty at 10 am and end at Bab-e-Syed Gate.

The Department of Psychology is organising the event with the Students' Counselling Centre. In the university announcement issued on Wednesday, department chairman Prof Shah Alam said the aim was to raise awareness, promote hope and emotional wellbeing, and encourage compassion, support and help-seeking across the university community.

A second programme is planned at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. The Department of Psychiatry, in collaboration with the Department of Physiology, will observe the day from 1 pm at Lecture Theatre 1, according to Dr Mohammed Reyazuddin, chairman of the Psychiatry department.

Visibility is useful when it points to help

A campus march can make mental health visible, especially for students who may otherwise read distress as a private failure. Its value, however, depends on what follows the event. A clear route to counselling, emergency support and academic accommodation matters more than a single day of slogans.

Universities are unusually complex settings for suicide prevention. Students may be living away from home for the first time, working under academic and financial pressure, dealing with relationship difficulties or facing uncertainty about employment. Faculty and hostel staff often notice changes in attendance or behaviour, but they are not substitutes for trained mental-health professionals.

The sound role for peers and teachers is to take signs of distress seriously, listen without judgement and connect the person with qualified help. They should not promise secrecy when there is an immediate risk of harm. Nor should a student be asked to prove that the situation is “serious enough” before being guided to support.

The language around suicide needs care

Public events can reduce stigma, but careless messaging can also cause harm. Communications should avoid graphic descriptions, romanticised narratives or the suggestion that one incident had a simple, single cause. Responsible discussion focuses on prevention, recovery, support and the availability of help.

For AMU, the involvement of Psychology, the Students' Counselling Centre, Psychiatry and Physiology places both the campus and clinical sides of the issue in view. The two events also reach different audiences: the morning march offers public participation, while the medical-college programme can create space for a more structured discussion.

Students planning to attend should confirm any final route or venue instruction from the university, particularly if classes or traffic arrangements affect movement around campus. Participation in a public activity should remain voluntary. A student who would rather seek help privately should be able to use counselling services without feeling obliged to join an awareness event.

The larger institutional test comes after 10 September. Universities need visible contact points, confidential referral systems, reasonable response times and protocols for an immediate crisis. Academic departments should know where to refer a student, while counselling units should communicate their hours and emergency limitations plainly.

If someone appears to be in immediate danger, peers should contact local emergency services and a trusted person who can stay with them. For ongoing distress, professional mental-health support should be sought promptly. An awareness march is not clinical care, but it can lower the threshold for asking for it.

AMU's programme begins with a concrete invitation: a 10 am walk from the Arts Faculty to Bab-e-Syed Gate, followed by a 1 pm observance at JN Medical College. Its lasting worth will be measured by whether students leave knowing where help is available and believing they can approach it without shame.