Dear Spark Readers, we have been writing and updating all of you regarding the situation in IT sector. This piece is to give you readers a rather sad update!
A 25 year old software engineer who had started working in Pune a few days ago, jumped to his death from a hotel terrace on Wednesday. The techie, Gopalkrishna Durgaprasad Gowda, had joined his company in Vimanagar, Pune on Monday. He was originally from Andhra Pradesh.
The CCTV footage from a hotel camera, where Gopalkrishna can be clearly seen jumping off the terrace, and the suicide note retrieved from his room are proofs that it was a case of suicide.
I want to ask all my readers who are more than 25 a question. What were the thoughts that occupied your mind when you were 25? Also the readers who are 25 please tell me, what are the thoughts that keep you occupied these days?? I am sure 95% of you would say it was/is the thought of your future! So could you all just pause for a moment and imagine the amount of pressure Gopalkrishna would had been under that made him end his life!! Yes, my dear readers it was the pressure of having no job security, it was the fear of getting retrenched from the IT company, it was the pressure of supporting his family, it was the pressure of having no future at all !!
Gopalkrishna in his suicide note has clearly expressed all these fears. He stated in his suicide note, “In IT (sector), there is no job security. I am worried a lot about my future, my friends. I am scared that I may not look after my family properly. Please take care of my family. Sorry guys, I am worried about the future as we are not that much strong. Love you all”. Before jumping off the terrace he tried ending his life by inflicting around 25 cuts on his hands and other body parts using a knife.
Along with this sad news, I also read about TCS shutting down it’s Lucknow office leaving the future of it’s 2,000 employees with a question mark as well as Microsoft announcing lay of off as many as 3,000 of its non-US IT employees.
Tell me, how many more retrenchments do we need to see before we start questioning the owners of the company and our government against this injustice?!? How many more lives do we need to see end before we start raising our voices and fighting for our rights as workers?!?
Enough is enough now! Uniting and fighting is the only way ahead. IT employees, you must know your rights and start raising your voices against the injustices being done to you!
Spark team expresses its condolences to Gopalkrishna’s family and friends.
IT workers, let us make sure Gopalkrishna’s sacrifice does not go in vain!
